Every year we try to do something different for the kid’s birthdays. Some years we will have big parties, other years we will sneak away for an overnight trip to a place that they’ve always wanted to go. I let them choose (within reason of course!) and we begin planning.
Perhaps it’s because I never did anything too big or fancy for any of my birthdays growing up, but I enjoy celebrating my Children’s milestones. I do however remind them constantly how spoiled they are!
Last year Emma decided to forgo a birthday party and instead we took the family up to Mt. Hood where we visited the Mt. Hood Ski Bowl and stayed the night at the iconic Timberline Lodge. This year however, Emma wanted a party – so I began brainstorming on ideas for her to choose from.
We live in a small town, and while there are lots of activities within an hour’s distance – it’s not always easy to plan parties that far for everyone. We’ve done all of the close by activities in the past: jungle gyms, video arcades, backyard sleepovers, the pool, etc…so it’s getting a little more challenging for my brain to figure out what to do! Especially in the winter time.
Emma has taken a couple of kid painting classes in the past – where you learn to draw and paint a specific design. She loved it…so I began searching local places that would hold a painting party. Low and behold I found a place that specialized in children’s art about 30 minutes from our house – and not only did they do on site parties, but also offered to bring an artist out to our house with all of the equipment so we could have a private painting party in our house. Emma thought that sounded amazing – and so did I.
Hosting an Art Painting Party:
She decided to have a “colorful” art party, and so I began collecting rainbow inspired decorations with horse accents for her.
I didn’t have time to make her cake from scratch like I have in the past, so I improvised and used Duff Goldman’s cake mixes along with homemade buttercream frosting.
I filled the goodie area with candies, mini sandwiches, and beverages. We cleared out our kitchen table and chairs to accommodate the painting portion of the party. In the living room I set up a photo back drop – I had been wanting to purchase a frame for one and found a good one on Amazon for a good price.
Guests came over and was taught how to paint a picture of Emma’s choice by our instructor, and afterwards we enjoyed cake and presents.
It’s so challenging to figure out winter birthday parties! This art painting party worked out great. Do you have any winter birthday party ideas? I’d love to hear them!
~Melissa
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