I love Party Planning

It's that time of the year...I'm sick of winter and spring keeps teasing me by playing hard-to-get...So it must be time to start brainstorming for Ainsley's Birthday Party!

As much as I could NOT stand being a swollen  hippo pregnant lady during the entire summer of 2004, I have NEVER been so excited to celebrate birthdays in the beautiful weather (my siblings & I are ALL winter babies).  There are ENDLESS possibilities for summer celebrations! 


For the last few years when the "end of winter" blues hit Ainsley & I put our heads together and pick a theme (you HAVE to love a theme)  for her birthday (August 12th)....then we consult our best buddy Google.  

For her 4th birthday she was on a big Veggie Tales kick and their newest movie was The Pirates that Don't Do Anything...so we had a ~Buccaneer Bash~  at a local park (at the time we lived 15mins outside of town and people just didn't seem to like the drive for birthday 1yr & 2yr...we found this location for 3yr and it was a HUGE HIT...and minimal clean up)

Invitations in Root beer bottles

Ava my baby pirate

Cake

My mom gave her a Nemo pinata filled with
treasure...there was a sweet story that was
wrapped with it but as the planner/photographer
I didn't get my hands on it before someone
mistook it for trash :(

Treasure chests filled with even more loot

For her 5th birthday we had a new house and HUGE yard (in a more central area)  so we had a big Circus Party.

Thank you cards for the treat bags

we took pin the tail on the donkey and
changed it up.  I bought whipped cream & mini tart
pans to toss pies at the clown's face



cake...thanks Google LOL once she saw
this there was NO changing her mind

This was a HUGE hit!  I found this at Oriental Trading
and it was worth every penny  

For her 6th birthday we decided since water balloons had been such a BIG success at the last two parties that we would do an all water party *Backyard Water BlasT* ....unfortunately because of all the water we haven't got a single picture of that super fun day but we'll always have tons of memories!

This year for her 7th birthday she wants to go camping at Hartt's Island.  We were up there for Labour Day weekend and it was such an awesome time with their waterpark and playground.

So on this cold and dirty, not quite spring, day I am looking for ideas for cakes and treat bags. ( I have  Counting Coconuts post today to thank for the inspiration, her suggestion to use her Eye Spy bottles in goody bags has sparked me into a Google frenzy lol)