My inspiration for the color palette was non-peril sprinkles — they just scream BIRTHDAY!

The party was on her actual birthday (2 days before Christmas!) and it was fun to wake her up with new “birthday pajamas” and a darling pancake necklace (I found it on Etsy here).

The breakfast table was set for 12 little ones and I made it bright & cheery — just like a birthday morning should be!

I designed simple paper placemats  for each child to color. This kept their little hands busy while the parents greeted one another and grabbed a cup of coffee.

Coffee, creamer, chocolate spoons, birthday bark and fruit made up a little “rise & shine” station for the moms & dads.

The real sugary fun took place over at the cereal buffet and birthday pancakes station! Loved the colorful birthday banner from A To Z Celebrations (and it matched the table runner she made perfectly)!

All the sugary cereal a kid could dream of — a true birthday treat for our little one! Served in these darling kraft paper bowls. I stamped the wooden spoons with “Happy Birthday” which was an easy way to add something special. The vintage milk carafes were a great thrift-store find.

Mini yogurt parfaits, funfetti pancakes and flavored syrups were all out for grabs. The Mr. whipped up pancakes and bacon to order outside since it was such a gorgeous December morning.

These vintage syrup dispensers were also an Etsy find — and I LOVE having them in my collection now :).

My other favorite element was the breakfast “dessert” table. Donuts and cinnamon rolls that delighted every kid (and several parents)!

It was just so much fun to put together! The donut pops stood up perfectly in these bright containers from Blumbox (they have new inserts which made it super easy).

And these little edible toppers from Edible Details … can you say, PERFECT? I could not get enough of these darling stacks of pancakes — they were so adorable! And the muffin toppers matched our invite perfectly, just so cute!

Activities and Games: We let the kids make cereal necklaces and also played a pancake relay game.

The birthday pancake-cake looked like a stack of giant pancakes, but was really a cake! It was a little tough to convince the birthday girl that we weren’t serving more pancakes (that yes, this was an actual CAKE), but once she tasted it — it was a hit! This is the recipe I used.

For favors, we sent the sugar-overloaded guests home with something that would pick them up after their (inevitable) afternoon crash … Fruity Pebbles rice crispy treats. Oh yes, try them — they are so good!

And the birthday girl, awe so sweet :). A big thanks to all those who helped with her party, attended her special day (bright & early!) and to those reading now — thank you!

For a look back at London’s 4th birthday, check out her cowgirl party.

Invites, Paper Elements, Styling | Thoughtfully Simple

Cinnamon Roll & Muffin Toppers | Edible Details

Table Runner & Birthday Banner | A To Z Celebrations

Party Rentals | Allie’s Rentals

Holders for Donut Pops | Blumeboxes

Cups, bowls, coffee dispenser, spoons, parfait cups | Garnish

Each year I host an completely informal gathering so all the adults can get together and enjoy the game and just hang out. (Hostess Tip: Rent a bounce-house to keep all the rowdy kids entertained in the BACK YARD!)

These four recipes are typically on my menu each year:

Get the recipes to these Superbowl food ideas. This year I hear my mother-in-law might be bringing some clam chowder — YUM.

I like the idea of having a halftime snack table. The kids can grab what they’d like, adults have snacks handy and the hostess can be off-duty!

Decor is typically very simple. A couple team balloons and maybe a paper pennant banner hung somewhere. I also gather chalkboards and draw out football plays on them (I place them on the mantle near the TV). I also get team colored cups and make each person claim the color they will be cheering for.

I LOVE this chili bar idea from Chris at Celebrations at Home (I just might have to try this out myself!):

Isn’t this perfect for Superbowl? Check out her full post + recipes here.

I’ve also been collecting great sources for printables and decor that would be perfect for a Superbowl party over on Pinterest. Check out my Football board for more recipes, football dessert ideas, and even fun games (like rate the commerial and Superbowl bingo!).

So, what will YOU be doing this Sunday? Have a favorite Superbowl snack? I’d LOVE to know — I’m always eager to try something new!

Homepage featured image from HWTM which is included in the Pinterest source roundup.

Amy has been humble enough to share the behind the scenes of this book in the making over on her blog (which has been so fun to read!). Here’s the darling cover – aren’t the colors fun?

Be sure to pre-order your copy today (and while your at it, pick one up for a gift for a friend, sister, or for a Mother’s Day gift!). They are sure to sell out!

