Schooling parents to support their children, one lesson at a time.
As I pulled out my Advent Calendar with daily Scripture verses about the anticipation and birth of Jesus, I thought of so many other things that I wanted to do to get ready for Jesus’ party that we all know of as our Christmas Celebration.
So, I made an activity calendar and thought y’all might want to jump on board and remember WHO this month is REALLY all about.
July 19th is my oldest son’s 6th birthday – OR as I like to call it – my 6th anniversary of becoming a MOM! Birthdays are a BIG DEAL to us mommies, too – mostly because of the HUGE milestone ::tear:: of our babies becoming a whole number older – and partly because of the huge expense on the bank account of throwing a birthday bash. And with 3 kids ::YIKES!:: it can be downright brutal to the piggy bank labeled, “parties.” This is why I spaced my kids out evenly throughout the year (joking… I mean, not even I could have planned that one out)… but we do save up for each party… February-April for Baby Girl’s spring birthday, May-July for Big Bear’s summer birthday, and August-October for Little Man’s fall birthday… so, yup… we spend all year SAVING for birthdays, yet we STILL party plan on a small budget.
Now, let’s see… 5 + 3 = 8 boy parties (plus that one year where my oldest got two parties… so make that 9 boy parties and this year I got to throw my very first GIRL party… but before I share with you the details of the latest party I just threw, I want to give you a great way to plan on a BUDGET! You ready?
Plan around what you already have!
Now sometimes it takes a little bit of creativity to see trash around your house and figure out a way to turn it into an awesome party detail, but open your mind and you’ll be surprised what you come up with!
Here are a few examples:
I introduce to you, the magical party power of trash!
Cardboard Boxes
(Notice all of the FREE diaper boxes on that fort!)
for a Super Why Super Readers Book Club!
Plastic (dollar store) Table Cloths
(Cars were found at a local diner that serves kids’ meals in cars)
An Unused Croquet Set
Brochures
and my personal favorite,
Weeds!!!
Speaking of the Wall:E party, we reused the colorful watering can decor from the Angry Birds party and planted the trees inside (seen above). Recycle what you can from one party to the next!
Last week, we celebrated my baby girl’s FIRST birthday! (Fastest year of my LIFE, I’m telling you!) The day could not have been more perfect! And though I wanted to do every single little thing I saw on Pinterest for her first birthday, I had to stick to a strict budget.
I kind of lucked out, though. See, a few years ago when my sister and brother-in-law got married, we decorated the whole wedding with BURLAP, so what do you do with BOXES of burlap lying around your house? You throw a Southern & Sophisticated party for your daughter!
And a special THANK YOU to all of my friends who collected white and pink Mardi Gras pearls for me… and to my mom who collected all of my grandmother’s old doilies and crocheted table cloths… along with my sister who donated mason jars and burlap from her wedding… I was able to use the money I had budgeted for decorations to buy flowers to really make the party beautiful and southern and sophisticated!
And it helps to have incredibly talented friends like Natasha from Natasha’s Cakes, Brooke from Hails Angels Custom Creations and Jess from Barefoot Photography!
