• T H E M E N U •
The menu was simple, but coordinated with the party colors: orange, yellow & pink. I served cut fruit - pineapple, strawberries & oranges; fruit-garnished yogurt; dyed, hard-boiled eggs; lemon water & my own variation on Lemon Pull-Aparts. Since the theme was obviously dinosaurs, it was so fun to play into the theme with hard-boiled eggs. I used the same Dying method that I used last week & arranged the eggs in a "nest" of coordinating tissue paper.
I switched up the Lemon Pull-Aparts by baking them in cupcake cups & adding strawberries to the glaze. I consider them a breakfast version of cupcakes. YUM!
I believe I spent about $25 on the food. Again, I kept the menu super simple.
• T H E D E C O R •
I didn't have to do too much for the decor. I already had the orange table cloth & the garlands (from decorating Penelope's old room), so that was simple & easy! I had found the yellow display thing at a thrift store ages ago and took this party as an opportunity to give it new life. I just spray painted it a bright yellow.
My mother-in-law gave me the yellow cupcake stand a while ago for my birthday & I just recently picked up the large cake plate from Target for $14. I thought that was a great deal for a white ceramic cake plate.
I made the napkins from the same fabric I used to make Penelope's chevron pillow & just cut it with pinking shears as I didn't want to spend a whole lot of time ironing & sewing (especially since my sewing machine is on the fritz). I made little brachiosaurus decals using my Silhouette & flocked iron-on material & used that to decorate the corners of the napkins. The napkins cost little to nothing to do (besides the cost of buying pinking shears, but I've needed a pair for ages).
The yellow dinosaurs were a $1 Walmart find & I spray panted those bright yellow to match the decor. I found the rad sparkle ribbon at Michael's for $2. This was a great decoration idea, as it's a toy for Penelope afterward! I was considering hollowing them out & planting wheat grass in them (like these dinos via here), but there was no time & I'm sure Penelope would've made a big mess out of them anyway.
The Lemon Water dispenser was one of the big ticket items at $20 (great deal, though!). I found it at Target. There was a yellow one available, which would've been perfect for this party, but I feel like white is a little more versatile in the long run.
While I was at Michael's picking up frames & various party supplies I came across this T-Rex hat for $4. It doesn't match any part of the decor, but I couldn't help get it for Penelope because it's so adorable. She has a similar tiger hat that she wears all the time.
I bought the yellow bucket from Target for $2.50. It's a pretty rad vase, except that it leaks. Luckily, I can fit a mason jar in there no sweat. The white flowers (chrysanthemums?) cost $5 & the daffodils & tulips were from a neighbor's front yard (thanks, Judy!).
• T H E G I F T •
The biggest ticket item was Penelope's gift. It's pretty much the whole reason why I had a dino-themed brunch in the first place. I can't remember whose blog I found it on (Ardor? Say Yes to Hoboken?), but someone posted about these rad Noah's ark toys ($$!) and while browsing through the rest of the shop to see if there was something more along my price range, I came across this dinosaur story box! It took some consideration, since I don't normally spend $70 on toys. However, considering the coolness & handmade factors, it was worth it. I bought it back in March & believe me it was SO HARD to wait until Penelope's birthday to give it to her. She loves her new toy. I'm so glad I got it for her!
• P E N ' S S H I R T •
I purchased this pink shirt at Walmart for $3 & added the dino decal. Penelope LOVES it. It took about 5 minutes to make since I already designed the dino graphic for the invitations & favors.
• T H E F A V O R S •
The favors were pretty simple. As I've already mentioned before, I designed & printed everything in house, so my costs for the actual bags were nil. I just spent $5 on the jelly beans & chocolate eggs.
We had a great time hanging out & giving Penelope some much-needed attention. I was so happy that everything went as planned (actually better!). Even though I perhaps went a little overboard, it was a lot less stressful than last year's party. I kept things fairly simple & reused where I could. Overall I was pretty cheap. Including everything, I spent less than $170 (and that includes everything - even my splurge on P's toy). Besides the food, everything I purchased can be used again for future entertaining, thus reducing the cost by quite a bit. I have a feeling I'll be entertaining quite a bit in the future between all of our birthdays, so I may as well invest in some good party supplies.
I'll be posting her invitations tomorrow & the printable version of the favor pouches soon. Stay tuned.