I vowed to keep my work to a minimum, a vow I mostly kept. Since we had two snow days in a row instead of two days of parent teacher conferences, I added a few last minute details, but only details I could pull off without leaving the house.
Ellie had a blast.
The only things I made were a quinoa salad and a bowl of blue jello "ice." I purchased black and white plates and straws on clearance at Target a few weeks ago, and I just added pink and blue sparkle scrapbook paper labels to bring in some color. I had plain white plates and pink bowls leftover from other events to use as serving dishes for Swedish Fish and goldfish crackers (fish food for penguins), and we also put out fruits and veggies.
As Ellie gets older, she understands much more about parties and traditions. On Wednesday, she knew she was four and got presents. Today, she knew it was her party day, that we would sing "Happy Birthday," and that her friends would come over and eat cupcakes.
Tip: If you purchase mini-cupcakes, don't use a giant candle. The cupcake was a little too top heavy and fell over on the plate. No one was injured and we didn't start a fire, so I'll consider it a success.
We also had a penguin bean bag toss in the basement for the kids to play with, and I covered Ellie's little table with paper and put out some crayons.
Ellie loved playing with her friends. Throughout the snow days, she would repeat the names of the friends coming over to play.
The penguin beach balls were party favors for the littlest guests, and the big kids got toy penguins and crayons. Everyone got a custom penguin cookie.
Since Thursday's storm covered our landscape with snow and ice, Ellie and I made crockpot hot chocolate. The big win? It's gluten and dairy free. Almond milk, cocoa powder, a little sugar, a pinch of salt, and bit of cinnamon. Amazing. We adapted it from this recipe.
Four is off to a pretty good start.
What a LOVELY little girl you have! I love the birthday party idea!
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