I love my Lydia, but with two December birthdays now under my belt, I'm discovering that I'm in for a challenge as the years come. We try to make each of our kids' birthdays a special event, something just about them, without breaking the bank. And as fun as that is, it can require lots of planning ahead and creative thinking.
For Lydia's 2nd birthday we decided to go with a Kitty theme. Her first stuffed animal was a kitty that big brother brought her when she was born. Every since then, she's loved kitties. What else would be so fitting for my sweet baby girl?
Luckily, she also was a kitty for Halloween this year. I had a hand me down kitty costume from when I was a little girl and it fit just right. So just a few days after Halloween, we dressed her up again, make up and all, and took her picture. This became the basis for a homemade invitation. I followed Jo-ann's sales till they had scrapbook paper on discount and we set to work on invites.
Our guest list always includes grandparents, aunts and uncles, a couple of families from church, and two or three special friends from the YMCA. And being a December birthday, I try to get the invitations out the weekend after Thanksgiving or the first weekend of Dec. This year they went out the first weekend of December, but even that was too late. Lydia's birthday is so close to Christmas and calendars fill up fast. Next year they will be Thanksgiving invitations.
I purchased the kitty party supplies on line when I ordered Noah's birthday stuff. This took a little planning ahead, but it saved me on shipping in the long run. All the kids got kitty plates, but I cut corners by serving the adults on plain pink plates bought at the Dollar Tree. Pink streamers and balloons where also purchased at the Dollar Tree.
Since it was December the party was held inside and the kids' rooms were open. I'd weeded out any especially loud or annoying toys ahead of time. These are moved to our room where I just shut the door and ignored the mess.
This became my "Formula for Throwing a Kitty Birthday Party:"
Take one 2 year old Birthday Girl
Package some "Kitty Treats"
Don't forget "Kitty" foods
(For this pink kitty party, we served cheese cubes, goldfish, pink lemonade, cake and strawberry ice cream. Chips and salsa for the adults too. I'd also planned pink popcorn, but never got around to it.)
Throw in some birthday presents
Add a princess hat
(This was the hat she got from my aunt and uncle. After opening it, she wore it for the rest of the day)
Sing "Happy Birthday" to the birthday girl
Top it off with a new tricycle from Grandma
=Success
My original inspiration for a Kitty Themed Birthday Party came from this post @ Sweet Paisley.
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