Jasmine's 3rd Birthday Party

Last Saturday the 14th of June, we had Jasmine's 3rd birthday party. We prepared a lot for it and it was a HUGE success. It was very well attended, the kids were super cute, and I think everyone had fun when all was said and done.

I couldn't have done it without the help of very special people. Friday the 13th, Casey came over and helped prepare much of the food while I worked on orders. She also put together the goody bags that the guests took home. Abuela Meme also came and made the fruit salad and helped clean and watch Jasmine. She spent the night and we enjoyed having her here. Abuela Susan came just in time to help finish setting up and adding the decorations as I was pretty behind and we had a delay in finishing due to some unexpected rain that thankfully went away after 30 nerve-wracking minutes.

It was such a big party that the best way to tell you about it is in sections so here goes!

The Theme and Setup

Jasmine wanted to have a princess party (with princes and knights too). She is very much into princesses and so we rallied to make the backyard her kingdom. She requested that her guests arrive in the appropriate garb so we had princesses, princes and knights. Mommy had to get in on the dress up action so she donned a baroness outfit.

We bought a castle moon bounce and set it up for the kids to jump on. We also rented a castle that was built in the backyard. We set up the tables and chairs for eating and for doing the crafts there. We also had the grill set up next to the food table and a kiddie pool (since it was hot). Later on in the party when we noticed the kiddie pool was such a big hit, we set up a slip and slide that the kids enjoyed too!

The Food

No Campbell party is complete without food and we wanted to serve our subjects lunch. I came up with a menu which included Italian Sausage with Chimi Churri, Fresh Fruit Salad, Broccoli Salad, Bean Salad and my Mom's potato salad. Lorne wanted to include cheeseburgers for those guests not wanting sausage and we had a vegetarian protein for the vegetarians at the party. We also had a yummy punch to drink made out of Ginger Ale and Cranberry Raspberry juice with a twist of lime.

The Guests

We had over 40 guests at the party which included adults and children. Jasmine has a lot of friends and we wanted to make sure as many of them would be able to come and celebrate with her. Of course we had lots of family there too and I felt so grateful that we live so close to so many of my family members so that Jasmine knows she has family that love and support her too. Lorne's family was sure missed and I know Jasmine wished she could have her Australian grandparents and her 7 cousins here along with her uncles and her aunt here too. We also missed Rory, Fernando and The Hawaii Barolins. Someday we will all be together for a big celebration!

Here is the list of guests that came for the party -

Abuela Susan and Grandpa

Abuela Meme

Tio Ryan and Tia Casey and Roman

Tio Robert and Tia Susana Barolin

Titi Natalia Barolin

The Child Family - Jeff, Jill, Ryan and Sarah

The Zarcone Family - Kevin, Cindy and Eleana

The Astle Family - Matt, Shelly, Ellie and Annie

Marcia Crandall

The Hansen Family - Melissa, Elise, Isaac, Dayton and Spencer

The Turley Family - Lorinda, Kylie, Morgan, and Isaac

The Ridings - Becky, Jared and Julia

The Donaldson Family - Lee, Conner and Morgan

Evan from preschool with his mom and dad and sister

Ellie Dunn from preschool and her dad

Gracie from preschool and her mom

Autumn Roverse from preschool and mom Heather

Catherine Weingold from preschool and her mom Barbara

Sofia McBee and her big sister Noreane

The Remmers Family - Margie, Lyn and John

The Activities

No party is complete without things for the kids to do. I was prepared. I had 3 activities for boys and 3 activities for girls. We only got through one of them! The boys made crowns with jewels and the girls made princess hats. They were pretty cute. I was sad though because I had shields for the boys to make and also knight sashes and for the girls I had decorate your own princess and make your own princess wand and I didn't get to do those. I guess we can save all that stuff for another party. I also had pin the crown on the princess but we didn't do that either!

The kids loved all the physical activities we had. They loved the moon bounce and the kiddie pool. When the slip and slide came out, they flocked to that and I think we did a great job of wearing them out! Ryan was flustered when the slip and slide came out because the kids weren't properly sliding on it so he took off his shirt and showed them how it was done! It was very cool to see my little brother doing that! The Cake

Of course I made the cake for our little one and I had a gran plan of making this elaborate cake with a castle on top. I had so many orders and so much to do to prepare for the party that around 2 AM the night before as I was working on her cake, I simplified the design. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't finish what I set out to do but I think what I did make turned out lovely and everyone loved the flavor and the cake itself. Jasmine loved blowing out her candles and sang along to herself as everyone sang the Happy Birthday song to her. It was the perfect amount of cake, we had very little left over. Ryan joined in serving the ice cream, we made a ferocious pair as we dished out the sweet ending to a great lunch.

The Presents

Jasmine was very excited when she saw the large pile of presents that our generous family and friends brought for her. She was especially excited by the gift my parents brought her which was the largest of all. She hasn't yet learned about the good things come in small packages rule, although the large box did contain an awesome present. She made out like a bandit, I will putting some of the toys away and taking them out slowly so she can really enjoy them.

Jasmine was very gracious as she opened her gift and tried to thank everyone individually. She seemed to love everything she got and has had much fun playing with her new treasures. Ellie Astle even got in on the fun of helping Jasmine open her gifts. I thought it only fair since last November, Jasmine gave Ellie a hand in opening hers.

Here is a list of what she got - From:

The Turleys - Webkins black lab stuffed dog

Catherine Weingold - Princess Play Doh set

Gracie - Sleeping Beauty paint play set

John Remmers - Bi-Lingual Barnyard CD

The Hansens - Giant Princess Coloring Book

Tios Barolin - Water Hop Scotch, Brush and Hair Ties

The Donaldsons - Painting Pool

Evan and Family - Princess Wand, a sun catcher, princess necklace and ornament

Abuela Meme - Pig E Bank (Digital) and Dora Book and Preschool DVD book

Abuela Susan and Grandpa - Table and Chairs

Titi - 2 cute outfits

Sofia - Tinkerbell towel and Bubbletape

Tia Casey & Tio Ryan - Bubbles and Lipstick and Princess Card with music

The Zarcones - Princess Piggy Bank (from Cindy's mom) and Princess tray desk with markers and activity book

Autumn Roverse - Elefun

Lyn Remmers - Picture Sequencing

The Childs - Puff the Magic Dragon Book, nail polish and pink sundress with flowers

Ellie Dunn - Jump Rope, Kite, Mini Discs, Bubble ice cream cones, princess yo yo

The Astles - Elmo puzzle, white shorts, and princess magnetic play set

The Goody Bags and Conclusion

We made all the princesses and princes some goody bags to take home and we had a princess bag filled with plastic rings, a slinky, a blow up crown, a lip gloss ring, and some other fun stuff and a knight box for the boys filled with a blow up sword, a dragon mask, candy, plastic rings, and other fun things.

Jasmine did not want her party to end. She was having so much fun that after all her guests were gone and we were all cleaning up, she continued to swim in the baby pool and didn't want to get out. We finally dragged her out of the pool literally kicking and screaming to get her toweled off and changed. She was exhausted and after putting up the fight of her life, settled down and fell asleep. We were tired too, we had given her the best party we could and hope she will remember it until next year when we will try and outdo ourselves again!