You're Invited to a Good Old-Fashioned Birthday Party

For Tess' 5th birthday she wanted a "pink party". When we started making the guest list I realized that more than half of the kids that she wanted to invite were boys. What little boy wants to come dressed in his party dress to a party devoted to all things "girly"? So, after much persuasion, I convinced Tess that we needed to plan something fun for all. We decided a good old-fashioned birthday party was the way to go.



When the kids arrived. We met them at the door with party hats. They played with the Thomas Train with Grandma Connie while waiting for the party to begin.


Our first game of the day was Pin the Tail on the Donkey. What could be more traditional than that? I picked up a fancy 99 cent version at the party store. It may indeed be the same version that we played at my 5th birthday party.


Next we read one of Tess' favorite stories, "Little Red Riding Hood". As you can tell by the picture of cousins, Lucy and Cade, the children were captivated. Could it be the part of the story where the wolf eats Little Red in one gulp or the part where the woodsman uses a knife to slice into the belly of the wolf to free Little Red and her Grandma? I just don't know.


After reading the story, we gave each child their own "basket of goodies" to deliver to Grandma's house. Grandma Sherrie and Grandma Connie were great stand-ins. The baskets were lined with gingham material and contained a pb&j cut into the shape of a flower, a couple of carrot sticks and apple slices. They washed everything down with a bottle of Orange Crush in a glass bottle with a straw.

After lunch it started to drizzle, so we headed inside for a jolly game of "Button Button, who's got the Button?" and a cake walk. Then the kids headed back outside to sing to the birthday girl and eat cupcakes.


Tess loved all of her presents. Especially, the fluffy skirt that twirls, from Aubrey and the press-on nails from Aunt Shanel. We were picking fake nails out of the carpet for a week!


For parting gifts, we gave each little girl a "Little Golden Book" with a retro cover. We recently discovered these books at my doctor's office and Tess loves them. They also received a lollipop, button candy, pixie stick, and Mary Jane taffy. All the old-fashioned candy was purchased at Cracker Barrel. I made each little girl a flower clippy from retro fabric.


The boys left with a lollipop, slinky and candy. I wanted to add a retro matchbox car but I couldn't find any.

While waiting for parents to arrive, we lined the kids up in two teams and played a rompous game of "Red Rover". They seemed to have a ball.

Aunt Shenise called all week leading up to the party with fabulous ideas like renting a pony and renting a cotton candy machine. But, when it came down to it, the kids had a blast with the simple party games that we planned.

Thanks to Aunt Shanel, Grandma Sherrie, Grandma Shirley and Grandma Connie for all their help.