Thursday, July 23, 2009

Ellie the Elephant Party

Rachel's favorite thing is her pink elephant named Ellie! She has been talking about having an Ellie party for her birthday for over six months. So, I've been thinking creatively about making this a special party for her honoring her love of one special pink elephant!

The invitations were made out of pink scrapbook paper. I cut out a circus tent from plain white printer paper and used a glue stick to attach. The little pink elephant tags and cut outs were inexpensive finds on Etsy.

Inside, I wrote a little poem:

And, included a ticket to the birthday circus!

I made little skirts for each of the girls using this tutorial (the measurements I used for Emily and another girl her age are: 11 x 30 and 7 x 36) for their favors. But, we passed them out in advance so they could wear them to the party!

Favors are always a challenge, because I don't want to add to junk ending up in the bottom of the toybox! My little ladies love to wear skirts and these were inexpensive to make (with a coupon code from fabric.com) plus will be practical and hopefully fun for the girls.

Packed in a little popcorn box, to fit the theme!

I contacted one of our local grocery stores about ordering some cotton candy - they were able to do so and this was such a fun addition to our party!


We started our party by taking each guest's picture with the Birthday girl - this will be for our craft later in the party! Here are the cutie girls in their "Ellie" skirts!

Next, it was time for dinner! Corn dogs and french fries served in homemade paper trays were perfect for a circus theme! Details on the paper trays will follow soon!

We played pin the tail on the elephant, had a peanut relay and tried to push the peanuts with our "trunks" - sorry, not many pictures of this - it was a circus here! :)

Next, we made felt elephant picture frame magnets! I got this idea from a Martha Stewart craft kit I saw at Wal-Mart. I didn't buy it, but studied it and made up this craft as an adaptation. We glued on an eye, the ear and painted toes on with nail polish! I glued magnets to the back before the girls came:

ate yummy pink elephant cake:

and opened gifts (love the pink elephant paper I found at our local CVS!):

She got some adorable elephant gifts including this, this, this and this, plus some adorable Ellie jammies (yes, they fit!) Emily also helped me make a pillowcase from leftover circus fabric which she gave her - it was fun to do together and a meaningful gift! I loved seeing her handwriting on the package:

We also had fun swimming during the morning at a friends house and I took Rachel out for lunch of her choice: Chick-Fil-A!

Let's see - other details ... oh, David found some circus music on line that he put on a cd and we played during the party! Decorations were simple streamers to look like a circus tent and two paper lanterns made into pink elephants ($1/Michael's):

On the table, I used a piece of circus fabric (free! rescued from the back of a baby blanket - thanks, Aunt Carrie!), Ellie herself and several white ivory elephants from Africa. David's aunt and uncle used to live there and graciously loaned these!

Cute elephant straws!
Do you remember a favorite birthday party from your childhood? I'd love to hear about it! And, I hope my girls will remember their birthdays as being special and memorable!

40 comments:

Julie said...

What a perfect party!
Your attention to detail and your creativity when you carry out a theme continue to inspire me.

Wendi said...

Fantastic job! Party favors are always a challenge for me also. The skirts are adorable and such a creative idea!

My favorite parties are those throw at home. Those thrown at an event placed never seem personal enough for me.

My favorite party as a kid was a candy jewelry party. I am actually thinking of using it for Megan's party next year. There were candy necklaces made, candy rings as napkin holders and cupcakes decorated with of course candy!

Katy said...

Oh my goodness...Monica!!! What an absolutely ADORABLE little party! You thought it out so well! I love every detail about it!!!! :)
And that pic of you and Rachel...WOWZA~you look like your mama! ;)

Carol said...

How adorable! I love what you did for favors. I'm so tired of the junky toys and candy that usually show up in goody bags. Looks like everyone had a wonderful time. Certainly a birthday to remember!

Lecia said...

What a wonderful memory you made for your little lady! Everything turned out beautiful. You are so creative and thoughtful!

Mom said...

