Practically Perfect Parties

Practically Perfect Grace!

2011-01-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

I am so behind on updating this blog, but better late than never right? Well I was invited to attend a birthday party for the sweetest six-year-old I have ever met! She was a Mary Poppins fan through and through! Her mom planned out an absolutely adorable party and got all of the party guests in the mood for a Jolly Holiday before I even arrived! They were all so much fun to meet, and I couldn't believe how they were all able to sing right along with me! I'm so lucky to have spent a little time with so many sweet and darling little girls! I hope to see them again!

I will have to add more photos in a separate post, but here is what Grace's mom had to say about the party. She was even so lovely as to include all of her sensational party ideas!

April did an amazing job playing Mary Poppins at our party. Not only was I very impressed with her beautiful voice and accent, she was an authentic Mary Poppins in every way. She was so good with the girls and took time to ask their names, all 11 of them! They were completely mesmerized just watching her the entire time. She made it very personal for my little girl, putting her name in "It's a jolly holiday". She even measured her and said, "just as I expected, practically perfect in every way." She told them stories of her adventures and incorporated Mary Poppins songs in. She even led a game where they had a relay horse race. Some of them were a little excited and couldn't wait for their turn, but it was still fun. This was the best part of the party because it was all in her hands. I got to sit back and enjoy the magic with the girls.
The thing I was most impressed with was that when the party was over and the girls were getting picked up, the first thing they said was, "I got to meet the REAL Mary Poppins!" They were so excited and so convinced she was the real thing. My daughter Grace even asked, "How did she get here? Did she come from Disneyland? Does she live in the sky?" She brought magic to my party. It didn't take long afterwards for this birthday party to become the talk of the neighborhood. Everyone was asking me where I found this amazing Mary Poppins! I feel so lucky that I did. I would have her come visit again in a heartbeat!

Here's a summary of my activities at the party:
When the girls arrived, we divided up and did two different activities.
Hat making:
I bought straw hats at Zurchers (they were safari hats) and I spray painted them white
I had tulle in white and pink for the girls to choose from to tie around the hats in a bow. 3 layers worked great. Next they picked the flowers they wanted. I made several felt and silk flowers so they had a variety to choose from. They then came to me with their selected flowers and I glued them on with hot glue. They turned out so cute as you can see from the pics.
Spoon dipping:
I had red plastic spoons and 2 bowls of melted white chocolate and milk chocolate. The girls dipped the spoons in chocolate and decorated them with sprinkles. They let them dry on their individual squares of wax paper with their name on it. When they dried, I put them in baggies for them to take home.
When they were done with those activities we did "chalk drawings". I rolled out some butcher paper for the sidewalk and we used crayons. It was the perfect activity to distract them while Mary Poppins snuck in and went downstairs. When they were finished, we did a little imagining and they jumped into their picture. With their eyes still closed, we led them downstairs where they were suprised to see Mary Poppins. Little did I know that doing the surprise would add so much to the magic. The girls were convinced that she came to the house magically.
While Mary Poppins was there, we had a relay horse race, an idea I got from her blog. The winners would receive their very own stick horse, and of course everyone was a winner. I bought the stick horses at Dollar Tree. What a deal!

I Want to Meet You- this Saturday!

2011-01-20T12:41:00.001-08:00

The weather forecast has called for a strong southerly wind, which will land Mary Poppins at the South Towne Expo Center at 2:30 for Winter Palooza! I would love to meet new friends and see some of my favorite familiar faces! You could even win a prize for showing off your Supercali singing voice! I hope to see you there!

Back in Business

2010-11-15T08:56:00.000-08:00

After an extended maternity leave, I have a happy little butterball who is now four months old. As for me, I am back in business! At the end of October, I got to attend a Meet the Candidate event for Richard Barnes who was running for state legislature. We had a wonderful time getting to know Richard and playing games, and singing songs. My favorite part of the evening was watching grown men racing back and forth with a spoonful of sugar, trying to win the race! I have photos and videos coming, which I will post as soon as I can.

I was also invited to attended a 5k Monster Run for Calvin Smith Elementary school. I met a lot of adorable and ambitious little monsters who ran the entire race and still crossed the finish line with a smile! I met one little girl who (strangely) had no idea who I was, but she sure loved my dress! She was my little buddy for most of the day.

I have two more appearances lined up for November, and I can't wait!

Sweet Sally

2009-10-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

I LOVED going to Sally's 2nd Birthday Party! What a little doll! I'm tempted to show up at her house dressed as Mary Poppins everyday, just so I can play with her!

Tea Time!

2009-10-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

A tea party is a perfect theme for little ladies! Invite guests to wear their best tea time dresses! As party favors, you could provide gloves and parasols for the girls. Teach them all about proper tea time etiquette or leave the lesson to Mary! Serve apple juice as your tea substitute and any small cake or pastry to go with it. It doesn't have to be much, remember you are probably having birthday cake too! (I would be happy to provide gloves and parasols. The cost of gloves is $3.00 per child, and the parasols are $10 per child.)

A Spoonful of Sugar

2009-10-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

You will need:
Two clear jars or containers with a black line close to the top of each.
Two tablespoon or soup spoons.
Two containers of sugar
One glass of "medicine"
How to play:
This is a team relay race. Divide guests into two groups. One at a time, each team member will take a Spoonful of Sugar from point A to point B and dump it in the jar or container marked with a line. The team member to fill the jar to the line will thenl drink the "medicine." For younger children, you could use a glass of juice. For older groups, you could choose a beverage less delicious to be medicine, such a as molasses. Yuck! Have fun!!!!

Raspberry Ice

2009-10-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

Mary likes a nice Raspberry Ice! Serve some to all your guests with this simple recipe!
1 quart 7-up
1 quart vanilla
1 quart sherbet
10 oz rasperries
Mix with hand mixer until smooth. If your drink is too thick, add some juice or more 7-up!

Mary Poppins Know-it-All

2009-10-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

Create a quiz appropriate to your party goers age group about the movie Mary Poppins. If you have plenty of time, it would be fun to watch the movie and give the quiz afterward. Watch my notes for quizzes that I have already made for you!

Off to the Races!

2009-10-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

ary, Bert, Jane, and Michael all enjoy a nice carousel ride, but have much more fun with Mary's magic sends them off to the races!
How to Play:
This is a team relay race. Divide guests into groups. Provide each team with a stick horse (or anything that can be used at a carousel horse; you may have to get creative). The first member of the team will take the horse and spin in a circle ten times then run to and from a designated spot. He/she will then pass the horse off to the next member in line, who will do the same thing. The first team to have all members complete the relay wins!

Make a Merry Mary Hat!

2009-10-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

Your little girls will love looking like Mary Poppins! Provide a straw hat for each child and have decorations available for them to personalize it the way they would like.
A straw hat in the winter can be hard to find.Ross or TJ Maxx is a good place to check in the winter. Around Easter time, you can find them in child size in many stores. The dollar store even carries them! You can also purchase all of your embellishments for your hat at the dollar store, including rolls and rounds of tulle to make a Mary Poppins look-alike. It's probably best that an adult use a hot glue gun to glue the decorations on.
When the hats are all finished, have a hat parade!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Scramble!

2009-10-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

Play this game two ways:
1- Provide each guest with a paper with the word Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious at the top and challenge them to see how many words they can make out of it within a specified time. Give a prize the the person with the most words, and also to the person with the most creative word.
2- Divide into groups and challenge members to come up with a sentence using the letters in the word, but no more than once per letter. Give a prize to the team with the funniest or most creative sentence.