Planning a Christening Party

I am currently planning my third daughter's christening celebration, to be held this fall.  For my older daughters, we hosted brunch buffets at our home before the baptism, and then restaurant dinners after.  This time, the baptism will be in the morning, so we're planning a dinner the night before, and a restaurant brunch after.  My to-do list includes selecting venues, invitations, a color scheme, flowers, and of course, food.

The first two christening brunches I hosted relied on a chocolate brown and pink color scheme:

Because I use chocolate brown as a neutral in much of my home decor and am well-stocked in brown linens, and because by coincidence, many of the major celebrations I've hosted, including my wedding, were held in the autumn, it's my go-to base color. For other parties in other seasons, I've paired the brown with turquoise, red, lime green, fuchsia, cobalt blue, copper, silver, and orange.  But I'm finally tiring of the heavy brown and for this party, want something more simple and modern, maybe inspired by an invitation like this:

 via Minted

I absolutely love this party, which was featured on Pizzazzerie, and these ideas, from Modern Hostess, but I think the color palettes are too spring-like for a mid-fall event. What do you think? Any fresh ideas for autumn christening celebrations out there?

Flowers

It finally rained today, for the first time in weeks.  I love flowers, and I am embarrassed by my failure to nurture my own, even though the climate is (mostly) to blame.  My drought-ridden gardens have been desperate for water. Unfortunately, today's rain is unlikely to make a big difference, and so for now, I have to settle for memories of flowers I've seen in other, less arid places:

I absolutely love hydrangeas:

And lush hanging baskets:

These tulips were in Pike Place Market in Seattle:

    

A magnolia in Houston:



A blossom in Vancouver:



And these gardens in Oregon:

Whining Is Not Against The Law

A Conversation Yesterday Between Mother and (Five-Year-Old) Daughter:

“Stop whining, please.“

“I’m not whining.  I’m just talking.  And by the way, I know my rights, Mommy!  Whining is not against the law!”

“Maybe not, but it’s against my rules.  So stop.”

“The law beats your rules, Mommy! And by the way, I wasn’t even whining in the first place!”

Sigh.  She says she doesn’t want to be a lawyer like her parents because “law is boring.”  But her fate may be written.  And now, I’m off to investigate why they are apparently teaching constitutional law in her pre-k class.  Given that I believe that sometimes, a kid's ignorance = a parent's bliss, I sure wasn’t the one who informed her of her First Amendment rights!  

Go-To Gifts for Kids' Birthday Parties

With three kids, we spend most weekends chauffeuring them between their friends’ birthday parties.  They love a good party, whether at someone’s home, a commercial venue, or a park, and we enjoy socializing with the other parents.  However, these frequent appearances on the birthday party circuit mean that I have to always be prepared with a present.

As a working mom, I have little time or inclination for last-minute shopping trips to brick and mortar toy and book stores (my apologies to such merchants, but schlepping three kids around in a gas guzzling SUV in our town’s heavy traffic and hot weather is not conducive to maintaining my sanity).  I also strongly prefer to give personalized gifts, as most kids narcissistically love to receive things with their names on them, and presenting something personalized conveys a subtle sense of thoughtfulness, which a hastily purchased toy usually doesn’t.  I also don’t want to buy junk that will get thrown away or garage-saled immediately.  So, I employ some organizational strategies to plan and buy gifts ahead:

• I keep an updated list of the kids’ closest friends and classmates on my iPhone, along with their birth months.  Since my iPhone and I are inseparable (unlike a paper list, which I would lose), I always have a gift recipient list handy.

• I spend no more than 5 minutes, once a month, here, looking for can’t-miss deals on personalized kids’ stuff.

• When I find a deal, I hop on it and order enough for all of the children on our gift list, for the coming year.   

• I also take advantage of Amazon’s 4-for-3 deals and purchase budget-friendly and kid-pleasing items like Melissa & Doug sticker books and puzzles, to give as presents for acquaintances and unexpected party invitations.

• I then store all of these gifts, personalized and stock, in a spare bedroom closet along with wrap.  It’s not well organized, but at least it’s all in one place.

And voila, I’m done with birthday present shopping for the year, usually in one or two quick and inexpensive online shopping sprees.  No frantic, last-minute, pre-party trips to the toy store on Saturday mornings!

Examples of my purchased-in-advance personalized presents:

• Three years ago, I used the “secret sale codes” at Pottery Barn Kids and scored over two dozen kids’ beach towels for $6.99 each, including shipping and personalization.  They normally cost $31.  They were a hit each time, and my oldest daughter loves it when she often sees the recipients with their towels at swim lessons or a pool party.

• I took advantage of a similar short-term sale at Williams-Sonoma and bought ten personalized pink kids’ aprons for $1.99 each, again, including personalization and shipping.  These normally retail for $26 each.  At the time, my oldest daughter and her friends were all taking weekly cooking classes at their school, so they made for timely and appreciated gifts, especially when paired with pink spatulas and signed cookbooks from our favorite local kids’ culinary expert.

• This year, taking a cue from my oldest who loves to write her friends letters on her personalized stationery, I bought all the older kids on my list personalized notecards from Shutterfly during one of their awesome sales coupled with a free shipping promotion.  Because I ordered so many sets, the total cost was around $5 per gift recipient for a dozen personalized cards with envelopes.  I wrap each set in pretty ribbon and include a sheet of stickers.  Simple and easy. 

• For younger kids, I buy personalized piggy banks in bulk during Nordstrom’s anniversary sale (which is obviously an annual event) for $10-11.  Nordstrom clerks personalize them on the spot, in the store, and do a lovely job.  I’ve bought so many dozens over the years that I am now referred to by name as “the piggy bank lady” when I walk into my local store.  There are worse nicknames, I suppose!

