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birthday, birthday party post week, birthday surprise, ease, party, party supplies, thank you, the Mommy, the Night Owl, tips | June 19, 2014

A Few Birthday Party Tips

This is the last post of Birthday Party Week!  (Pretend it’s still the month of May and I didn’t start this birthday party week a month ago.  Ha!)  This post is a little different, it’s a few tips to make your life easier.  First, I found a way to cut my stress in half when setting up a party-on-location, tell it to your neighbor!  All you need is a laundry basket and Jumbo storage bags:

Take all of your supplies out of their packaging.  That means unwrap plates, napkins, candles, decorations, you name it.

Put like things in jumbo storage bags.  For example all the unwrapped plates, napkins and utensils in one bag.

Then put everything you need for the party into a laundry basket.  Now everything is easy to transport from house to car to party.

The stress of setting up a party-on-location is cut in half because all the time it took to unwrap everything was completed at home ahead of time.  And all the trash is taken care of and left at home!

I used this same tip for my TITYN DIY Night.

And also for my daughter’s Wild Kratts party at the Houston Zoo.  A second reason this cuts stress in half: When you get to the party, you can hand a party helper a bag and they can pretty much figure out what needs to be done with it. 🙂

The second tip is to reuse your party decorations for a birthday morning surprise, tell it to your neighbor!  Whether it’s streamers on the bedroom door or hanging from the chandelier for breakfast, it only takes a second because you already have it from the birthday party.  I’ve done this twice now (it’s another benefit of my clutter recovery).

 

Third, I am terrible at thank you notes but I am very thankful!  I know our party guests want to know we received their gift, that it didn’t get left behind.  I like to see a kiddo’s reaction to a gift and I assume other people do as well.  Also, I enjoy making a slideshow with music, it doesn’t fail to procrastination like a handwritten note does for me.  So I created a slideshow and sent it to our friends to say thank you.  I couldn’t worry about etiquette here, this slideshow is way better than the usual: no thank you note at all.  It’s a new era for thank you etiquette, whatever works for you!

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Scooby-Doo Meets Batman Party

batman, birthday, birthday party post week, boy birthday, party supplies, scooby doo, the Mommy | May 30, 2014

Scooby-Doo Meets Batman Party

Birthday Party Week continues!  Last week our little boy turned 4 and he had his first "real" birthday party.  This means it was the first time he had more than an easy party with family in our backyard.  And he wanted another mixed theme, this time "Scooby-Doo Meets Batman"  So I did my best to Continue Reading

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My Sister’s Big Top Party

birthday, birthday party post week, boy birthday, circus, party, party favor, party supplies, the Mommy | May 21, 2014

My Sister’s Big Top Party

TITYN Birthday Party Week continues with a post I wasn't planning on sharing!  I called my sister yesterday and asked her if I could post her 3 year old's birthday.  She said yes!  So here it is: Carly's theme for his party was Under the Big Top / Circus and it was at Wonderwild in the Houston Continue Reading

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Wild Kratts Birthday Party for a Girl

birthday, birthday party post week, girl party, party, party favor, the Mommy, wild kratts | May 20, 2014

Wild Kratts Birthday Party for a Girl

Our daughter was a Wild Kratts super fan for over a year, she knows more about animals now than I do!  So, for her 6th birthday party (last fall) she wanted it at the Houston Zoo with a Wild Kratts theme.  Wild Kratts is not a merchandised show, there aren't any toys or packaged invitations.  The Continue Reading

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Mickey Mouse Orange Party

birthday, birthday party post week, boy birthday, mickey mouse, orange, outdoor party lighting, party, party supplies, the Mommy | May 19, 2014

Mickey Mouse Orange Party

It's birthday party week at tell it to your neighbor!!! I've been wanting to share birthday parties for a long time but two things have prevented me from doing it.  #1. No time to write.  I like sharing the story and I like taking my time to write it.  #2. Photography.  I'm usually the photographer, Continue Reading

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Hello Neighbor! I’m Erica Smith and this is where I share discoveries and tell a few stories!

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    I went shopping the other day and found some great pieces! Here are a few items I’ve been loving lately! (The white dress below & the pink top in this try-on would be so cute for a teenager or younger girl!) Dress: Topshop, Earrings: Madewell, Necklace: Golden Thread, Phone Case: Rifle Paper Co.   Shop […]

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Turning twelve is terrific!!! I was just searching Turning twelve is terrific!!! I was just searching up the likelihood of May 20th falling on a Friday with the Astros playing at home 💥💥💥 and google said “People also ask… Is May 20th a special day?” Why yes it is!!! Beau Smith was born on this day! ♥️ So the conclusion of my search is that both Beau and this coincidence ⚾️💥 are one in a million! ♥️ @joseph_1_smith
Thank you @stlukeshouston for helping us bring her Thank you @stlukeshouston for helping us bring her up! 🙏🏼 From @stlukesdayschool to @stlukeschildren to @stlukes_students, you mean so much to her and us! 🤗🥰Congratulations, Lilly, on your Baptism and Confirmation! Amen and tell it to your neighbor! 📣⛰ 
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The best gift tomorrow will be a boy turning 12! ♥️🥳

These streamers took me years to find. Years searching on the internet even though they were right under my nose! My Mom used to use them at every birthday, she’d throw them all over the chandeliers. They were messy fantastic! I finally figured out they are called Serpentine Throws or Streamers. And when you call them by the right name you can find them everywhere! 

#birthdaydoor #birthdaytradition

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