It's a Goodnight Kind of Life: It Was the Bomb- Like Tick-Tock

All of my posts thus far regarding "wealth" have been about how to budget and save money. However, there are a *few* things that I refuse to budget on and refuse to "limit." One, is vacations (however, I will post later on how I book exotic trips) and the second is birthdays.

Baby boy turned one this year and around 9 months BEFORE his birthday, I started the planning. I did set a budget, one that is too extreme to even post in good conscious. I did stay *close* to budget (my husband will NEVER know the true outcome!) and I did manage to save some money by doing shopping when sales were happening, cutting coupons, etc.

How to throw a bomb diggity party:

1) Enlist help!

2) Start planning early

3) Have a theme and STICK TO IT!

#1- HELP HELP HELP

You have friends and family for a reason. God put them in your life to be free help! Ha! Honestly though, if you're throwing a huge party, your friends and family would love to help (or at least mine did). I asked my parents for help paying for the train...I asked my mother-in-law to get the 120 cupcakes...I asked my father-in-law to bring 150 meatballs....I asked Gage's godmommy to bring her world famous spinach dip....I asked Ashley to be the photographer....Vickie ran the video camera...and Meg mixed the train CD....then I asked all of Gage's aunties (6 of them- they're really my friends- but he calls them "aunt") to run the stations.

#2- PLAN EARLY!

If there is any chance under the sun of saving money, plan early. I did this and saved a bit (not much- but enough to be proud!). I knew that I wanted to "build" a train for Gage so I saved old UPS boxes and created a train (pics below). Then, I knew that I wanted fruit cups, small bags of chips, and LOTS of candy- so I bought these when they were on sale and checked expirations to make sure they'd still be good. I also HAD to have a REAL train at the party- so I booked it 9 months in advance- did NOT save any money- but DID secure the "pretty" one! I had gifts at each station (and/or tattoos) so I bought these from Oriental Trading when they were offering free shipping/discounted product.

#3- THEME IT OUT!

Gage's party was a train theme and here's how I incorporated a train into all aspects:

- The invitations looked like a train boarding pass and included a train schedule and a train CD

- The entrance was a boarding station where all passengers checked-in and all kids under 10 got "luggage" which included a train hat, whistle, and Gage Dollars (to spend in the gift shop)

- The food station was called "Box Car Grille" and food was served off of the cardboard train I made out of scratch.

- There were 3 other stations: "Shops on Main", "Tattoos-R-Us", "Molding Magic Workshop" (play-doh station). Not only did the stations look cool, but the parents LOVED me for having things to occupy their kid's time.

- Of course, we also had the REAL train that ran outside the entire time of the party. Guests could hop on and off as they pleased to take a ride around the 5 acre facility.

- All decorations were in primary colors- and kept clean- not cluttered.

All in all, we had a BLAST. Everyone that came commended the party- which wasn't the purpose- but it made this mama feel good! I've already been asked about the extravagent theme for next year- I'm thinking a circus. With real acrobats and, of course, a real tiger!

The birthday boy had a good time too...the pictures are evidence of that.