I am known for my creativity and it’s true. If I could make a living off party planning, I totally would! But when you’re a full time working mom and have a walmart-sized budget – Pinterest parties are a bit of a stretch!
I first discovered Pinterest when I was planning my oldest daughter’s first birthday party. All of the ideas were amazing! And I could totally pull them all off! Except. I couldn’t. With a baby and work, there was no way I could spend hours handcrafting all those cute decor items. With my budget, there was no way I could buy all the fancy party favors. I seriously became depressed. I wanted my first baby to have a totally awesome party and there was no way I could do it.
At a women’s conference, I heard a speaker talk about Pinterest. She said she loved it yet it was of the devil! HaHa! She was so right! I logged out of pinterest for several months after that and had a perfectly lovely first birthday party. I now use Pinterest as inspiration – not a goal. 
Over the years our birthday parties have varied. From simple to elaborate. From at home with immediate family to awesome venues! But the party we had for our two girls last year definitely made me feel a bit more of a Pinterest party throwing mama yet was simple, fun, and not a high cost.
The Plan
A friend had mentioned she attended a painting party and I instantly knew it would be a great idea! I invited friends and family over and was sure to tell them the party was outside and would involve paint. Dress accordingly! I saved a lot of time and money by creating invites myself using paint on my PC and texted it to everyone. Who pays for postage these days anyway?
The Food
Nachos! My go-to for big parties! You can get so much for so little money and effort. We cooked up hamburger the night before. Then the day of just set out bowls of toppings. Put the meat and nacho cheese sauce in crockpots. Made a big thing of lemonade and done!
The Activities
It helped that we had just moved into our new house with a nice playset. All the kids had a blast climbing all over the equipment. Just being kids playing outside in the spring.
For the painting activity, I bought a box of kids washable paints, a value pack of 8×10 canvases, a multipack of paint brushes, a plastic painting mat (the kind from Lowes for like $3) and some painters tape. All in all, only spent about $30 in supplies. And we had about 16 kids in all. No need for favors because their favor was to take their painting home.
Before the party my husband and I put painters tape on the canvas in the shape of each child’s first initial. When it was time to paint, each child got their canvas and a paper plate with their color choices of paint. They painted their canvas however they wanted. When they were done they took off the tape and their initial showed through. My youngest child was turning two and my oldest niece was 20. They all loved it!
The Cake
To go with the theme, I got cupcakes from sams club in primary colors. Some candy toppings like eyes and lips and sprinkles. The kids decorated their own cupcake and had a blast!
It was a really fun and enjoyable party. I learned it was possible to have a successful Pinterest worthy party with little money and time!
