We hosted a simple, low key, backyard birthday party back in May for our oldest son. I was due with our baby girl in less than a month and our son really wanted to invite his friends from school to his birthday in July.
I decided I would much rather host a party pregnant than with a newborn. So we held the party near the end of the school year, which proved to be a good choice, before friends departed on their different summer plans.
I love a fun themed birthday party but really tried to keep things simple as I knew I couldn't do much during the end of pregnancy. A simple backyard party was in order. No games or need for me to entertain the kids. We simply let the kids play together - which Brent reminded me, was how things were when we were growing up.
And because my son attended a small school, all the kids and their siblings knew each other making if feel like just a really special and fun play date. It ended up being really sweet and a nice time with friends. We also requested no gifts so the focus was simply on the kids spending time together.
We kept things simple with kid friendly store bought food, balloons, and colorful banners. Our son also requested a pinata and picking it out with dad and his siblings was especially fun for him!
I also purchased some pinata toys and goodie bags. For food, we took to Costco for barbecued hotdogs, chips, watermelon, uncrustables, juice, and water.
I used our kiddie pool to corral balls and beach balls together. I really like these pink, orange, and blue beach balls and we also have these glitter ones. They quickly ended up all over the yard but looked cute for a few photos! I also put out a few blankets and outdoor pillows for more seating options.
I grabbed a few craft supplies we already had - beads and pipe cleaners to make bracelets along with paper and crayons for coloring.
The colorful banners were an amazing find. At the time it was about $9 for 375 feet of flags! It filled our entire yard and made it feel so festive. I was extremely impressed.
We also put out our big bubble machine that we like to use if we are having friends over. It always adds a fun playful vibe. I put it on a stool and in a plastic container to elevate the bubbles and keep things clean.
Our birthday boy had a great time and it was so much fun to host a party in our yard. This was our first party, outside of family, that we have had at our home here in Washington. It felt good to dust off some of my hosting skills again!
