Sunday, September 25, 2011

popsicle party!

late summer popsicle party!
{jumping together}

late summer popsicle party!
{popsicle lovers}

late summer popsicle party!
{sensory table}

late summer popsicle party!
{breaking the ice blocks}

late summer popsicle party!
{scavenger hunt coloring sheets}

late summer popsicle party!
{picking a leaf for the scavenger hunt}

popsicle party!


late summer popsicle party!
{a friend}

The late-summer popsicle party--is it becoming a yearly tradition?

This year's party was much bigger than the first. Ken did most of the work--making super cute hand drawn invitations and hand drawn scavenger-hunt coloring sheets, clearing the yard of any random roots or thorns that might be tripped over, and making colored ice blocks with gemstones hiding inside. I cleaned up inside (a plus of having a party is that even though it's a lot of work, you do end up with a clean house and yard afterward), made a cheese ball, shopped for popsicles, and cut up a bunch of raw veggies.

We're not really party people or super-social generally, but we do like to do these family-oriented parties for the boys' sake. We can model being social and neighborly--and it's just fun! Last year's party was way more mellow and intimate. This year's was big and raucous, but I can honestly say the kids seemed to have a blast and the parents were saying, "you guys throw the best parties!" One dad was commenting how nice it is to throw a party "just because" rather than for a specific occasion or birthday. I couldn't agree more--to me this is much nicer than a birthday party--no gifts, no weird stress for the birthday child--it just low pressure and fun.

This was so successful, it look's like we're going to do a soup party in a couple months!

4 comments:

Madame Melville said...

Looks like so much fun! I particularly like those scavenger hunt sheets.

I'm not a big entertainer myself. I find I'm best with kid friendly parties - there seems to be less pressure than hosting a bunch of adults for dinner!

Kelly said...

That does look like fun! Having children def pushed me out of my comfort zone socially - it was a good thing :)

Mary Beth said...

Thanks, ladies! I do feel good about pushing myself a little bit.

Sarah said...

I'd really love to do this...we tried about two years ago, but haven't again since one of our neighbors turned it into an evangelical event...rather odd, maybe we'll try again in hopes of no overly religious occurance :)
I love that your parties have such a personal touch to them and aren't too over the top. To me it feels more like what parties were when I was a kid...so laid back and fun, but then again I was the kid not doing the planning, everything was pretty easy ;)
I'd love to hear more about the soup party - do you do multiple soups?