Pinterest and the Pressure to Please

It was my son's 7th birthday and he wanted a Lego themed party. So immediately, I rushed to pinterest to find all the party ideas that would go along with the theme. I was instantly overwhelmed and knew I wouldn't have time to pull all of it together. His birthday always sneaks up on me and I always feel like he gets the short end of the stick. Last year I promised him a big summer party, and I never came through on that promise. Instead his brother got the big party. (My excuse is that my youngest son's birthday is in June and it's so much easier to have a big party in the summer, than it is in April when you don't know if it'll be 65 degrees or 20 and snowing). So, I felt obligated to make this year's birthday extra special.

This is when Party like Paula walked in to my life! I went to junior high school with Paula and she has recently moved back to town and started a party planning business. And guess what one of her party themes is for kids? LEGOS! 
She brought me a tub full of goodies and a wonderful centerpiece (straight from the world of pinterest!) 

Confident I could rock this party look, I went out the night before, stayed up way too late and probably drank too much (but I had TONS of fun!). I was even more thankful for that tub full of goodies when I woke up Sunday morning and knew I had to clean the house and prepare for the party. Luckily, getting ready for the party was pretty painless. The biggest obstacle was debating with my son about where the decorations should go. He wanted to hang the table runner on the ceiling! (No amount of caffeine after a night of drinking will make you ambitious enough to start hanging runners from the ceiling! I commended his enthusiasm and creativity, but overruled him). 

Paula included everything:

• Digital invitation customized with party information 
• Lego building aprons 
• White tablecloth 
• Red and white chevron table runner 
• Red and white chevron napkins 
• Green Lego building plate placemats 
• Lunch trays (not pictured), plastic milk bottles (which didn't get used for milk - as you can see, we put legos in them so the kids could build on the building plates - my son's idea that) 
• Lego Themed Centerpiece 
• Lego Themed Craft that can double as a favor (everything you need to decorate drawstring LEGO backpacks)
  

As luck would have it, it was a beautiful day and all the kids wanted to do was go outside.  They did build legos for awhile, but those cute backpacks never got decorated :(  Most importantly though, it was a great birthday, the kids had a blast and I wasn't stressed out. 

For more information on Party Like Paula, visit her website, www.partylikepaula.com. AND the kids' packages are all on sale until the end of June and they now include the CAKE!! Only $99 to have your party "Paula" style!