4 Elements For Hosting The Perfect #DisneySide Party

Disclosure: I received free products in order to host a Disney Side @Home Celebration.  The opinions expressed here are my own.

Does your family love Disney?  Planning a trip a Disney theme park?  Why not celebrate and show off your Disney Side by hosting a party?!!  We did!  This past weekend we took a break from planning our first trip to Disney World to unwind, let our hair down and party.  And today, I'm sharing 4 elements that you can use to make sure your own Disney Side party is pure perfection.

Decor

You can't have a Disney Side party without Disney themed decorations.  Our party was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed, which is perfect if you have a girl and a boy like me.  And you don't have to go all out.  We kept our decorations simple using themed a tablecloth, cupcake/treat holder, plates, cups and napkins.  From the ceiling we hung Mickey Mouse foil swirlers.

We didn't have to go all out with balloons and streamers.  Simple was definitely more for us.  While our kit was provided by Disney, you can pick up the items used from Walmart or a local party supply store like Party City.  I checked and both definitely carry the tablecloth, cups, plates and napkins.  And the prices are very reasonable.  None of our decorations are over $6. 

Entertainment

What's a party without entertainment?  You don't want to let your guests get bored.  It's a celebration, remember?  For our party we had games, dancing and movies.  You can find card games like Snaps and Go Fish that are Disney themed.  I'd check the Dollar Tree and Walmart for the ones in my area carry them.  Also, don't forget to check the official Disney Store if you have one in your area.

We have satellite radio and streamed Radio Disney for tunes to dance to.  You can also check out official Disney playlists on Spotify or check out the Disney Music VEVO channel on YouTube for free tunes.  For movies, you could always see if your cable company offers Disney OnDemand and let's not forget Redbox.  For a $1 each you can rent one or two of your family's favorite movies like Frozen or The Princess and the Frog.

Again, you don't have to spend a ton on entertainment.  Just make sure that whatever games, movies and music you choose it's age appropriate for the majority of your younger guests.

Favors

I was always raised that you don't throw a party without giving guests some sort of favor or take home gift.  For our party favors we created mini treat baskets.  We put in Mickey Mouse temporary tattoos, stickers, and pencils.  You make each basket gender specific by adding additional things like nail polish for girls (like the ones below) and cars for boys.

Again no need to break the bank on favors.  Walmart and the Dollar tree are my friends and will be yours too!  Keep favors simple and age appropriate.

Food

If you're planning on inviting outside family and friends be sure to get a list of everyone's food allergies.  Luckily for us, my kiddies are the only ones with food allergies.  So, it was easy for me to tailor our menu to their needs.  Again we kept it simple with fries and homemade chicken nuggets.

Also when you're planning your menu make sure that you have more finger foods than foods that require utensils.  Finger foods are a lot more kid friendly and will often times be less expensive.  Don't forget about dessert!  Whether it's fruit or cupcakes be sure to treat your guest a sweet treat.

So, what are you waiting for?  Now that you know what you need to throw your own Disney Side celebration, get to planning.  Remember, we don't need wait for special occasions to celebrate the simple joys in life.  Seize the moment and make the memories!

What is your or your child's favorite Disney character?

4 Things I Want To Get Better At Planning

When it comes to my planning skills in certain areas, I have to admit that I've been slacking a little.  With so many changes still come and my little darlings getting older, it's time that I get my act together and put more effort to planning things out so that our lives run smoother.  While there are a number of things I want to get better at planning out, today I'm only going to share four with y'all.  

Family Outings & Playdates:

These past few months, we've just been kind of keeping to ourselves.  Sadly, playdates and family outings have been few.  However, I want to change all of this.  The kids are at an age when socializing and interacting with their peers is really important, especially for JJ.  And of course, I definitely want to make sure that we get in lots of family time outside of our apartment.

So, my plan of action is to volunteer to host and plan a playdate for our playgroup or with some friends.  I'd love to do this once a month, but will start off slow and do it every other month.  I've also come to the conclusion that most of our family outings will probably just include me and the kids.  The Mr's work schedule is grueling and he needs his rest during the day so that he can be alert at work.  His life and the lives of others depends on him being able to properly function and make sound decisions.

Some family outings that I'm looking forward to planning are a picnic in the park, a trip to the new aquarium and $1 movies.  I can't wait to do all of these things with Moo and JJ (and hopefully the Mr can join us on a few.)

