This year's birthday party planning has also been so much more fun because Anna Claire wants to play an active role. She has DEFINITE ideas about what she wants and doesn't want, which I love.
I have made each part of the planning process hands-on, so she is having as much fun planning as I think she will on her actual big day.
The THEME
Obviously Anna Claire wants a Rainbow Art Birthday! This theme has not wavered for 2 months now, so I am super-excited that it's exactly what she wants. Last year, she changed her mind every other day so I was in constant doubt that I had made the right choice. This year, she will bounce ideas off me in the car, and sitting and playing around the house, like, "Mommy, I had an idea for my birfday...how about rainbow straws? Is that a good idea?" or "Mommy, we could have Skittles at my birfday. They're rainbow. Can Maggie have Skittles?" (Maggie is her sweet nut-allergy friend who is limited on what candy she can have. So sweet of her to think of Maggie!)
The VENUE
Liberty Park Playground (AKA "The Birthday Park" - she dubbed it this ever since her last birthday which was also held there.) I have asked Anna Claire repeatedly, "Are you sure you don't want to have it somewhere different? We had it there last year." She is emphatic that we should have it at the Birthday Park, so Birthday Park it is! That makes my heart smile that she loved her birthday last year so much that she wants a repeat, and it is a great location and very easy, and free!
The CAKE
Anna Claire has decided on a cake! I showed her three options, and she went with this one, the simplest of her three choices :) We will use fruit/fruit juice in the recipes to color the layers instead of food coloring though. She has declared that she would also like rainbow cupcakes, so I was really excited to find the rainbow Airheads to top these yesterday. Some food coloring at a rainbow party is almost inevitable (like in Airheads), but I'm trying to keep it to a minimum since I have learned so much about long-term effects of it with all of the research I've done on dementia for mom.
The INVITATIONS
I sent invitations out today, and Anna Claire had a ball helping me make them. The first step was making her rainbow birthday outfit, inspired by this link. I spent less than ten bucks on the white shirt and skirt at Walmart, gave Anna Claire some washable tempura paint, and let her go. The next day, we did her photo shoot which she would tell you was "the most fun ever." She got to live her dream and paint her body from head to toe while I shot away with my camera.
Here are some pics from our T-shirt making, messy fun photo shoot, and the actual birthday invitation.
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| Making her birthday skirt :) |
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| She spent the longest just painting her feet! |
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| Anna Claire loves mixing colors! |
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| "Wook Mommy! I made purple!" |
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| Love the foot up. :) |
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| Admiring her efforts. |
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| Finished Invitation! |
Stay tuned for pics from the big day... in just three weeks from now. :)
i've got plenty of white stuff she can put over herself.
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