P.S. I just may have picked up an extra copy to giveaway to one of my lucky readers. Stay tuned!

The folks over at P.F. Chang’s are helping us plan the perfect night. I’ve partnered with them to bring you a fun and festive giveaway and to share some ideas that will get you excited about the peace and good fortune that awaits you in 2012!

Create your space: Paper lanterns, bold colors, simple centerpieces are all fitting for a Chinese New Year’s party. For a festive centerpiece, submerge your favorite blooms in water. Image via Rachel Ray

The meal: Pick up on of P.F. Chang’s Home Menu noodle entrees like Pepper Steak with Chow Fun Noodles, Grilled Chicken Teriyaki with Lo Mein Noodles, Garlic Chicken with Dan Dan Noodles (my personal favorite), and Firecracker Shrimp with Yakisoba Noodles. Don’t forget — it’s simple to dress up these no fuss meals!

A Festive Cocktail: Our Ginger Beer Cocktail is a great pairing. Or try something more festive like this Red Dragon:

Red Dragon Martini

11/2 oz. SKYY Infusions Dragon Fruit

1 oz. Pomegranate Juice

1/2 oz. Lychee Syrup

2 Lychees

Lime

Combine all ingredients except lychees and lime in cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled martini glass, garnish with lychees and twist of lime.

recipe via Marie Claire

Are you ready to celebrate?!

In observance of this centuries old custom, P.F. Chang’s is giving away Red Envelope Celebration Kits.

1 Grand Prize Red Envelope includes: A night out at the Bistro with their Dragon  and a night in enjoying Home Menu with their favorite Dragon 

 14 Additional Winners will get the Red Envelope First Prizes include: Home Menu coupons, Bistro gift cards, co-branded t-shirts

Contest is Closed. TO WIN: Comment below telling us who embodies the dragon traits in your life (confident, bold, honest & genuine).

For an extra entry: Follow both Thoughtfully Simple and P.F. Chang’s on Facebook — then come back and leave a comment letting us know you did.

Enter by January 26, 2012 midnight, PST. 15 winners chosen and announced by January 27, 2012.

Hurry, take five minutes and place your order – it’ll make someone’s day!

Thank  you Tiny Prints!

xoxo

I’m super excited to be helping with an amazing baby shower next week for a group of very deserving military moms. I’ll be one of a handful of party stylist  working on next week’s Operation Shower. If you’re not familiar with Operation Shower, here’s an interview I did with chief party planner Amy a while back (it’s worth the read!). This baby shower will be presented by Operation Shower and Birdies For The Brave and will be sponsored in part by Pottery Barn Kids, Carousel Designs and Carl’s Jr. It’s been a blast working with PBK during the design process. Check out our group Pinterest board where we’ve been gathering some virtual inspiration:

With darling printables from paper & cake and great finds from Pottery Barn Kids, I’m in total brainstorming mode. The creative juices are flowing — here’s a sneak peek at what I’m up to (it’s sort of a creative mess in my office today!).

See that cute little guy in the middle? Yep, he’s coming with me (and bringing some pals too). I can’t wait to show you more soon.

Now, I better get back to work, only a few more days until I head to San Diego. I just realized that next week I’ll be knocking TWO items off my Party Planner Bucket List (#3 and #5) which is a bonus! I can’t wait to reunite with many of my party planning friends and meet up with many for the first time in the flesh :).

Updates to come on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest — I can’t wait to share all of the great deigns and more of this soon-to-be amazing event!

Aren’t they cute?!

Recently, the nice folks at Wrigley Candy Co. sent me a huge box of sweet surprises. Think… all the good stuff — Skittles, Starburst, Lifesavers, + gum galore! Besides snacking like crazy (someone please come take this candy away from me) I’ve been playing with fun new recipes like this one.

What I used:

-Mini sugar cookies (these are store bought even, see — simple!)

-White frosting

-Red & Pink Skittles

-White lollipop sticks

*note – you may have to eat all other colors of Skittles in order to isolate the red & pink. It’s okay, just go ahead and eat them all.

What I did:

-Used frosting to attach to cookies together, placing the stick in the middle (like a sandwich)

-Put more frosting on one top of the cookie

-Placed the Skittles on the frosting for the decoration

DONE!

I placed my completed cookie pops in this perfectly sizes Blumebox and covered the pop insert with more Skittles.