• For parties where there is an express no-gifts request, or where charitable donations are preferred, we either donate online to our favorite local kids’ charity or arrange for a symbolic adoption of a dolphin or other popular animal through an environmental organization.

• Finally, we often give close friends and family personalized storybooks (like these or these) or photo books.  Again, I wait for special promotions, and then buy as many as possible in advance of when I need them.  Next year, I’m considering giving personalized placemats or plates. I've also seen great ideas on Etsy, like personalized super-hero capes and library bags.

You may be wondering: Do I ever buy personalized gifts for children who end up not inviting my kids to their parties?  Yep, but because I’m judicious with my advance purchase birthday gift list, it’s only happened twice.  And both times, we just gave the birthday child the gift anyway -- after all, presents shouldn't be tied to parties, and vice versa.

Because I love to save time and money, I’d love to hear your gift-giving strategies, too!

Virtual Vacation

It’s hot.  Over-a-hundred-degrees-every-day hot.  And while we’re used to summer heat in these parts, this year, it started getting hot in April.  It’s only mid-June now, but already, it’s been a long summer of cabin fever interrupted only by quick respites in our pool or lake.  And it has me dreaming of cooler places. 

Last summer, we escaped to beautiful Cannon Beach, Oregon where we rented a house and reveled in the 50-degree temps and cloudy skies. We woke early in the mornings to walk the beach and spy starfish of all colors in the tide pools. In the afternoons, the girls wore hoodies as they built sandcastles, and my husband and I wrapped ourselves in wool blankets as we read novels on the deck. It was divine.

via my talented step-dad

This summer, work and family obligations preclude our travel to a cool climate destination, so my getaway from the heat must be virtual.  Where to go on this daydreamy vacation?

Perhaps Bar Harbor, Maine, which we loved visiting on weekends when we lived in Boston:

via 

via

Or Mackinac Island, Michigan, where I spent many happy childhood vacations:

via

Or maybe the San Juan Islands, where we vacationed three years ago:

via

via

And I always love the Northern Californian coast:

(my own photos)

Or maybe back to Cannon Beach, one of the most charming and lovely beach towns I’ve visited:

(my own)

For those of you in hot climates, where would you like to go to cool down this summer?

(shared with Censational Girl and Memories by the Mile)

My daughters' joint birthday party

So let’s start with the fun and frivolous part of my parenting: planning the girls’ birthday parties.  Two of my daughters share a birthday (same day, three years apart), and I take advantage of this economy of scale by hosting one big party for both. Because we host the party at our local children’s museum each year (lots of safe space for the kids to run around + someone else doing the clean-up = easy party on the parents), we are limited in our “theme” and space design options.  Without the ability to create elaborate spreads and backdrops, I instead try to choose a simple motif to carry through the party, from the invitations to the décor to the cake to the favors to the thank-you notes.  This year, the lovely work of Sarah + Abraham, which I discovered through Etsy, provided a starting point for inspiration.  They designed and produced these charming invitations which were printed on beautiful, thick paper:

After falling in love with the invitations, I decided to use silhouettes --- of both the girls and butterflies --- as recurring themes through the party:

We made the cupcakes ourselves, but dressed them up with Sarah + Abraham’s cupcake toppers:

Even the girls' dresses had butterflies:

I must admit I became obsessed with these personalized muslin favor bags: 

which we filled with museum passes and yummy madeleine tea cakes, in honor of our eldest daughter:

After the big museum party, where we hosted 40+ kids and their parents for pizza, fruit, and cupcakes, we celebrated with a family dinner, cake, and presents at home: 

These birthday angel figurines were given to me by my grandmother many years ago; I now "re-gift" them to my girls, for a bit of nostalgia:

Finally, in honor of our middle daughter, a sassy redhead, we drank:

I am grateful to the following vendors, most of which are mom-owned businesses (which I love supporting!), for their creativity, talent, and excellent customer service:

Invitations, cupcake toppers, favor stickers, and thank-you notes: Sarah + Abraham

Personalized muslin favor bags: Perideau Designs

Butterfly oreo pops: Sweeties by Kim

Pink cakes with girls’ silhouettes: Polkadots Cupcake Factory

Rose macarons: La Patisserie

Birthday girls’ dresses: Hopscotch Designs

Birthday Girl #2’s Headband: Lizzie, Izzie, and James

Petite fille onesie on baby sister: Chocolatine

Most importantly, the kids had fun; my sweet daughters were delighted by the “prettiness” of the festivities; and because of the party’s relative simplicity, I had time to celebrate and reflect on the joy my children bring me.  I even remembered to take some cake to my aforementioned next-door neighbor.  :) And now, I’m already thinking about next year!

(sharing with Design Dazzle and Celebrations at Home)

An Ode to Birthday Party Planning

One of my favorite duties as a mom is to plan parties for my kids and their friends.  I admit I expend a lot of time and energy planning and executing these events, whether small or large, and I enjoy the process, and the end result, immensely.

Recently, when I was obsessing a bit over a party décor detail, someone close to me commented that thinking about such things was frivolous and meaningless, especially given the current economic climate.  Her comment was intended to bite, and it did, but only for a moment, because I have a different view.  A child’s birthday party may indeed be frivolous, but taking the time to create beautiful experiences and environments for my kids is not meaningless.  Children, and the life, hope, and joy they represent, ought to be celebrated and honored at every opportunity, especially when the rest of the world is shaky and uncertain. Plus, I am a more balanced person because I take occasional breaks from the seriousness of my other work, from my responsibilities and concerns in the "real world," and think about the compatibility of shades of pink, and cake pop flavors, and tablescapes, and favor bags.   Certainly, anything can be taken over the top, but as a general rule, what’s wrong with a little frivolity?