How to Host a Holiday Cookie Decorating Party for Kids

Last Thursday, I Jackson had the pleasure of hosting his first ever cookie decorating party for his friends!

If you've been around the blog for awhile, you probably remember me gushing about Jenny Keller and how much I adore her and her incredible parties/dessert tables. I try channeling my inner Jenny Cookies whenever I get a chance (see: Jackson's 1st Birthday Party) and though it never turns out quite the same as one of her fabulous parties, it's still fun and gives me a chance to entertain and be creative.

Jenny is always throwing the cutest holiday parties for her friends and family, which inspired me to throw a Halloween cookie decorating party for Jackson and his friends! I am a notorious hoarder collector of all things holiday clearance, so when I opened up my seasonal box in early October, I knew I HAD to do something with all the half-off cookie cutters, cupcake liners, etc., that I purchased for 50% off November 1, 2014.

That's when it hit me -- Jackson would host his first ever cookie decorating party! Here's how I he did it...

A week before the party, Jackson and I spent an entire morning rolling, cutting, and baking our sugar cookies (this is the awesome recipe I always use) and then popped them in the freezer. Whenever I am throwing a party or having company for dinner, I like to do as much of the work ahead of time as possible to make the day before/morning of much less stressful. Later that same day, we made our way to the Dollar Tree to pick up disposable table clothes, plates, cups, etc. 

The day before the party, I whipped up a batch of Jenny's fabulous buttercream frosting, covered it, and let it set in the refrigerator overnight. I also drafted the help of my husband to line the floor with a disposable table cloth and did a dry run through of how I planned to set up the table the next morning. 

Here's how it looked:

For each place setting, I had a plate with 3 cookies, goody bags with an adorable "design-a-mask" inside, a cup full of the buttercream icing, and 3 Halloween cupcake liners to hold the kid's toppings.

At the center of the table, I set out bowls full of candy corn, gummies, and teddy graham crackers for the kids to use for decorations. 

Once the kids arrived, played for a bit, and refused to take a group picture (gotta love toddlers!), we began the decorating!

The kids made a huge mess and consumed tons of sugar while the moms all got to visit and drink coffee -- so all in all, the party was a huge success :) I think that some of the kids were still too little to get into the decorating (Jackson for one was WAY more interested in the eating than the decorating), but I am already planning the next party in my head... Christmas! Valentines! Easter! The cookie decorating possibilities are truly endless! 

Winnie the Pooh Baby Shower

When we were visiting Brandon's parents in Tennessee last Labor Day weekend, I received a phone call from my best friend with the greatest news ever -- she and her husband were expecting their first child! After excusing myself to the front yard to talk to her on the phone/scream and jump up and down, I went back inside to do the only logical thing: create a secret Pinterest board and begin planning the baby shower that I'd been dreaming of throwing her.

I'd pin a few generic baby shower ideas here and there but couldn't come up with a specific theme -- then one day, Jen told me she planned to decorate the nursery in vintage Winnie the Pooh and right then I knew our theme. Fast forward a few months and the grandmas-to-be and I began scheming and planning.

Here are some of the things we came up with for our vintage Winnie the Pooh baby shower:

After weeks of emailing back and forth, the 5 hostesses crafted a perfectly Pooh Bear menu featuring Tigger Tails, Owls Outstanding Treats, Roo's (Cinnamon) Rolls, and the most decadent white chocolate hunny mouse desserts served inside chocolate bowls. 

Jennifer's crafty mother-in-law put together the adorable name cards.

Guests were asked to sign a Winnie the Pooh picture (guest) book and self address an envelope upon arrival. Most of the decor (stuffed animals, books, pictures, toys, etc.) was thrifted and thoroughly washed -- I'm going to miss hunting for Winnie the Pooh treasures on my weekly trips to Mile High Thrift Store! 

Jen's incredibly talented step-mom put together this Burt's Bees diaper cake -- isn't it just perfect for a Winnie the Pooh party?

I saw this idea on my friend Ruthie's blog and have been dying to do it ever since! We asked each guest to write down some words of advice or an inside joke for Jen that I could have it turned into a keepsake book. I love all the advice and how cute the book turned out! 

Jen's mom and her friend decorated these incredible party favors for the guests -- beautifully painted (and each one different) wine glasses. 

^^More Hundred Acre Wonderfulness from Jen's mom's friend

We ate (and ate and ate), played a fun "Price is Right" game, prayed over Jennifer & Baby Oliver, and showered our guest of honor with lots of love and gifts -- it was such a fun day and I'm so thankful for my co-hostesses who all worked so hard to pull off this memorable day.

 

 

 

We can't wait to meet your little hunny, Jen & Ryan! 

Jen's Little Hunny (Baby Shower)

On Sunday, I had the great pleasure of co-hosting my very best friend's baby shower in our home! 

The mamma-to-be and I have been best friends since 7th grade and have done everything together--we've lived together, spent countless all-nighters on the phone, stood by each others side when we said "I Do", and now we're grown up and starting families of our own. This girl is like a sister to me and I thank God every day for bringing us together during Mr. Packer's Physical Science class (after my family had just moved to a new town and I didn't know a soul).

I'll be posting again tomorrow with all of the shower details but just had to share a few pictures in the meantime. The shower turned out to be a huge success (and we managed to fit 25 people into our small-ish house--score!) and I think that everyone who attended had a wonderful time. The theme of the shower couldn't have been anymore Tigger-iffic and I can't wait to tell you all about it tomorrow!

But until then, can you guess the theme?

Oh bother.. I think you may have guessed correctly. Oh well.

TTFN (Ta Ta For Now)!

Jackson's Winter One-derland 1st Birthday Party

As many of you know, our little munchkin turned 1 on December 22nd.

As many of you also know, I am obsessed with all things Christmas so I knew the day that Jax was born that I wanted to have a Christmas themed first birthday party! So I began scheming.. and planning.. and Pinning..

I'll go ahead and let the rest of the pictures do the talking:

When I found these invites on Etsy, I knew I'd found the one--doesn't that little boy kinda even look like Jackson?! I think the personalized .pdf file cost $10 and then I had them printed via Shutterfly for next to nothing.

The best part of throwing a Christmas/Winter themed birthday party? The house is already decorated. #boom

I kept the spread as simple as possible by doing all my baking (& freezing) weeks in advance and by buying the cake and snack trays.

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Snowman Scene Cookies courtesy of the crazy talented Prudy

Boxed brownie mix+canned cream cheese icing+crushed candy cane=This little slice of fattening heaven

Snowflake boxes from the Oriental Trading Company (taking home some of the treats were our party favors!).

I placed a red tablecloth over the oven and set up a hot chocolate bar.

See those adorable straws behind the mint chocolate sticks? I got them at the Dollar Tree (LOVE that place)!

A Nothing Bundt Cake Bundtlette for the smash cake.

We invited close friends and family to the birthday party and Jackson had such a fun time running around, playing with his friends, and being the center of attention.

This kid and his Uncle Joey (my "little" brother)..

He LOVED having everyone sing "Happy Birthday"!

Thank you so much to everyone who made Jax's big day so special--we will never forget everyone's kindness and love that they showed our little guy!

Pure joy.

P.S. When Jax gets a little older and has more of his friends over for birthday parties, we're decorating ornaments and cookies! I better get back to Pinning..