Crafts:

I've always considered myself a craftsy type person.  I sew, crochet, do needle point and a few other things.  However, those are adult crafts or at least crafts for kids older than mine.  Moo has really been asking to do crafts lately.  And while I'd love oblige her, one look at our craft closet has proved that I have indeed been slacking in the planning department on that.  All we had were glue and and crayons on top of crayons.  Only so much you can do with that combination.

Therefore, my plan is to hunt a checklist of basic supplies that we should keep hand for kid crafts.  This will not only come in handy during the rest of summer break, but when school starts and they have to do projects this fall as well.  Here's to hoping that we don't get too carried away stocking up on supplies.  If you have a must-have arts & crafts supply or tool that you keep handy for crafts with your kids be sure to leave it below in the comments.

Holidays & Special Occasions:

Now that the kids are getting older, holidays and special occasions like birthdays are more important in terms of details and starting traditions that are unique to our family because they are at an age that they can actually remember these events.  When I was younger my mom used to go all out (within her budget of course) for holidays.  All the girls including my mom would have matching outfits and my brother's would coordinate with ours.  She'd throw a big Christmas party at our house on Christmas Eve and all of my aunts, uncles and their children would come.  

There'd be singing, dancing, eating, laughs and just all around good times.  I really want to start my own special traditions with my family.  And with so many people that I know passing, I definitely want to put in more effort with planning special and memorable birthdays for the kids to mark them having seen another year of life.  I really want to put together a great birthday for the Mr.  As a child, he never got birthday presents or really had anyone to celebrate his birthday with or party or anything.  So, to this day he just pretty goes on like his birthday is non-important and that's just not true.

Life deserves to be celebrated, especially when you've been blessed to make it another year.  I'm determined to throw him an awesome party or if he absolutely insists on no party, at the very least, I want to plan him a surprise that he will never forget.

Meal Planning:

School will be here in about 45-50 days give or take a few.  As mentioned on here several times, my children have multiple food allergies including gluten, eggs, milk, soy, and fish to name a few.  That means that I will be packing their lunches everyday as well as buying all of their treats when they have any kind of party at school.  Therefore, I'm going to get serious about planning out all of our meals from week to week.  This reduce headaches and stress all around.

Another reason, I want to get serious about meal planning is that it's time to switch up our menu.  Moo made it very clear last night that we tend to eat same things from week to week.  Even though they have dietary restrictions, I still want my kids to be able to enjoy food.  So, I've been tweeting and asking other moms with food allergy households for some help.  I'm super excited to try out some of the recipes that I've gotten so far and look forward to blogging about them.

There you have it.  I'm hoping to have these four things down and stay on top of them the rest of this year.  I will be making adjustments as I go along.  I'll also be sure to share what works and doesn't work for us and any other techniques or tips that I pick up along the way.

Is there anything that you would like to get better at planning out?

It's Almost That Time

Happy 11-1-11 everyone!!!  Yes, it's November already. Can you believe it?  I can't. This year has gone by so fast that it was almost a blur.  Thank goodness for cameras, scrapbooks and journals to keep track of the memories.

Anyways, over here we're getting ready for Thanksgiving, birthdays and Christmas!  It's almost time for all of them.  I'm getting ready to be in full on planning mode.  I'm in the thick of making my grocery list for Thanksgiving dinner.  Last year I had to hunt down ham bits and collard greens like a mad woman.  This year I'm buying both early.  I can cut up my greens and stick them in the freezer until I'm ready to start cooking.

And today, I'm going to be designing invitations for Moo's 3rd birthday party.  She's having two parties.  I know lucky her.  Thankfully, I can use the same invite and only have to change the date.  The second birthday party will be a joint party with me.  Yep, we're both December babies.

As if I'm not already going to have my plate full, I have to finish my Christmas shopping.  One year we did stuffed stockings in addition to one main gift for each person.  My family has been requesting that we do it again for years and this year I'm bringing it back.  So, I've been keeping my eyes posted for some good items to stuff in them.

It's going to be hard to sneak stuff for Moo's stocking since she always accompanying me on shopping trips for our alone Mommy-Daughter time.  I might have to sneak out during a nap one day because I've spotted some things I want to pick up.  And speaking of gifts don't forget about the My Memories Suite Giveaway going on.

So, as you can see I'm going to be a very busy mommy this month and well into next month.  I'm not complaining though because holidays are truly magical for our family.  It's the time when we are our happiest and all together cutting the fool.

Have you started any holiday yet?