For the Duffy fam, fall is all about the birthday. Patrick, Regan and Ava’s all “fall” between October and early December. At this point, I have thrown every kind of kid birthday party there is to throw. I figured I would pass on my kid birthday party wisdom to all of you – specifically, how to throw a fabulous kids party while not breaking the bank. First up – Regan’s 4th Paint-A-Pumpkin Birthday Party. (Don’t worry – I’ll share the circus, pancake and princess parties too!)
I found this super cute, and simple, pumpkin invite online for a steal. Tip – If your child’s bday falls around a holiday, try incorporating said holiday into the theme – you will have endless decorations to choose from and usually, save a few pennies. (Apologies for the not so pretty picture but I found a crumpled up invite stashed in a folder and did the best I could). When throwing a party for littles, you really have to build in a way to entertain them. Since Regan’s birthday falls four days before Halloween, I decided we would paint pumpkins.
I purchased a mid-sized pumpkin, for each child, at $2 a piece from Wal-Mart. After carting them home, I quickly cleaned the pumpkins with a wet wipe and then sprayed each with Mod Podge clear acrylic sealer. The only remaining items needed were paint and paint brushes. You will need acrylic paint as regular paint will not adhere to the pumpkins. I found this set for $18 from Amazon. (The girls are still using some of the paint, seven years later. Trust me, it will last) And then this 30 pack of foam paint brushes for $8 was perfect – 4 year olds aren’t looking to make master pieces. They just want to put paint on something.
I borrowed a few sawhorses from a friend, threw some plywood on top, covered the plywood with plastic tablecloths and bravely placed a palette of paint, a pumpkin and a brush in front of every 4 year old! I ordered a few of these plastic palettes to make sharing paint a little easier. The kids had a blast.
Some nuggets, a juice box and one huge cookie cake later, the kids were covered in paint, fed and done. For a party favor, I made these adorable pumpkin aprons. The kids wore them while painting, to protect their frocks, and then they were able to take them home. I found a pack of twelve for $12.99 at Oriental Trading. (Again, apologies for the pic – camera phones weren’t so great back in 2012)
No, I didn’t free hand that pumpkin. A quick search for a simple pumpkin stencil provided a plethora of options to choose from. I think I just traced it straight from the computer screen.
And that was all she wrote. In total, I think I spent $150 on supplies to keep 20 four year olds entertained for two hours. In my opinion, a huge success!
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