One of the greatest pleasures of parenting is experiencing life through the eyes of your kids.  Watching them explore, understand or take in an event for the first time that seems like just another in our eyes.

This was the year that Misha really got it.  She understood that her birthday was coming a month in advance.  She was an active participant in planning her party, who she wanted to celebrate with, what her theme would be and she counted down the days/hours until her friends arrived.  Her energy is infectious, that morning she said:

“I can’t believe it is here, I have been waiting and waiting and it’s finally here.”

Misha Laufenberg

Bottle it Up!

Uncontainable joy bubbled up in me as I witnessed Misha light up with exhilaration throughout her day.  It was a rare occasion because we had her party on the same day as her actual birthday.  Not only did she get to celebrate with her friends at a Princess Jasmine themed festivity but she also received her big gift from us, her very own desk.  (Which by the way is a great addition for a six-year-old Kindergarten kid.)  The desk is functional and reasonably priced.  We gave her this educational tool at the peak of her enthusiasm for learning yet with the added accessories of a rotary phone, an old school alarm clock, a calculator and an arm lamp it made her feel super sophisticated (big girl vibes). 

Want to give this adorable gift? This is what you will need to add to your Amazon Cart:

Desk Lamp

Retro Rotary Phone

Retro Alarm Clock

Desk

Last week we shared with you how to throw an epic kid’s birthday party.  We listed five key elements needed in order to execute.  Now let’s see how to apply them to an Aladdin/Princess Jasmine Birthday Theme.

Princess Jasmine Theme Party

The Theme: Princess Jasmine

Misha chose the Jasmine theme inspired by the new version of Aladdin with Will Smith. From that theme framework, I immediately thought of the scene in the movie where Jasmine met Aladdin in the market. I ran with that as our central party inspiration. For additional decor I purchased the following items:

Aladdin party ideas

Birthday Party Idea Kid’s Craft

It’s always a good idea to direct the kid’s time during a party. We incorporated two kid’s crafts. They made a message in a bottle by layering colored sand and they also painted rocks. Additionally, they were offered face gems and tattoos to accent their princess dresses. My close girlfriend applied the tattoos, I worked the facial gem station, my husband helped with sand layering and my other awesome mommy friend helped rotate kids in the market.

Game On

The crafts took a good deal of time and with the size group we had, we broke the kids up and rotated them through stations. We still had time to play some games. The first game we stole from a minute to win it and it was a magic carpet ride. Our other big activity was shopping the market. I bought low price high-value items that I knew the girls would love. The majority of them came from Walmart, which is also where I found the cute rainbow buckets to put the coins in. The only market item not from WalMart was the squishy toys. Additionally, I bought gems and gold coins for currency. What little girl doesn’t want to shop?

Market for Princess Jasmine Party

Keep them guessing- Element of Surprise

The girls built anticipation as they watched me construct the market in the days leading up to the party. I still saved a couple of tricks up my sleeves. The surprise element was that I hired Crazy Daisy Flower Truck to come and she made custom personalized bouquets for the girls. She wore an apron and brought a cute market sign with her, huge buckets of trimmed flowers we bought in bulk from Costco ($75). She was a breath of fresh air, a floral goddess and an extra set of hands adding calligraphy to the shopping bags. The mothers of our guests were elated with the flowers brought home. We had enough left to gift a bouquet to each grandma and I even got to keep an arrangement.

“Surround yourself with people who allow you to bloom.”

fromyouflowers.com

Give and Receive

Misha was, of course, going to be dressed in her Halloween Jasmine costume for the shindig, so I invited her friends to also wear a princess dress. Although the princess theme is popular amongst girls her age, Misha is more of a warrior spirit. I ordered swords for each of the girls to honor their strength as much as their beauty. One of the traits I love about this kid is her authentic gratitude. She sincerely thanked every person that gifted her an item, without our reminders. She saved the sweetest hugs of gratitude for James and me.

Princess Jasmine Theme Party