Well I think I made it pretty clear I am anti-Wal-Mart birthday parties. Not to say I am against buying favors, treats, pinatas or even your paper goods there. But for goodness’s sake, buy some fricking solids, stripes or polka dots to mix in less you fall prey to a utterly dated, cheesy, commercial character theme. I never planned to even consider a Dora/Elmo/Mickey party, but those dang kids, they just get so excited about such things I can’t help but like it a little. That’s how I ended up fully committing to a Dora the Explorer birthday party.
Truthfully, as far as kids’ TV characters go, I rather like Dora. Don’t get it twisted, the little bee-yatch is crazy. But I like her. She doesn’t so much care that her clothes aren’t exactly princess garb or that the only dude that’ll talk to her is her cousin, she’s got shit to do and she gets it done. Not like most of those self-absorbed princesses. (Not you, Belle. I still love you and your Beast Palace library.) God help me when we surpass even the princess stage and my darling little lady starts to want to enter the world of Barbie and worse… Bratz. Anyway, so yeah, Dora is a-ok in my book.
I committed. I spent time all over Oriental Trading Company, Ebay, Etsy and Pinterest considering decor, edibles, favors and apparel. I presented Miss S with my idea and she is not so enthused. What?
So she tells me she wants a dinosaur birthday. Cool. I kinda dig that. She hearts Land Before Time and that’s cool. But we could really go anyway we wanted with colors and such. S and I continue to chat and look through birthday party books/mags and she lights up over just about every idea we discuss for more than 4 seconds. Teddy bears, art, princess, whatever. The girl just loves birthday parties!
A few days ago she told me she wants a kitty birthday. Umm… excuse me little lady? Then she started mewing. She “wikes” kitties she says. I don’t. Not even a little. I swallowed my pride and smiled inwardly at the thought of an opportunity to sneak in Soft Kitty somewhere into the mix. She has since made a few references to liking a specific kitty. That it, Hello Kitty. Not sure if S gets that Hello Kitty is character or if she just likes cats to wear bows. We don’t have a cat so don’t judge her for not comprehending how absurd the concept of a cat agreeing to wear a bow is.
Between all our birthday party talk I have compiled a list of our top ten, somewhat less-common birthday party themes (no princesses of any kind). They are currently ordered by the likelihood of the theme being our end choice. Hopefully you can find some inspiration. Each picture should link ya to the original location with the full blog post and more pictures. Enjoy!
#10 Ballerina.
I am not anti-ballerina, I just think this would be more fun once she is actually in ballet or at least dance.
#9 Lady Bug Girl.
We both really like Lady Bug Girl. She’s girly and a superhero and she has a dog. And she is a literary character. Now that I think about it, maybe I should talk her up a little more to S and see if we can’t get her bumped up all the way to the #1 position! On the other hand, not a lot done with her birthday party-wise in the blogosphere. Here’s a cute invite I’d probably mimic.
#8 Beach.
This is a little awkward for a February (indoors) birthday party, but that could make it more fun.
#7 Alphabet
One of my contributions. I love stuff like this where you can pull anything you want into “decor”. Plus I’m a nerd for letters…
#6 Dora
So I would still stick to my original color inspiration but here is a pretty cute little party.
#5 If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
We both love this book. And we love cookies. And milk. Fun, cute and a little quirky!
#4 Hot Air Balloon
Confession. Completely my idea. I could talk her into it and it would be super cute though…
#3 Superhero
My girl does love her superheroes! And I love that foam eye masks with glitter pens and foam stickers is the perfect activity!
#2 Dinosaur Party
This photo/link is a for a boy’s party. I would change the colors a little for sure, but I like the overall vibe. I would also find some way to incorporate “tree stars”.
#1.5 Hello Kitty (’cause idk whether she means Hello Kitty or not)
Not my thing, but this is an awfully cute party!
#1 Kitty Party
Yes if we do this, we will do this. Kitty, kitty. Vintage, crazy and unlike any child’s party i’ve been too. Hell, I’ll let her wear an ugly ol’ cat sweater if she wants. ;)
That’s it.
Cheers!
Life Styled by Elle 