{American Heritage Girls} High Tea

Have you ever been to high tea?

Last Valentine's Day was our families first experience, and it was a jolly good time.

 This Ole' Chap helped wait tables at Brie's American Heritage Girl's Mother/Daughter Tea Party,

 while us lovely ladies sipped tea in style.

 We even made tea hats for the occasion.

A fun test of creativity.  As you can see by the hedgehog adorned on the top of Brie's evening hat.

 But, alas, Rooney's birds nest took home most creative hat, her cuteness is tough to resist. 

A perfect way to end a delightful evening of tea.

{Woodland Animal Party} Brie's 6th Birthday

My very own Little Critter turned six years old last Saturday, hard to believe, I know!

We celebrated in my usual overly-indulgent way.

Treats and treats galore.

There was cake.

An adorable tree stump cake for our friend,



Six the Squirrel.

There were cupcakes.

Fox Hole Donuts, 

 

Critter Pops, 

Marshmallow Bunny Pops,

 and Ground Hog Cups.

 And that was just on the left side of the table.

On the right side I served,

Critter Cupcakes,

Twigs, Acorns, and

 "Do Not Feed" Bears.

 I even made a Gluten Free Bundt Cake.

Can you say, "mmm-mmm, good?"  Or maybe, "SUGAR HIGH!"

Woozer, there was some serious Critter Cuteness going on at our house last weekend.  So glad all my hard work in the kitchen paid off.   Brie had a fabulous Woodland Animal Party, can't wait to share more.  Stay tuned for decor, games, and action shots.  Memories, too sweet to no record.



TRUTH in the TINSEL, A Must Have

Have you discovered Truth in the Tinsel, yet?

After hearing many wonderful reviews about TITT, last week I took the plunge and bought the $8 e-book.  I am officially in love with Amanda White's Advent Experience.  After just a few short hours  of preparation our family is ready for this Christ Centered Christmas tradition.

The program is very simple. The book includes 24 days of Scripture reading, ornament crafts, talking points and extension activities. 

Each day there is a clue word for the children to listen for in scripture.  Then while the parents talk through what was taught in the reading, a simple ornament is made to match.  What I love most about this program is the crafts are not elaborate projects, but simple, low-cost activities kids of any age can do.

Now knowing my "Big Idea, Wait To The Last Minute" personality, I decided to creatively and efficiently display each days activity to ensure that the experience would actually get done.  I did this by; prepping the daily craft items, placing them in a brown lunch bag, and sealing it off with free song sheet doilies, labeled chalk board tags and ribbon. Wah-Lah!

Now come December 7th all I need to do is open the bag, locate my Elmer's glue, and share scripture with my girls. 

Our family chose to display the bags on a cheap Target bookshelf, in the middle of my living room (don't ask where all our homeschool books are in the meantime).  A place that screams family time.  Now we have no excuse to celebrate in the true meaning of Christmas this advent season.

 

All of this too much work?  Don't let that stop you.  For an extra $4 you can buy these pre-made ornaments to color and hang.

I did, for those "Way Too Busy December Days."

 

Creative Sources:

Truth in the Tinsel: http://truthinthetinsel.com/buy-the-book/

Free Song Sheets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pemq/6299481705/in/photostream/

Framed Advent Printable: http://todaysfabulousfinds.blogspot.com/2010/11/christmas-subway-art-printables.html

Chalkboard Tags: http://scrapgoo.blogspot.com/2011/11/chalkboard-gift-tags.html

Super Halloween

The Super Family has eaten all the choclate from our Trick or Treat bags.

Making Halloween a success for us Dohners.

{Mermaid Birthday Party} The Details: The Games

We didn't just serve up treats at Briar's Mermaid Birthday Party, we delievered fun and entertainment too.

We had a yard full of giggly kids,

 jumping in a giant bounce house. 

Can you say, "Bonus Points For Momma?!?"

 

In addition to the Moon Bounce we planned a few games for the day.

Thanks to the help of my husband, Robert we created a custom Pin The Bow On The Mermaid Game.

There is something about spinning a child around and watching them stumble that make me chuckle.

This board cracks me up!

Our second game sent the kids on an adventure to retrieve a Treasure Pail.

You see The Evil Pirate (insert Daddy) has stolen the pail of goodies...

The only way to get the treasure back,

was to remove his protective starfish.

Once all the stars were removed The Evil Pirate was too weak to withstand the mobs of kids,

leaving him no choice but to return the treasure,

spilling candy for everyone to enjoy!!!

A little odd, yes.  Did the kids care, no.  Sometimes I think the silliest of games, are the most well received.

{Mermaid Birthday Party} The Details: The Treats

In addition to cake, we had lots of tasty treats at Briar's birthday party.

Numerous Under The Sea treats, which without Pinterest I would have never thought of.  Man that site is awesome. Squeee!

We had everything from pudding cups,

to Oyster Cookies (Don't those gumball pearls make you want to smile?).

There were Sand Dollar Cookies (Cookies that may border on Pintrocity status.),

and oh so adorable Marshmallow Pop!

These jewles were my favorite creation of the day.

The little bubbles make my heart skip a beat. 

And finally, we had good ole' fashion Salt Water Taffy to send home with all the kiddos.

Pinterest, how would I throw a party without you!