Once Upon a Time...

This year Isabelle had a very specific idea about how she wanted to spend her birthday. Around here, birthday party themes are talked about all year and nearly prayed over. It's a big deal when you're nine.

Bella is a huge reader and decided she wanted a book-themed "Once Upon a Time" party. Awesome, I thought. I have no idea how to throw a party with books. Do I just pile up a punch of them together and read fairy tales to the guests for a few hours?

It turns out her idea was brilliant. Easy activities. Easy eats. And even easier decor.

Vintage inspired library card invites by PennyAnnDesigns on Etsy. I did the math: I spent an extra $2 to have someone create these for me vs. purchasing the materials and cussing out my printer for a few hours. Totally worth it.

Party favors included glasses (sunglasses I popped the lenses out of), pencil cases and pencils, and Scrabble tile place settings. If you're wondering how many Scrabble games I needed to pilfer from thrift stores to pull this off for all the guests the answer is three. If you're wondering how many thrift stores I needed to visit in order to pull this off the answer is more than three.

Isabelle even helped design her cake at the local grocery store bakery. This was a crap shoot since I couldn't find any good designs online without fondant and that cost less than a designer dress. God bless you, Mr. Bakery Manager for creating this for $20 bucks!

During the party, the girls created Mad Libs, played with Story Cubes, painted their own bookmarks, and did a book exchange. We made the book exchange a game where Jamy read the girls a story (in a funny voice and a fancy bow tie that Isabelle pretended to be embarrassed over). The girls sat in a circle and passed their wrapped book left or right when they heard two words we had chosen earlier. At the end of the story they each had a different book than they came with.

Food was super fun and easy to prep. Book sandwiches, Scrabble Cheez Its and "book worms" (gummy worms), and cheese stick pencils and pink cookie wafer erasers.

This year was especially fun to plan since Isabelle was such a huge part of coming up with ideas, decorating, and dreaming up her party. I love that it reflected Isabelle's passions and interests and was a sweet space for this mama and daughter to create together. 

In the end, the party was a breeze to put together and all the giggles from Bella and her friends created a ton of fun.

Happy Birthday, Bella. I can't wait to see what your ninth chapter holds!

Wanna see what we've come up with in the past? Check out Isabelle's Pancake and Pajamas Party and her Birthday Art Expo and Jackson's Pirate Paaaaarty.