L-R invitation, the banner, Sage making a wish, the kids making their custom snack mixes, the view from above, Cherry 7 Up: age of the birthday girl, the inspiration for the color scheme, and choice of beverage

I survived Sage’s party… I think.  The pom poms are still hanging from the ceiling and I’m finding goldfish cracker crumbs here and there, but it turned out great.  There were 18 kids so it was a little crazy and A LOT LOUD, but oh so fun!

We kicked it off with a snack mix table where the kids got to scoop their own custom snack mix into a ziploc bag.  There were things like chocolate animal crackers (my new favorite!), goldfish, peanuts, almonds, craisins, marshmallows, fruit snacks, pretzels, and honeycomb cereal to choose from.  Then we played a memory game where there were double pictures of Sage on the wall that were covered and they had to match the pictures.  We played boys against girls and I can’t believe how hyped up they were the entire game!  They were so competitive and they loved seeing baby pictures of Sage.

After the memory game we put a balloon on everybody’s ankle and they tried to pop each other’s until we finally declared a 3-way tie between the last balloons standing.  Those last three kids would have been there for hours, Bailey being one of them.  The kids really had a blast with this one.  It was loud and crazy.  One mom came in the front door during this game and was very concerned at the noise 😀 Several kids asked if we could play it again.  So if you’re looking for a fun party game and you can stand crazed children and the volume, this is a great one!

I made 7 Up cupcakes at the request of the 7 year old birthday girl for the guests; and made her a tiny layer cake using her easy bake pans so she could have something that would hold 7 candles.  After cake she opened her mountain of presents and we played a game of pictionary.  A lot of kids started getting picked up at this point.  We sent them all home with a thank you cookie and collapsed on the couch!

My goals for this party were:

• that Sage have a fabulous birthday first and foremost:  check
• not have a need for utensils:  check 
• sew something:  check (remember I am not handy with a sewing machine)  I sewed the banner!
• not buy invites, favors, or decorations:  check

Times are a bit tight and I really didn’t want to go out and buy lots of stuff.  Most of the supplies I already had and just needed to buy the snacks and the drinks.  I did buy a new scalloped circle punch for the cupcake picks and some remnant fabric for the banner, but other than that, I really stuck to using things I had on hand.

I’d say the party was a success.  It was made all that more special that both her grandmas, grandpa, Uncle Jim, Aunt Kellie, and Aunt Cris could come too!