birthday preparations

carson's birthday falls exactly 3 weeks after Christmas Eve.

so that raises 3 problems:

1. what kind of present does a kid need just 3 weeks post-Christmas? 

2. Because it was just Christmas, our funds are drained.

3. After the holidays (which for us always extends until the New Year) I have about 2 weeks to plan AND budget for the birthday party. 

see what i'm working with here?

in the past it hasn't been a huge deal...we just invite close family and that was that. but this year....this year is different. carson is turning the big 5 and he really wants his friends (both from church and school) to come. 

so i've been planning and preparing diligently.

first and foremost: location. we are going to host the party at our church. because it is smack in the middle of January and because the weather is SO unpredictable (it was 15-20 degrees a few nights ago. it will be 70 by Saturday) it will be in the fellowship hall so that we'll have plenty of space to work with....and if it is warmer, then we can let them go out to the playground!

next up: decorations. i ran to party city the other day and picked up batman cups/plates/napkins, etc. it was over $30 and i didn't even get half of what i needed. after re-thinking and checking around, i decided to return the items and go with plain black and blue partyware. oh...and did i mention the dollar store sells 20 (plain black/blue) packs of plates for $1?? yeah, i think i  made a wise choice :)

(source)

another rip-off i was trying to figure out was the batman party masks...party city sells these cheap, cardboard batman masks $3.99 for a pack of 4. so for masks alone, we were looking at around $15...and there was no way i was going to pay that for masks. i found this tutorial for DIY batman masks and i am SO excited about these. i'm heading to A.C. Moore tomorrow for the supplies (black felt and a roll of elastic) but i did make a test one tonight just to see if i could do it :)

here is my test one: (very sloppy and without the elastic headband)

next up: food. we are having the party from 2-4ish so we'll keep the snacks pretty simple. i did make food labels as well as water bottle labels. it was my first time creating the labels and because of time constraints, they are VERY simple. here is a peek at one of the food labels and water-bottle labels:
for the vegetable platter:

and for the bottled water (the original label will be removed and the ones i made will be placed around them.)

and last thing: Cake. i checked around and a Batman-themed sheet cake starts around $25. Oh, and we wanted to do cupcakes for both his class party at school AND for the party. once again, i took to pinterest (my BFF) and my mom and i decided we could totally pull off a batman cake. it may not be perfect, but it will definitely do. and for the cupcakes? my mom found batman baking cups.

so thats all for now! i'm still working on it all but for the most part, i have a pretty good start on most of my projects!

stay tuned for the "after" pictures!