Oh my goodness -- how darling! You thought of everything and it looks like everyone (especially the birthday girl!) had a wonderful time! I wish I could have been there, but thank you for these photos -- they are the next best thing! Love you, Mom

Cheryl said...

WOW Monica! What a beautifully done party for your little Emily. So much attention to detail from the invites down to the table setting. You thought of everything. You really made her special day a day to remember.
Looking forward to seeing how you made the food trays. Your creativity always amazes me.

Grace said...

Oh Monica!! It turned out so good. and I am so glad the pj's fit! I wish I would have wrapped them. DUH!!

Ami said...

My little Cora shares the same birthday, she turned 4 yesterday. I can't figure out how to have weekday birthday parties, and we're confused about how to have "friends" parties instead of family parties. So we are having a butterfly party on Saturday with no little kids except our own. I'm a little sad about that! I love all your ideas!

Unknown said...

Super cute! I LOVE doing theme parties!! I remember a specific party that was for my sister!! :) My mom (she herself admits) isn't a creative type and decided to let me do my sisters party! I was 10 or 11 and I made paper lanterns and put streamer up and help my mom decorate the cake...I also decorated the table! :-) My sister was so excited! Otherwise, for years we had the same Cookie Monster and Big Bird cakes! :P HAHA! My mom had pans for these and therefore that is what we got! We actually really loved those cakes until we were quite old! :)I do remember having a party at a friends pool once and that was great!

So, since I know you have so much time on your hands *wink, wink*, can you help me think of some awesome ideas for a Smiley Face birthday party!? HAHA! My almost 6 yyo dd told me she wants a smiley face birthday!! :) I guess I should be glad it is something semi-easy right?!

Blessings!

Melissa said...

What a fun party! I can tell a lot of effort went into making it very special for Rachel and all of her guests!

When I turned six I had a Holly Hobbie themed party. I remember the cake - she was so pretty. My mom bought me a Holly Hobbie broach to wear, which I still have. What a fun memory.

Anonymous said...

YOU are a fantastic mom! Creativity must be oozing out of your pores. (-: What a wonderful memory you have created for your daughter! Is it too late for this 40-some year old "girl" to be adopted into your family so I could be honored with such a delightful party?

Susannah said...

Absolutely PRECIOUS. One of my favorite parts of being a mom of very littles was the birthday parties. I got a little sad once thinking I have very few parties left to plan (we stop at age 10, and my youngest is 9!) -- but then I thought, wait, I have 2 Sweet Sixteens and then graduation parties and then weddings and baby showers . . . so i got excited!

Your blog has been such a blessing to me. I can't wait to see what you have for us every day.

RT said...

Monica, Rachel looks like your Mini-Me! She's so precious at three. : )

You did a wonderful job on that cake, friend. Really, the entire party is an affair to remember. Well done!

Ruth said...

That looks and sounds like a wonderful party. Such great ideas. The favors were the best.

Happy Birthday to your little one!!!

Ruth

Jennie Shutt said...

Oh how cute it all is.

Blissful & Domestic said...

awesome!

Carrie said...

Ok. My birthday is in September. Will you come throw ME a party!? ;)

Debra said...

Everything turned out so cute! I love the skirts as a favor - I agree about the 'junk' the kids bring home from parties. The skirts are so useful and will surely bring back good memories.

Anonymous said...

Very creative party!

Sarah M said...

what an awesome way to have a party--it is so neat to show us how you treasure your family this way!@
Sarah M

Elise said...

Oh my goodness, what a cute party!! You know I love a good theme and you did great with that one!!
Elise

Charree said...

What a precious party! You did a great job.

Christy said...

Amazing! What a special day. Your little ones will have wonderful birthday memories :)

angie said...

That party was over the top...of the circus tent. WOW! I can't imagine a detail that you left out. Nor could the party have been more personal to your Rachel.
You've inspired me to get started planning my daughter's 7th birthday party.
You know that I love the practical details of an event. So, when did you start planning/preparing for this party? What was the price breakdown for this wonderful party? I hope that doesn't seem too personal of a question. I just know that it would astound some how frugally a home party can be put together.

cheryl said...

