Lucy's Valentine's Party - Feburary 13, 2013

Every once in a while, I get an idea in my head that I can't let go of. Often times, it is entirely unnecessary or silly but I still have to follow through with it. Well, some time in January, I got the idea to have a Valentine's Day party for Lucy with all the neighborhood kids. I have no idea what compelled me to do this. Maybe I was trying to make things extra special for Lucy before the debut of her baby brother that would inevitably cut into the attention I could give her. Or maybe it is because I am trying to create social opportunities for Lucy so she can have lots of friends with the kids that are closest in proximity to her. Or maybe it was because I was just trying to create good memories for her. Or maybe I was inspired by Pinterest. Or some combination of all of the above. But the thing is that I am not really a very crafty person and I also can get unusually stressed out, especially being pregnant and having so many other projects I wanted to work on (more on those projects in a later post). So I just tried to set the bar low...really low and not compete with these amazing Pinterest people.

One problem with hosting a neighborhood party is that I felt like I needed to invited everyone but in my house, space is very limited. I ended up buying this awesome, folding kids picnic table from the Lifetime store that just happens to be down the street from me (it seriously is awesome and I got it for cheaper than on-line since it was from the outlet store). I had my eye on it for a while and knew from experience how awesome it was because Vince and Peg also have one. I also borrowed their little picnic table as well so we would have plenty of seating for the little ones. I also offered parents to drop their kids off (but gave them the option to stay as well) so that I wouldn't have to worry about seating (and feeding) the parents.

Because of the timing of preschool and naps, the best time for Lucy's little party was right at lunch time so I offered to make lunch for all the kids. But I kept it simple - heart shaped PB&J sandwiches, and little cups of goldfish crackers, veggies, apples, fruit leather, and juice boxes with heart name tags so the kids wouldn't get them all mixed up. I originally wanted to try all these pinterest desserts and foods but it was just too much work and I didn't want the party to turn into a super stressful experience. I also didn't just want to serve junk food so I tried really hard to make the snacks healthier (and another friend bought strawberries which was nice). But there were definitely treats. We had leftover store-bought cupcakes from a get-together with Vince and Peg. And I made heart-shaped Rice Krispy treats (I LOVE Rice Krispy treats!)

For an activity, we decorated cookies. And my friend Cassie was so awesome to bring everything for it. She made these awesome sugar cookies and frosting and also bought all the candy decorations and even stopped by the store to pick up a tablecloth for me on the way to my house. She also came early to help me set up and do last minute food prep like making all the PB&J sandwiches and cutting everything out into hearts. Seriously made everything so much less stressful.

We had seven kids including Lucy and four parents including myself and although it was a little cozy, it was great. And it was nice because the parents got a chance to chat and get to know each other better too.

Decorating the cookies was a huge hit. I'm just so glad that I wasn't the one in charge of baking all those cookies and getting all the decorations.

And I think that all the kids really had fun. Events like this definitely take some planning and work but I was glad that I could follow-through on my promise to Lucy. We had talked about it and once it was mentioned, she was really looking forward to it.

I'm not sure if we will make a tradition of this and do it every year or not. Maybe if we do do it again, I will just ask each parent to make a contribution or be in charge of some craft of something. And hopefully, as the kids get older, it will be even more fun.