Beach party birthday cakes

Our birthday beach party was a success! At the peak we had 34 happy kids playing games in the yard to celebrate my daughter's and a neighbor's birthdays. (We had some party crashers.)

The beach party theme was a bit downplayed due to the number of guests. We didn't decorate as we kept the kids outside, but my daughter's cakes stuck to the theme.

Her cake to blow out the candles was a simple one-layer 8-inch round cake, decorated with a flamingo that matched the napkins and plates. Not bad for someone who can't draw!

The cupcakes were decorated with paper drink umbrellas, with a little bit of sprinkles underneath for sand. (We are drowning in orange sprinkles thanks to my mother-in-law, and I'm glad they finally got some use!)

For daycare though, we took a safer option. With the Wrecking Crew (my son and his buddies), we didn't want to risk anyone poking each other with the toothpicks on the umbrellas. Instead, we took advantage of a few packs of strawberry marshmallows that came in a goodie bag from the other party we attended that weekend:

Sure, I could have bought cupcakes from the store that were more icing than cake, but making your own (especially if it's from a box) is amazingly simple! And it's so easy to personalize it too.

Birthday blues

I'll admit to having had a lot of anxiety this week over birthdays. Namely, my daughter and a neighbor's. And I feel at times like a big party pooper.

It all started innocently enough. My neighbor, a good friend of ours, innocently brought up the idea of a joint birthday celebration. It's summer, many of his friends' sisters play with my children, and it kind of made sense. We'd split the food, have a relatively relaxing evening and God willing, the weather would cooperate and the kids could go outside.

And then reality hit. My idea of "friends and family" and hers weren't exactly the same. The world is her friend, and I prefer smaller get-togethers of a few closer friends. Add in that only one of my daughter's school friends could attend, and I was starting to have major anxiety. The last thing I want is for my daughter to feel left out on "her" day.

A coworker suggested I just buy her more little presents from the dollar store to make her feel like she has something to open. I disagree. No matter how much or how little we have in life, I want to emphasize quality, and appreciation, not quantity.

Instead, she and I talked about how great this was going to be that she'd have a few special friends, and we adults started planning age-neutral games that we could do outside. The fact my daughter wanted a "beach" theme opened the doors to creative outlets for their energy. My sitter even chipped in with a limbo pole that had been bought with great intentions years ago. At least it was getting used.

The treats for guests? A combination of found items - leis and inflatable beach balls, leftover from a months-ago community event and destined for the trash when our co-workers finally got motivated to clean the storeroom. I encouraged my co-hostess friend to pick up water guns, which would at least get used by the neighbor kids in our July heat, instead of a bag of crappy little rings and such, and I hope we can come up with some creative non-plastic baggie packaging.

Twenty-four hours ago, I admit I was anxious, losing sleep about whether my daughter would enjoy her big day. Today, with a little planning, a little creativity, and realizing I have the best daughter ever (who wanted to invite a pal for her baby brother!) I think we'll be just fine.

A little luau love

Our luau-themed birthday celebrations this week (yes, we had two) were a smash, and I'll be the first to admit that when planning the parties I was sorely tempted by the vast amount of luau-themed party decorations and favors I saw.

Ultimately, I reigned things in and kept things to a $12 bill and not a lot of waste. How did I manage?

• $4 went toward a tablecloth that will get plenty of use and will be easier to clean up after the kids (until it gets destroyed - possibly sooner than later, given the number of fork marks stabbed into it by a restless preschooler.)
• $4 went for freezer cups for the kids to keep their drinks cool at the neighbor celebration. It was fun for them, and we didn't have the waste or hassle of giveaway bags that way.
• $4 went to leis, the one extravagance, which I admittely overbought.

By breaking the party to a friend party and a neighbor party, we didn't have to rely as heavily on paper plates and cups, which we already had on hand.

The rest of the party decor came from two sources: my office, where a package of unused tabletop pineapples faced the fate of a dumpster during a recent storeroom cleanup, and a scrapbook store my mother frequents, which recently had a tropical-themed crop.

The decorations are fun, but after a week of the tropics, this Midwestern home needs a purge. But I hate the idea of throwing decorations away if I can find them a good home.

So here's the deal: We still have two more months of summer, plenty of time for a celebration or two. So, whether you want a Polynesian-themed party or just pineapples for your preschool class, I have decorations and some leftover leis up for grabs.


All you need to do to enter the giveaway is add your name to the comments section of this post, and tell me what you'd like to read more about on this blog.

The contest ends July 15, at 11:59 p.m. EST, and I'll announce the winner later that week.

The contest is over! Congratulations to Lisa Sharp. E-mail your mailing address to me at goinggreenmama at gmail so that you can collect your prize.

Thanks to all of you who entered and provided feedback on the site.

Party planning meets environmental guilt

As if Catholic guilt wasn't enough. Now I'm coping with environmental guilt.

Lately I've been more cognizant of the world's impact by my purchasing power. I am reluctant to buy rice when there are food riots elsewhere and the earthquake victims in China have less than a month's supply of rice, their primary staple, for example. I feel the pull to buy local when I can and support the little guy.

Now, my guilt is greater. We're planning a celebration this weekend, and family will be coming into town from miles away. In all, we'll be hosting about 20 others at some point during Memorial Day weekend.

I don't have dishes to support that. And I stare at the aisles, wondering what is the worst damage: plastic, foam or paper that may not hold up? I'm loading up on plastic disposable cups, and my trash can will be loaded with paper napkins. Because I don't have non-dispoable resources to support them all. Granted, I've heard about things like spudware (yes, made out of some part of the potato!), but my budget and time constraints can't support that hunt.

My meals are somewhat easier to plan. Rather than do things like take-out or eat out, I am hoping for simpler meals that my guests may or may not appreciate: build-your-own taco bars, pasta bars, and cooking burgers out on the grill. I am hesitant to buy the veggie trays because of all the plastic, and the waste that accompanies it. A cake will be homemade, mostly because I enjoy those more, and partly because I don't want to be wasteful.

How do others manage to plan for celebrations while being cognizant of the junk that accompanies them?