So sweet. One of my girls had that same elephant as a baby.
You are one creative mama! I just love your attention to detail, and I love b-day parties at home. That's all we do, and it's so fun to have the challenge of seeing how much you can do with a set budget.
Here are a few of our themed parties...
http://familysnippets.blogspot.com/2007/03/birthday-party-fun.html

http://familysnippets.blogspot.com/2008/01/birthday-party.html

http://familysnippets.blogspot.com/2008/03/birthday-party-fun_24.html

http://familysnippets.blogspot.com/2008/12/ducky-birfday-party-cake.html

http://familysnippets.blogspot.com/2008/12/ducky-birfday-party-cake.html

Anonymous said...

Oh Monica:

These pics are precious! What a GREAT job you did on Rachel's party. You certainly thought of everything. How I wish I could have been there, but thanks so much for sharing the pics.
Everything turned out so adorable and I too LOVE the pic of you & Rachel.
It was good to talk with you this morning, Honey.

God Bless, & hugs & kisses to the birthday girl!

Lots of love, Grandma

SchoolinRhome said...

What an amazingly awesome party! I always am so inspired with your ideas! I love creative things and people and you are certainly one of those creative people!

Sheri said...

Monica, this was such a precious party!!! What a wonderful idea and such special memories!

Michelle said...

What a coicidence! We also just had an Ellie party for my little one who turned 3!! Lilyann also has a little pink elephant named Ellie that is her favorite. You went all out! Very cute ideas! Come on over and see our elephant cake! It was such a fun birthday!!

Mary Ann said...

What a sweet party!

My sister-in-law made tutus as favors and for all the girlies to wear at her 5 year old's recent ballerina party. Almost from day one she decided that she would not spend all that money on treat bags that parents are all too happy to get rid of anyways!

We had mostly just cake and ice cream with family growing up but for my 10th birthday, my mom and sister planned a Strawberry Shortcake party for me. It was so much fun! All the games were homemade! I remember being so excited over the cake. My mom was not a cake decorator but made some awesome and beautiful cakes with candy decorations, flowers and stuff. For this cake, she purchased those hard (horrible-tasting)sugary decorations from the baking aisle in Strawberry Shortcake. Obviously, I was quite "deprived" since that was such a big deal, I guess because it was out of the ordinary! LOL!!! It makes me laugh now.

? said...

Hi Monica,
All I can say is you are absolutely ADORABLE! You have been given such a gift, Thanks for Always sharing with us... Thanks for all my Little Ladybug tips I will share photos in Sept... Thank U Thank U

Paula said...

I've been reading your blog for some time, but don't think I've ever commented before. I just wanted to say what a wonderful job you've done on your daughter's party. Your creativity is so inspiring. Your children will have such wonderful memories of their childhood.

Julie Ball said...

This is all just incredible! I am blown away by your creativity and planning skills! Happy belated b-day to Rachel! :)

Amy said...

Oh my, Monica! You really outdid yourself. What a fantastic theme and I love the little details, especially those pink paper lanterns that were turned into elephants and your beautiful cake. Perfection!

Jennie said...

Oh I love all of this! My daughter had a "pink party" for her third birthday, a very specific request just like your daughter! Sometimes the simplest themes are the easiest to do, and the most memorable for the children. Great job!

Marylin said...

Love your blog! Found you from a friends and you have so many fun and creative Ideas!! :)

Kory said...

Okay, this is seriously the coolest birthday party ever... I want a pink elephant party now! Hehe. I am amazed at your ability to do this for so little, I had a friend recently spend over $1,000 on her little girl's 1st b-day, and it was not nearly this neaT!

Charlotte Cushman said...

Wow Monica! What a party! Everything is very cute... I know the girls must have had a lot of fun! Char

"Aunt" Julie said...

You never cease to amaze me, Monica, with your creativity.

My favorite birthday party was when I was eight. We made party hats with paper plates (they need to be the cheap, flexible kind) and decorated them with lace, rhinestones and all my mom's misc. sewing scraps. We punched one hole in each side and tide the ribbon to tie it under our chin.