Birthday Parties

Yo Gabba Gabba

Ever heard of them?  

I hadn't....but now I'm in the know!

As I've mentioned before, we've been on the toddler-birthday-party circuit for the past couple months.  I've also mentioned before that a lot of people really go ALL OUT for birthday parties.  I'm not sure if it's just out here in southern Cali or if it happens everywhere now.  All I know is that when I was growing up parties consisted of some balloons, a simple home-made cake, a few party games and a goodie bag to take home.  The parties of my day seem very lame (or should I say "simple") compared to the parties that Chloë has attended lately.

A couple weeks ago we went to three birthday parties in one weekend.  Myke was thrilled, of course ;)

The first one was at a rented out clubhouse at the birthday family's complex.  They hired professional photographers to run a photo booth where the kids could dress up in all sorts of costumes and accessories and have their pictures taken.  Two copies were printed out right there: one for the guest and one for the birthday girl to keep.  The party theme was "Yo Gabba Gabba" which apparently (as I now know) is a TV show for kids.  One of the characters came to the party to greet and have photos taken with the kids!  Yes, it was a full-size, Disneyland-esque character who came.  Not just an adult in some lame Halloween costume.

(Taken on my phone, so difficult to see.)

Chloë hugging the big pink thing...

She'd never seen this show in her life but she can't turn down a hug from

a character.  Ever.  She loves it. 

It was a fun party- there was a face painter there, lunch, snacks and drinks for everyone, a giant cake, cupcake for the kids, life-size cutouts of the characters placed around the room, etc.  

That afternoon we went to another 3-year-old birthday party.  This one was for a friend who has twin boys who were born 10 days after Chloë.  This party was a pirate themed party.  The birthday invitations were even made to look like old, faded treasure maps.  "X" marked the spot of the party, of course.  Knowing my friend Ali, I should have known that this party would be off the hook.  She and her husband go all out for celebrations (especially their annual Halloween party) and their boys' birthdays would be nothing less.  We missed the boys' first two birthdays due to Chloë being sick the first year and me being on bed rest last year.  Glad we made this year.  Chloë was in HOG HEAVEN with the pirate theme!  She LOVES pirate stuff right now (I know, such a girly-girl, right??).  For the party they had a bouncy house in the front yard.  Then to get the back you walked through their garage which was decorated floor-to-ceiling with pirate decor.  In the back they had tables and chairs set up under giant canopies and a big spread of catered Mexican food.  The entire family was in full-on pirate costumes to go with the theme.  Each child guest received a pirate hat and patch to wear.  The best part was that there was a wooden pirate ship in the back for the kids to play on!  Apparently, the boys' father and grandfather had spent a month building this ship just for the party.  It was awesome, complete with a wheel and a telescope.  I'll post some photos on this blog.  Like I said, Chloë was in hog heaven.  We all had a great time.

Chloë with Aden & Ian in May 2009

The twins were born pretty premature, hence their smaller size 

Chloë with Ian & Aden at their 3rd birthday party

Arrrr, Matey!

I've been spotted!

Eli

Piñata time!

The garage

Needless to say, we were all pretty tired by the end of this day.  Then we had another party the next morning.  This one was at a rented out play-center for kids called Kid Ventures.  It's a big indoor play place with various themed rooms for the kids to be hands-on and play in.  There is a dance room with a disco ball, a fire engine room with fireman coats and boots for the kids to wear and kid-sized firetruck they can pretend to drive, there is a grocery store room with carts, cash registers and fake food, there is a big princess castle with a slide coming out of it, a pirate ship they can climb on, a baby doll room, etc.  It's a pretty neat place.  This party was a super-hero theme and all the kids go capes to wear and take home.  Fun times!

Chloë sporting her pirate and superhero gear the next day

Back in my day (don't I sound old?!), I remember going to birthday parties at McDonald's!  Does anyone else remember doing this as a kid?  Everyone would get a Happy Meal and a drink.  And a crown to wear on our heads...or maybe that was just the birthday boy or girl.  I remember the drinks being some orange Tang-like beverage.  Then we'd all play on the play structures.  I wonder if anyone would even come if I threw a birthday party at McDonald's today?!?!  People would be in a state of shock just at the idea of it (and I don't blame them!)!

McDonald's tray liner from the 1980's

Apparently you're never too old....

Are these characters (besides Ronald) still around??

Remember Grimace!?

What was that guy??

Creepy!!

Even creepier!!

Hmm...this image came up when I typed "McDonald birthday parties"

in Google Images.  Not sure why.  Not complaining though. 

Must be relevant, right?  :)

Okay, I've rambled enough about birthday parties, and that was only one weekend!  I'm just glad we did the "simple" thing and took Chloë to Disneyland for her birthday.  Probably saved us a few hundred dollars at least!