The theme of Ashlyn's party was a "Night Owl Sleepover". I have a bunch of creative blogs that I check on a regular basis and one day I came across a night owl sleepover and the rest just fell into place. There were SO many inexpensive great ideas. The theme of the party was a surprise for Ashlyn and because of this I spent a lot of days making things for the party while the kids were at school. I couldn't even bring Landon with me to shop for party stuff because he couldn't keep a secret to save his life. She would be sure to find out every last detail!
I had never used online scrapbook kits before deciding to make my own invitations but after a little trial and error (and some serious frustration with Photoshop) I figured it out. I am nothing if not determined.
After finding the theme I was on the hunt for anything "owls" for quite a few months prior to the party. One day in the waiting room of a doctor's office I found an owl cupcake-cake in Family Fun magazine. You really never know when inspiration is going to hit! I changed up the recipe a bit to better fit my girl and Ashlyn LOVED it!!
I overheard one of the girls grab her friend's hand and say, "you have GOT to come see the cake! It is AWESOME!"...um, totally worth it!
Another girl asked if they had to sleep on the table as it was decorated like a bed. I assured her that she did not.
There is actually quite a lot you can do with an owl theme. I was trying to keep the budget from exploding out of control and depending on who you talk to (me or Chris) I think I did a pretty good job. A lot of the purchases came from the dollar store. I love a good deal!
My mom found these owls in the dollar section at Target.
At first I wasn't sure how to use them but Ashlyn loves art and has been talking a lot about painting so I thought they would be a fun craft for the girls to do. I spray painted them white (they were originally grey and brown) and they were ready to go. The girls cranked up the music and got to work painting their owls. I am pretty sure that none of my neighbors ever want to hear Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber again.
The finished owls
When it was time for cake my girls face lit up. I loved being a witness to her happiness.
I love that smile.
After it was dark the girls changed into their pajamas and I handed out glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets. We turned off the lights, cranked up the music (again) and played freeze dance! The girls were singing at the top of their lungs while they were dancing which turned out to be quite funny when the music was turned off and they were all still singing.
The girls also played glow in the dark hot potato with a large glow baton (set to music, of course).
After the glow fun the girls searched through the house for numbered glow in the dark stars. They were each given a gift bag with the same number.
Inside the girls found their own stuffed owl to be adopted.
***side note - I can not sew AT ALL! If you need someone to sew a button on I'm your girl but beyond that I am at a complete loss. I came across this idea on a blog and while I thought Ashlyn would really love it I had no idea how I was going to pull it off since I can't sew. After a little more searching I found a "no sew owl". That sounded right up my alley! I took the ideas for each of different owls from one site and the how-to from another site. Easy peezy lemon squeezy!
The girls each opened their owls and read the description cards included
and then ran to get pens and fill out their adoption cards.
I think they had fun...
The girls laid out their sleeping bags and settled down with a movie and some popcorn. Many of them cuddled with their owls as they watched the movie. I was told the next morning that Ashlyn and two other girls stayed up until 4:00a.m.! Most of the other girls crashed around 1 or so. They did bust into the presents because the next morning when I came downstairs I was greeted by a sea of empty boxes, design stencils, Polly Pocket parts and Littlest Petshop.
Most of the girls were awake but there were three that were still sound asleep. Hmmm...could it be the girls who stayed up til the wee hours of the morning? Yes, that would be the birthday girl buried in her sleeping bag.
Basil wasted no time finding the perfect spot to enjoy the party...
Now, when I was a kid I had a friend who's mom threw some pretty great parties. Any time we spent the night at her house she got up and made blueberry and banana nut waffles for us with all the trimmings. I remember thinking this was the greatest thing EVER so I decided to do it myself! We went with pancakes and the girls sucked them up!
Look who got to join in at breakfast...
That's it! The party was a blast and I can't believe that Ashlyn is eight years old and old enough to have sleepovers! Time flies when you are having fun!
2 comments:
The party was totally fun but I do realize that God knew what he was doing when he decided that women would have their babies when they are younger. My stamina and patience has depleted considerably. LOL!
You truly AMAZE me! Best 8 yr old party ever!!!
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