The Lego Party - Part Two

When I asked my friend Amy to take photos of H's 5th birthday party I knew she'd do a great job, but I wasn't prepared for just how beautifully she'd capture all the special moments that made up that great day.    There's just so much to share and tell, so I'll jump right back in.

After we spent some time outside, it became clear that the kids (and adults) were getting warm.  We moved everyone inside for our version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey...only this time it was Pin the Birthday Number on the Minifig.  I found a basic black and white outline of a classic minifigure online and had my local print shop enlarge it for me.   Using the same Avery round label stickers we used for the water bottles, we made #5 stickers for each child.   We wrote their name on the front of the sticker and had them try to get as close the number 5 on the minifig's chest as possible.  We had a couple of peekers...but it was all great fun. 

The kids cooled off, and it was back outside for cupcakes and singing.

There are those stickers again!   I had NO idea they'd come in so handy.   The cupcakes were homemade, white wrappers were gluten free vanilla and red wrappers were regular vanilla.    Can you tell it was my first time frosting cupcakes?   My best friend drove down to help with final party prep a night early and we laughed and laughed about how "artistic" and "homemade" they looked. 

We played "Guess How Many Legos?"

And just generally had fun.....

We made our way back inside for presents.  I was torn about opening presents during the party.  When I was a kid, we always opened presents during the party, but it seems that this is out of fashion nowadays.  I've been to many parties where the presents sit discretely out of the way until after all the kids leave.   I'm not sure the reason for this change in social norm, but I decided I wanted my son to open his gifts while his friends were there.  If for no other reason than for a gentle lesson in grace and thankfulness.   And, it seemed, all the kids wanted him to open their gifts while they were at the party as well.  So that's what we did.

After we finished unwrapping presents, we had two things happening simultaneously.   The mother of all balloon fights broke out, and kids took turns having their photos snapped in our homemade photo booth - which was really just a large piece of wrapping paper tacked to the wall.   It was noisy, crazy, exhilarating fun!

 

It was such a perfect day.   The kids all had a great time giggling, playing, socializing, running around and gorging themselves on sweets.  My beautiful boy told me later that it was his most favorite day ever, and is busy "planning" his next birthday party.   Me?  I'd be remiss if I didn't admit I've already started thinking about the next party too.  I had as much fun as he did.    Thank you again to everyone who helped put this party together...from decorations, to sweet treats, to set up, to photography.  You helped us make some very special memories together. 

Simple Mama

The Lego Party - Part One

I feel like we've been prepping for this party for months now.   I knew I wanted to make it special for Hunter.  My birthday always fell right around Halloween, and while I don't remember much about the presents and gifts, I do remember my parents always invited a ton of friends over and made the party incredibly special.  I wanted that so much for my own son, especially now, knowing that he's just at that age where he's going to start having memories of his childhood.

 *We always order his birthday crown from my dear friend, Kelli at Oh Sew Sweet Creations*

With so much going on the day of the party I figured I wouldn't have much time to snap photos, so I enlisted the help of my friend and photographer, Amy Wilbanks to document the day.  She did such a stunning job capturing the little details and amazing fun we had.

We sent out invitations my techie inclined husband created.   Simple postcards printed at home that could be hand delivered or mailed depending on the destination:

I scoured the web and Pinterest for inspiration.   There are so many great Lego birthday party ideas out there.  I borrowed from some of my favorite parties and just ran with the rest.

Our dessert table was so much fun to put together.   The weather has been gorgeous here in the Pacific Northwest for several days straight, so rather than keep all the kids couped up inside, (which was the plan if it rained) we held the party both indoors and out.   It was a last minute decision to move the dessert table outside, but it really opened up space in our house for the kids to play and move around freely - even if it was a bit windy at times outside. 

 

 The Lego Head cookies created by our friend Lisa, from Half Acre Homestead. The  Lego men/women cookies created by our friend Joi at Robots Love Cupcakes.  I created the DIY Lego marshmallow head pops from the tutorial at Living Locurto.  The "Happy Birthday" flags are from Anders Ruff

The sweet Lego brick cookies were sent by my friend, Anna.  The edible minifigs I made using Wilton candy melts and a Lego minifig silicon mold.

