Sicily La Sweet's Lalaloopsy Party!

My girl loves Lalaloopsy!  Her bedroom has been taken over by these quirky little dolls and their fun pets and accessories.  Ok, if I'm honest, our entire house if overflowing with Lalaloopsy love.  So the theme for this year's birthday party has been decided since the day after last year's birthday party.  (Merida still has a strong presence around here, too, in case you were wondering.  My girl is loyal to her collections!)

Lalaloopsy may be the easiest party to decorate for.  Lalaloopsy is built around sewing and repurposing.  So that's how I decorated.  I gathered thread and yarn and old flower pots and bowls.  And, of course, I brought in all of the birthday girl's Lalaloopsy collection to finish it all off.

For treats I played with the names of some of the Lalaloopsy friends.  We had Mango's Tiki Punch, Dot's Garden of Stars, Bubble Smack n Pop's gumballs, a Lala-Oopsy mini fairy cake, Crumb Sugar Cookie's button cookies, Lalaloopsy yarn, and Cloud E Sky's ferris wheel in the clouds cake.  

As guests arrived they were welcomed with coloring sheets and treat bag decorating.  Everyone was asked to guess how many buttons were in Harmony B. Sharp's jar of buttons.  And, of course, the doll house provided entertainment for all ages.  

Since Lalaloopsies are "sewn" together, I knew I wanted to make a sewing craft.  We made Crumb Sugar Cookie's pet mouse.  To prep the craft I cut out the shapes and added eyes ahead of time.  Since we had a wide range of ages, I also punched holes along the felt to make it easy for our younger guests to follow along.  The finished mice were so cute and everyone had so much fun making them!  

Every year my kids get their own personal birthday cake before we share a bigger cake with everyone else.  It's a treat they look forward to and guard from their siblings for the rest of their birthday week!  Sicily's personal cake was topped with two new Lala-Oopsy mini fairies.  She also got a few new Lalaloopsy friends as gifts.  (We're going to have to build them their own room soon!)  

At the end of the party we gathered on the couch with popcorn and pretzels to watch "Lala-Oopsy: A Sew Magical Tale".  It was the perfect way to end a great party.  The birthday girl had "sew" much fun!  And really does anything else matter.  I love this girl and her lalaloopsy loving spirit.  Happy Birthday Sicily La Sweet!

Brave

Legend has it that late last night, a brave group embarked on an epic adventure to change their fate.  At the Queen's request, they had accepted the invitation to celebrate the birthday of the beautiful princess.

After the castle was decorated and a feast prepared, the eager princess awaited each guest's arrival.  As darkness fell on the grounds of the Scottish castle, the will o' the wisps led the way to the castle door, lest the guests lose their way.

A wild group of princesses they were!  All brave and strong.  They donned their crowns and wore their clan tartans with pride!

Once all of the guests had arrived, the adventure began.  The will o' the wisps led them on a journey high and low in search of their destiny, leaving clues for them along the path.

The last clue read, "In the dark forests of Scotland lurks danger and magic.  You must take up a bow to defend your friends from the danger hiding behind the castle.  It is your destiny!"  So the brave princesses armed themselves with bow and arrow and ran to the backyard to fight the demon bear Mor'du.

After successfully defeating Mor'du, they promptly celebrated with cake and feasting!  

Such adventure is tiring for even the bravest girl, so they all changed into their pajamas and snuggled in close to watch Brave Merida change her fate and discovery her own destiny.

But this legend is more than a story.  "All legends are lessons.  They ring with truth."*  This tale is no different.  The truth is that these girls are brave and strong, wild and free.  And they "will shoot for their own hand."*  Their destiny is theirs to discover.  (With the help of a little magic along the way, of course.)

*quotes from Disney-Pixar's Brave

credits:

pattern for bow and arrow: Skip to My Lou

Brave printables: Disney

A boy's party

Christopher's birthday party this year was a little different for us. He's outgrown themed parties and moved into The Sleepover. And nothing says boy's night sleepover like a bonfire and late night video games! So that's what we did, or I should say, they did (I went to sleep). We ate s'mores until their bellies were stuffed and then they played with the Wii until the wee hours of the morning. They all woke up happily groggy for a big breakfast and then played the Wii some more. And it all ended with a very satisfied birthday boy who crashed early the next night.