Sunday, March 30, 2014

Messy Birthday Party: B's 4th Birthday

This was the first year Bennett asked for a birthday celebration with his friends.  I immediately thought a messy-sensory party would be a great option, because he loves messy-sensory play.  We invited family, several church/Bible study friends, and a few other close playmates.  Here is the invitation we emailed.


B was so excited!  He woke up the morning of the party asking to help us set up.  He came outside asking if he could fill the paint containers and empty the play-doh cans.  He also wanted to begin playing in the corn.  It was difficult, but we held him off until party time.  

We set up 6 stations:
  1. Pirating with Rice
  2. Boating Fun with Water Beads
  3. Digging with Diego
  4. Car Corn Yard
  5. Painting with Balls
  6. Play-doh Palooza

As people began arriving Bennett ran outside and immediately began dipping balls in paint and throwing them against the shed.  We have had the "Painting with Balls" station at a previous Messy-Sensory play date and he loved it.  This was the one station he asked to be a part of his birthday party.    It got a little crazy this go around, but the kids and the parents enjoyed seeing their kids get messy.


Oh my goodness!  Sawyer was loving it.  He kept going back for more, then showing mommy and daddy.  Who can resist that sweet smile?


These two are crazy, but so fun to watch.  Whatever Eli does Bennett does!  Most of the time that is good.  Occasionally, it is NOT :)


snagged this photo from my friend Katharine's IG (with permission)

The overall hit this Messy-Sensory play event was the Car Corn Yard.  I think every kid played in it for an extended period of time.




I didn't get many photos of Zoe, but she definitely enjoyed herself.  Karla (can't believe I didn't get a photo of them) hung out with her most of the time, which was a huge blessing.  She spent most of her time looking for more juice boxes to drink and half eaten yogurts to eat, but that's what she enjoys most......EATING!!!


I had followed the weather forecast for 10 days.  As of Tuesday the forecast was 60% chance of rain on party day.  We have had a lot of rain this week, so I began praying that God would keep it dry during set-up and throughout the party.  I knew B would have been disappointed to cancel the Messy-Sensory play which would have been the case if it would have rained.  I also asked all of our guests and ladies in my Bible Study to pray.  It was wet when we woke up, but it did not begin raining until noon.  I am so thankful for God's answer to our prayers.  The sun came out during the party and when it began raining........it rained HARD for about 2 hours.  


It was so fun to see the younger kids enjoying sensory play along with their siblings.  B has always enjoyed messy-sensory play, so we have been doing it since he was about 18 months old.  Several of his friends have attended previous messy play events, but during this party I really noticed the younger siblings enjoying themselves as much (if not more) as the 3-4 year olds.





B helped me put the beads in the rice and hide the treasure, so he was excited to see other people discovering it.  Kids always love the rice.  It took a backseat this go round, but it was still explored A LOT!



I have many fun memories of messy-sensory play with B from the last 4 years, but it all began with his love of play-doh.  He has been playing with play-doh since he was 1 year old.  While there have been seasons when his interest has wained he always comes back to it, so it was fitting to have a play-doh station.


He and Eli were cracking me up.  They kept adding to their play-doh creation and carrying it over to scare me with it.  It turned out to be quite the monster.  I foresee mixing play-doh and making crazy monsters like this in our future.



I don't want to leave out the fun experienced in the sand box, water beads and with the digger.  The boating fun with water beads turned into a mud bath after a little one filled it with dirt, but no one seemed to care.







I must say breakfast food is the way to go with kids.  We served yogurt, fruit, granola bites, and doughnuts (instead of cake).  The only left over food--5 pieces of cantaloupe.  HOORAY!  

Bennett had a blast along with all of his friends.  It is such a joy to see your children having fun.  It is even more enjoyable to see them having fun with their friends and family.  


snagged this from my friend Rebecca's IG feed (with permission)

I will leave you with a photo that is the perfect representation of the joyful celebration B experienced for his 4th year of life.  Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us!


2 comments:

Kindra said...

Ok I think it would be pretty impossible to top this for the best 4th birthday party around! Wish we could have been there :)

Amanda said...

Love all of the party stations! Fun! Fun! Fun! Happy 4th birthday, B!