The Dinosaur Birthday Party

Last weekend we celebrated William turning four by inviting a few friends over to someone else's backyard for cake. Originally it was going to be a play-date in the park but our good friends Shawna and Scott called us up a few days before and suggested we just do it in their backyard. We agreed for obvious reasons: a) it's closer to almost everyone we invited b) it's fenced in so the kids can't escape and the parents can relax and c) there could be beer.

The party was a lot of fun and went off without a hitch, except that we were the ones to arrive late! I had wanted to get special balloons for William this year and had no idea that it would take over 20 minutes to pay for . . . so yeah, we were late. But our friends were gracious to us so I let it roll off my back.

 We offered a few snacks as it was late in the afternoon. I tried to keep everything fairly tied to the dinosaur theme.

The cake was a recipe I had gotten from a friend and I just added crushed Oreos on top and a few dinosaurs. William requested we add dinosaur sprinkles. It looked just like I pictured! And it tasted really good too! Recipe here.

I had a few ideas of how to entertain the kids (again, so the adults could actually sit down). I had a "reading corner" which was just a blanket and a pile of dinosaur books. This was probably the least used space, which was okay. It was better than my worst-case scenario being that the kids demanding to be read to the entire time! haha. I also borrowed a bucket of dinosaurs from a friend so the kids could do imagination play if they wanted. William does this every single morning -- but didn't touch them at the party. Go figure. And the third game was the hit. I had frozen tiny dinosaurs in ice cube trays and provided plastic syringes, hammers and a bucket of warm water. Their job was to free the dinosaurs! That kept 3-4 kids busy for a while!

And we sang happy birthday to my boy and his dad cut the cake into giant pieces for everyone. Dinners were spoiled and everyone had a great time. I love our community and the friends my son has!

Last weekend we celebrated William turning four by inviting a few friends over to someone else's backyard for cake. Originally it was going to be a play-date in the park but our good friends Shawna and Scott called us up a few days before and suggested we just do it in their backyard. We agreed for obvious reasons: a) it's closer to almost everyone we invited b) it's fenced in so the kids can't escape and the parents can relax and c) there could be beer.

The party was a lot of fun and went off without a hitch, except that we were the ones to arrive late! I had wanted to get special balloons for William this year and had no idea that it would take over 20 minutes to pay for . . . so yeah, we were late. But our friends were gracious to us so I let it roll off my back.

 We offered a few snacks as it was late in the afternoon. I tried to keep everything fairly tied to the dinosaur theme.

The cake was a recipe I had gotten from a friend and I just added crushed Oreos on top and a few dinosaurs. William requested we add dinosaur sprinkles. It looked just like I pictured! And it tasted really good too! Recipe here.

I had a few ideas of how to entertain the kids (again, so the adults could actually sit down). I had a "reading corner" which was just a blanket and a pile of dinosaur books. This was probably the least used space, which was okay. It was better than my worst-case scenario being that the kids demanding to be read to the entire time! haha. I also borrowed a bucket of dinosaurs from a friend so the kids could do imagination play if they wanted. William does this every single morning -- but didn't touch them at the party. Go figure. And the third game was the hit. I had frozen tiny dinosaurs in ice cube trays and provided plastic syringes, hammers and a bucket of warm water. Their job was to free the dinosaurs! That kept 3-4 kids busy for a while!

And we sang happy birthday to my boy and his dad cut the cake into giant pieces for everyone. Dinners were spoiled and everyone had a great time. I love our community and the friends my son has!