Now, I'm not a believer in big, extravagant birthday parties. I'm all about themes, and I like decorations, but all my kids really care about is that their friends come to visit, and that they get birthday cake. When I asked my son what he wanted for his birthday, all he asked for was a Papa Smurf birthday cake. Even when we took him to toys 'r' us for a 'birthday shopping spree', he only chose a couple of gifts to bring home (one of which was just a small Lion King plush, and the other which was a Thomas train). They really don't need much to make them happy!
The party had been planned for Saturday morning, but because of weather we had to postpone it to Sunday afternoon. Because of the time change, there were some kids that couldnt' make it, so we only had 4 other kids there. That being said, it was enough.
Decorations
Since smurfs are all over the blue, I had blue and white balloons, blue plates, white table cloth (I didn't get a chance to get a decent picture because I find it so hectic when I'm trying to get everything organized, and because we need a camera-- my phone just doesn't cut it for pictures). I also painted some smurfs on brown packaging paper and cut them out to put on the wall. I wish I had pictures of those, because they were awesome, but alas, my unfortunate lack of camera. . . I did 5 of them, they were about the same size as the little smurf plush toys you can get, and when the party was over we put them up in my son's bedroom. If I'd had more time (which I didn't, because the weather was so horrible), I would have had homemade trees on the wall, with the leaves coming out on the ceiling, etc. But, it wasn't necessary, my kids both loved the little smurfs and the balloons.
Food
So, again, blue is the theme. I had some blue candy, I had yogurt and "smurfberries" (just some mixed berries), and birthday cake. I had originally planned to have 'smurfberry' pancakes and to make smurf-house cupcakes, but because of the timechange, it just didn't fit the same.
The cake was made by Glynnis Kennedy --- Kennedy cakes. It was seriously one of the most delicious cakes I've ever had. . . I also just told her that we wanted something Papa Smurf, and she came up with this. I was so impressed. I would definitely recommend her!
Games
So, since my boy was turning 4, I chose some games that 4 years olds could have fun with. I figured that we could play freeze dance, smurf tag, etc. Once we got to the party, however, they weren't interested, haha. My boys and their friends had decided that they would just prefer to use their imaginations and pretend that they were smurfs and play on their own. In my opinion, more power to them! My kids really love to play pretend, and they rarely get to do that with a friend here. I just let them go nuts.
Party Favours
So, I didn't go with the traditional loot bag for this party. I had considered it, and then decided I wasn't interested in spending money on garbage. Instead, I decided to make smurf hats. The birthday boy wanted a red one so he could be papa smurf, and I made white ones for the rest of the kids. I bought some felt and an old pillow, got out my sewing machine (which I had never used up to this point, so I had to spend an hour looking up how to use it), and went to town designing and making smurf hats. I used the batting from the pillow to stuff the tips, and they turned out great. Each kid got to take home a smurf hat, and I had 2 smurf charms each for them (that I had ordered from somebody that I had found on facebook).
Kids eating their yogurt and wearing their smurf hats.
My kids have been sleeping, playing, eating, and just plain living in those smurf hats since I made them. They were well worth it!
Overall, the party was a success in the eyes of my kids. For me? I always look back and think of how I could have made things better and do things differently. . . so I'm not completely satisfied. I can't help but imagine a perfect world where I have unlimited resources and time. Unrealistic? I do realize that, but I guess that's just who I am. My mind is already reeling trying to figure out what I'm going to do for the next birthday party, coming up in April. . .