I created Lego straw toppers using some free Lego head clip art I found online (Just type in "free Lego clip art" in Google.)   We filled square acrylic containers up with various Lego colored candies as part of the buffet.  The Lego brick candy can be found on Amazon.  We layered pudding in the classic yellow, red,  and blue Lego colors - although in the above picture it's been mixed a bit after one of the kids was eating it.   I dipped giant pretzel sticks in more Wilton candy melts and sprinkled them with coordinating colored sugar - they were also placed in the square acrylic containers.   Our water bottle labels were handmade.   I cut 2 inch strips of bright card stock and placed a hand made sticker (Avery round lables) dead center.   I sealed it to the water bottles using clear packing tape.  Here's a good water bottle label tutorial.

Most of our decorations were handmade.  From the giant Lego artwork created using old canvases, empty satin ribbon spools, craft paper, puffy alphabet letters and spray paint, to the paper garland from Hoop Da Loop on Etsy and my friend Lavina.   Our home looked like a Craft Warehouse and Lego factory exploded in it for several weeks prior to the party.

 This great poster with Hunter's name came from Anders Ruff.

Once the kids all arrived it was time to get down to some serious party fun.  They all received Lego minfig t-shirts I created using iron on transfer paper.  A few of the little girls opted not to wear their t-shirt during the party in lieu of their cute party dresses.  Who could blame them?  I made goody bags to look like Lego bricks and printed out each child's name in a free Lego font I found online, coloring around their name in yellow to give it the classic Lego appearance.     Inside each gift bag I placed some Lego crayons, stickers and handmade Lego rings and necklaces for each child to wear.

 

Party bags securely in little hands, it was time to get down to the business of partying.  We took the kids outside for photos in the Lego Minifig Place-Your-Face cardboard cutout I created.   This was a huge hit for parents and kids alike.   They all lined up to wait patiently for their turn to be photographed. 

We attempted a relay race where two teams split up and ran a Lego atop a spoon down the length of the yard and placed it into a bowl on the other side.

Notice I said, "attempted."  The first few runners were totally on point, dashing across the lawn.  But apparently the waiting in line was too much for the other 4 and 5 year olds, because soon, this is what we found:

I should have known that the big bin of Legos would be more fun than an organized relay race!

I let the kids play for a bit, and then we moved onto the pinata!   Picture high pitched excited squeals and a raucous round of,  "Pinaaaaaaata!!!!!" when the kids saw it come out.   I opted for a pull string pinata because, well...I'm just leery of 5 year olds and sticks.   Call me crazy.   I followed the pinata tutorial From Delia Creates and it turned out great!

We opted to fill the pinata with goody bags instead of loose candy.  Each bag contained a little Lego notepad, a Lego Memory game, and some Lego brick candy.   All the kids picked out one bag - no hurt feelings because someone wasn't quick enough to gather up loose candy.  Not pushing, frantic grabbing, shoving, etc.    The pinata, because it wasn't bashed open with a stick can be used as a decoration in my sons bedroom now that the party is over.  (Did I mention he's getting a bedroom remodel in Lego paraphernalia?) 

Part 2 still to come...

Simple Mama

Ikea Hack - Lack Lego Table

I've been looking and looking for a suitable Lego table for my son.   Something that was durable, lightweight, large enough for some serious Lego building marathons, but not so big as to overwhelm our living space - and finally, not terribly expensive.

 Everything I found online was either hideous, over $100, or huge!   I searched Craigslist.  I searched Freecycle.   I looked on Ebay and Etsy.  Nothing fit the bill. 

I contemplated building my own, but I'm not terribly handy with a saw or drill.  And by not terribly handy, I mean I didn't want to end up in the emergency room missing a finger. 

On a whim, I typed in Lego Table on Pinterest and was rewarded with this Ikea hack.  

Yes!   Something I could do.  No sawing, drilling, painting, or sweating.   Ikea is located just across the river from us.   Lack tables?   $10 bucks.   Amazon Prime for the four 10 inch Lego base plates?  $23.   The epoxy I already had.   Far under the $100.00 Lego tables I'd been eying online. 

I ordered the base plates and made my way to Ikea a few days later while The Boy was at preschool.  So excited was I, that I put the table together the same day I had all the materials gathered.   Ikea Lack tables are amazingly lightweight.   The table itself measures 21x21 - which allows just a bit of red(!!) to peek out from around the sides of the base plates.  

I used E 6000 adesive epoxy to glue all the base plates securely to the table.  Before it set, I made sure to space the base plates with blue Lego pieces.  This is VERY important. If you butt them right up next to each other where the 4 corners meet your Legos won't lock down correctly.   You can see the small gap that is necessary for interlocking Lego pieces in the first picture, dead center.

The final table is totally awesome if I do say so.   It's already receiving a ton of play and was a perfect addition to our Lego party we had this weekend.  (Those photos coming soon.) 

If you build it....

Simple Mama