T's first friend party!

T is her own woman.  She is very independent.  She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to do something that others might not do.  Most of her friends have parties at places, but that is NOT what T wanted.  We were fine with that as home is a much cheaper option haha.  Once she decided she wanted the party at home, I got on pinterest and found many fun games for us to play.  She was interested in NONE of them!  She already had a plan.  She knew what she wanted to have happen.  She wanted a free flowing afternoon of fun with lots of time in her room.  I tried hard to go along with it, but also had an activity back up plan!  The party was scheduled from 2-4pm.  I was nervous about how I would fill the time if her great ideas bombed.   Thankfully, the party was a success.  She has the sweetest friends.  They gave her thoughtful gifts and she loved them all.  They were all eager to play along with her unique ideas.  In many ways the party was easier than an afternoon at home with just M and T!  Here are the highlights from the afternoon! 

We decided to set up two tables.  We had a cake table and a craft table.  This actually ended up working great!  

The Before picture!!!

When the kids arrived they went right to the coloring table and colored while they waited for others to arrive.  I have no idea why both of my kiddos insisted on wearing PJ's to the party!

They all enjoyed coloring. 

Once everyone was here, T wanted to go and "play in the basement."  With little structure we tried to move kids through activities and they seemed to have a good time.

M's Basketball game was a hit and everyone tried it!

It is just the right size for them!

After playing in the basement it was time to head upstairs and do a craft.  We had 1,000's of foam pieces to make under the sea creations.  Some kids got crazy with the foam while others decorated their pictures.  They all enjoyed their creations and it helped provide a calming activity.  Why yes, M is now in a different pair of PJ's!

Busy kids!

 After the crafts T wanted to have the kids slide down the stairs.  I thought this was a crazy idea, but again she proved me wrong.  Every kid was laughing like crazy and doing it over and over again!

Sliding down the stairs!!

After sliding down the stairs T wanted everyone to spend time in her room doing their nails and hair and make up etc.  L and M were not excited about this option.  They stayed downstairs and played an animal charades game I created and ate a bonus cupcake snack! 

T: I LOVED LOVED LOVED having these girls in my room!!!  I even changed my clothes!

M: They guessed I was a monkey!

L: It was hard for them to guess I was a cow!

Since the girls were going to be upstairs a while, I let the boys have a cupcake at the craft table before the girls came down.  They were both impressed.  This was the big cheat food for M during his diet changes.  It sort of marked a spiral or worsening health for several weeks after that as well... but he LOVED the cake and was so glad to eat the same thing as his friends!

M: Best.Cake.Ever!!!

Finally the girls were done with their makeovers and it was time for cake!!  Brandon worked for most of the party, but came home to sing and have a slice of cake!

The cake!

I can't believe she is SIX!!!

T: Everyone was looking at me!

T: My friends loved the cake!!!

When the kids had eaten their fill, it was time to open presents.  T wanted to have a table set up for them.  I am not sure why.  The kids were all so generous and excited for her as she opened! Thank you sweet friends, for the generous gifts.  You know T well!

T: I loved being the star!

After the gifts I was able to get a great group photo! T had such a huge variety of ages present at her party.  They were all older than her.  She did invite four other girls who were unable to attend, one of them was actually in her grade.  I love that she has friends a variety of ages.  I love that I am great friends with her friend's parents!  So many blessings!

T: I am so thankful for my friends!

After the photo things got a little crazy.  The kids decided to play something like monkey in the middle or 500 in the living room!

They all were trying to get it!

These two were not as into the ball game and preferred to look at the cards. 

The final thing T wanted to do was have me read some books. We have 100's of awesome titles at our house.  We have 100's of fun and silly books at our house, but she didn't want any of those.  She wanted me to read some manners books.  Oh my heart!  The kids were quite attentive.  I guess you can tell a child has been to therapy a lot when she wants to have a therapeutic element to her Birthday party!

Sharing is caring!

It was such a special day for T!  She felt so loved by her friends!  We are so very blessed!