September 11, 2017

…And then he was 2

So milestone’s are a reoccurring thing in the life of a mom. And on August 4^th Mason turned two years old! We had moved into our new place two days before and had his party on August 5^th…. Lets just say, there is not enough wine in the world to make me do that again.

I wanted to make sure that this little boy had the best day with his brother and friends and it was all his favourite things. The theme for Mason’s birthday was— “things that go” because anything that moves he loves. Here are some hacks we did for his birthday to it was cost efficient yet a great time.

All of Mason’s friends received an invite that was made by from Etsy. Her shop is amazing and could a invitation that’s a boarding pass be any more perfect? I think not!

The cake— oh the cake. Cindy from The Wedding Cake Shoppe has done every cake for us since Luke and I got engaged and with each cake her and her team amaze me more and more. I gave her the invitation, asked her to replicate it and trusted her with her magic.

So again the shops and people you meet on Etsy are incredible. I love supporting mom and pop shops because we are all just trying to make a living and the talent on that site is incredible! Angela not only is the sweetest her talent is INSANE!

All the signs for Mason’s party were made perfectly for the things that go theme. The “fueling station” for the drinks, the “baggage claim” for all of the little humans to take their loot bag from it was amazing.

For loot bags I did a mix of trucks and boats from Toys R Us and the brand was Little People! Sounds expensive right?—Wrong, I don’t do expensive unless its on my feet and has red soles. They were $4.98 each and each little one left with something that goes.

How do you keep 9 toddlers contained and seated? Well honestly everyone this totally worked for us! I mean the party was in our backyard and we had toys back there, but we rented a kids table and it was the best $40 ever spent! We rented the table and colouful chairs. I put black table cloths every where along with yellow lines in the middle and there you have it, a road J So I created an craft table for the kids for $50. I went to Michaels and got the first initial to all the little ones names. Then off to the dollar store where each little one I gave 3 paint colours too, 3 paint brushes and BAM! Another way to keep them quiet and a home takeaway. Angela also created this amazing colouring piece for mason’s birthday. A colouring sheet stating all aboard the Mason express because well… how cute.

Lastly the fnishing touches we getting trucks from the dollar stores and some snacks that you can incorporate into the things that go theme. A dump truck emptying out chips, powdered donuts at tires and party mix chips as bolts and gears, and adding smarties to rice krispie squares!

I learned a lot this birthday. The pressure we put on ourselves as parents is wrong. We want to make everything perfect, I found myself wanting to make sure the adult had as good of a time as the kids and you start to lose sight of what matters. The minute I threw in the towel and went with it, everything went smoothly and the little things didn’t matter anymore. So parents do whatever you can and want to do to make your kids birthday party but do it while having fun. The minute if becomes a job and not fun anymore you need to stop have from grape juice aka pinot grigio have a breather and it will all come together.

Also my last favourite thing from his party was the sign I had behind his cake. It served as a décor piece but something I have put in a frame and putting in his room for Mason to have together and remember all the things that happened and he loved when he turned too. Those moments mattered more then anything else and we have that forever.