What do you think, could cookie pops be the next cake pop? I’m a much bigger cookie fan, so I’d be okay with that ;).

I received candy from Wrigley to complete this post. However, all thoughts & opinions are my own.

My Pinterest board for a Blush Wedding

I’m not a big fan of character parties or most novelty themes — but color… now that’s something to plan a party around. You’ll notice I typically credit the color of the party first (in my mind it’s the star and where my planning all begins) like in our purple cowgirl party, white spring brunch and this purple & yellow dinner party.  However, coming up with that perfect color for your party or to paint home entertaining space,  can be tricky.

I often scour the web looking for inspiration so I was thrilled to learn about a new community created by Glidden Paint called MyColortopia.com which is full of inspiration, tools, and advice from the Colortopia Team (a few of my favorite design bloggers have teamed up there!) to help you simplify choosing that perfect color. They’re making it simple (and fun) to select colors, buy paint, paint your space and be thrilled with your choices.

I’ve been using MyColortopia.com in planning something I have in the works (more to come soon!) and am pleased to have teamed up with Glidden/Akzo Nobel Paints to share this new tool that helps you discover colors that suit your personality and lifestyle (so you can decided what color to paint your kitchen or the color for your upcoming wedding).

Be sure to check it out — take the My Life My Colors Quiz (use the above widget) and leave a comment telling me what colors pair with your lifestyle.

 –This is a sponsored post. I have partnered with Glidden/Akzo Nobel Paints to participate in the My Colortopia program. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

She completely helped mold the theme of her party which made it all the more fun (and challenging) to plan. We planned the party decorations and activities and then came up with a theme (which is completely opposite of how I typically operate). But hey, maybe she’s on to something? We could all be reading her party blog a few years from now.

She wanted to have tie-dye cupcakes (she loved these St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes we made last year). She also wanted to decorate them (check and check). She wanted arts & crafts (check), plus she wanted green, purple and blue decor (check). Here’s how we pulled it all together:

Bake. Craft. Create.

I designed the invite (with a little emergency design help from my go-to-gal Kori of Paper and Pigtails).

The decorating stage was set. I premade our colorful cupcakes the night before to make it easier.

When the girls arrived, they began making their paper flowers that would adorn their new aprons. They made all types of darling flowers using cupcake liners, glue, and brads. I loved how unique each looked! Then, they chose an apron and we attached their flower.

I’m calling the aprons “shabby chic” because I made them and I have no clue how to operate a sewing machine. I’ve had one for 8 years and can barely turn it on (so please don’t look closely at this photo, there is a grandmother rolling in her grave somewhere I just know it).

And now they were ready to get their decorating on. And boy did the go for it!

They were each so unique and fun!

Each girl chose their most-favorite cupcake to take home. We put them in little boxes (they fit perfectly) and they took them home for a sweet reminder of the party. The other cupcakes went on our stand and we later sang happy birthday and enjoyed them.

We also enjoyed these adorable chocolate covered Oreos (the birthday girl has been requesting these since her last birthday party). They were so cute and delicious, I could use one right about now.The purple table runner from A to Z Celebrations was a perfect match — it had just a touch of glitter which worked into our theme perfectly.

For all the unconvential planning that went into this, I’d say it turned out great. The girls had a blast and hopfully we’ve shared some simple ideas for your next baking party or craft party!

The rest of the party was a pretty typical pre-teen affair. Pizza, giggles and lots of dancing went down.

Do you remember your 11th birthday? What was the best birthday party you remember as a child?

Boxes for cupcakes | Garnish

Oreos | Sweet Temptations

Table Runner | A to Z Celebrations

I wanted to take a moment to thank you … all of you reading this. Thank you for reading Thoughtfully Simple, supporting the blog, the posts, and the goal of simple entertaining. From the virtual support on Twitter and Facbeook — to those real life mentions, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope to bring you a lot more in 2012.

For now, I’m eager to wrap up the work day and join my family in some simple celebrating. Here’s a glimpse of my New Year’s spirit:

Photo credits + more New Year’s eye candy here.

Simple festive & touches, great food, family fun (puzzles and board games!), good conversations and ringing in the new year (with bubbly of course) … this is on my to-do list for the weekend.

How about you? How will you be celebrating?

P.S. Anyone else upset that the Rose Parade in on the 2nd this year? No, just me?

Well, have a great & safe weekend!

Cheers friends,

Tori