There were bubbles. There were balloons. There were lots of little friends. It was a perfect little party and we were blessed with perfect weather. The fog even lifted over the Bay early in the day to give us a beautiful backdrop for the party!
Here's a look at Lola's special day...
First we played a few party games. Pass the parcel is a classic party game in Australia and UK but it's pretty much unknown here in America. I was surprised at Lola's birthday party last year when no-one knew how to play pass the parcel but this year all of the kids were experts! When I was a kid there was always a lot of disappointment in pass the parcel from the kids who didn't win the prize at the end. To keep it fun for everyone I put a small treat in between each layer of paper so that everyone got to be a winner. The winner at the end got a Pustefix Bubble Bear.
Next up we moved onto balloon piñatas. Usually I'll make a regular piñata for the girls' birthday parties but this year I thought I'd go for something a little different. While the kids enjoy hitting piñatas, and they definitely enjoy all of the candy that comes out, I find that the little ones tend to lose interest after a while as it's always a little tough for them to crack open. We usually have to get one of the adults to step in to speed things along. So this year I decided that in keeping with the bubbles and balloons theme I'd give each child a balloon full of treats to pop instead. Now you'd think that the balloons would pop pretty quickly but they actually took a few minutes for each kid to pop. They sat on them, stepped on them, threw them, kicked them, squeezed them and eventually... POP! As each kid had their own balloon they all got the same amount of treats and there was no fighting over who would collect the most like with a regular piñata.
A bubbles and balloons party isn't complete without bubbles. I bought a bubble machine for the occasion and it was a huge hit. Thousands of bubbles filled the air and provided so much entertainment for the kids as they chased after them eager to pop as many as possible. The big kids were happy to just watch the bubbles float past as they discussed Lego!
After the big balloons full of candy and stickers it was time for little balloons full of water! I had been a little worried that it would be too cold for water balloons today but seeing as it was such a lovely day water balloons were definitely called for. Rather than just letting the kids have a free for all with the water balloons (which I figured would result in drenched kids) I tried to keep things a little more structured and set up a simple game. The kids had to try and pop their water balloons within two hoops that I'd set up on the ground. Each time they succeeded they won a little prize. For some this was pretty easy, for others not so. But kids are pretty inventive when it comes to fun so when throwing the water balloons didn't work they came up with other ways to make them pop: jumping on them, squishing them with their hands and feet, kicking them and of course, throwing them at grown ups. That last one always works!
Then it was back to more bubble fun with the bubble machine and fun with hoops.
One last thing to do at the end of the party: hand out the party bags.
We had such a fun time. Thanks to all of Lola's friends for coming along and making the day special.
And thanks to the weather for staying nice! Check out that view over San Francisco and the Bay...
Some people look old and find more feel young. Some people look young and feel old. Some people like us look young and feel young. Feels good to party on your birthday doesn't it?
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