Staying Home Sawyer

Real Life Living on a Real Life Budget

Birthday's

Purple Minnie Mouse

You guys know how much I embrace the first three years of my children’s lives. The sweet baby smells, the snuggles, the complete control over which birthday party themes you get to throw. You know, the important stuff.

Quinn was VERY specific about her third birthday party. It was going to be Minnie Mouse, and it was going to be purple. Of course, Minnie Mouse is not very original, but whatevs, I knew how much it would mean to one little mouse. So off I went, thinking I’d be able to get some fun stuff for her from my typical party websites.

NOT the case. Hardly anything comes in purple for Minnie Mouse, so I did what I should have done from the start, and started creating myself.

I found some purple mouse head balloons from Temu, and mixed them with a purple balloon kit. The balloons may have been one of my favorite things, maybe a close second to the photo strips. Taking her photos was not only fun, but the results were my FAVORITE. She has such a personality, and it showed through this shoot.

I made my own piñata of course, as is starting to become customary in this house. It sounds all fun and games until you’re up until midnight gluing tissue paper onto cardboard. Thankfully my husband pours drinks in this household.

At every party, I try to keep the kids occupied with something to do. We played ‘pin the bow on Minnie,’ had a Minnie Mouse scavenger hunt, and broke open the piñata. Then cake and ice cream, presents, and a swift kick to the butt and out the door they went. Okay not exactly, but close.

Birthday's

Surfing Into 6

Since I’ve finally gotten around to blogging about Quinn’s second birthday party that was almost a year ago, I can now move on to Sawyer’s from October. Nothing like mom life. One day I’ll be on top of my game, I promise. Just not today.

After some serious thought (read: she tried to change the party theme after I had bought everything for this one) we ended up going with a “Surfing Into 6” theme. I ran with it, because I keep thinking that ‘this party’ will be the last fun theme I get to throw her (we are already narrowing down her 7th birthday between a Princess party and a ‘Puppy’ party). But don’t let my negativity fool you, I’ve already got several ideas for Princesses AND puppies.

When I started planning, I found three old surfboards on Facebook Marketplace for $20 each and decided they’d be our focal points. They ended up being even cuter than I had hoped. I used spray paint on each of them to color them with the matching party colors, and it covered quite nicely. I was also able to sell them after the party for more than I bought them for, making it quite the perfect investment!

For a backdrop, I ordered sheets of sheer fabric from Temu ($2 each), used a wooden dowel from Hobby Lobby, and strung them up behind my dessert table. I think they added a perfect touch!

Party Backdrop Idea for cheap

I also made my own Surfboard piñata (they’re much easier than they look to make, just time consuming. pro tip: Make sure you have fringe scissors). I turned our little playhouse into a surf shack by using fake grass skirts to cover the roof and I made little surfboard wands for each place setting.

The tableware is from The Party Darling, the cookies from Cellar Door Cookies, and the mini favor baskets from Sun Jellies. The balloon garland is from Amazon.

Birthday's, Uncategorized

Welcome 2 Quinn’s Cabana

So, as it turns out, I have an almost three year old. Crazy right? I could swear she was just born, but alas, she’s been here for quite some time. Being that I’m in the middle of planning her third birthday party, I realized I never shared her second birthday party. From a year ago. Yes, I’m that on top of my game.

There’s only a few years of birthdays that I get to choose the theme (hello Minnie Mouse this coming birthday), so I figured why not go all out for the last one I get to choose. I’m sure my future will be filled with plenty of princesses, mermaids, and bounce houses. But for now, I’ll keep the themes cool.

I wanted to pick an original theme, but coming up with one can be a little difficult. Eventually (read: after hours and hours of Pinterest cruising) I came up with a Cabana party. Now, you may be thinking that isn’t that original of a theme, but a cabana party without a pool? Now THAT is original. So that’s what we did. I created a “poolside” cabana party in my backyard. Without a pool.

Since everything I do is on a budget, I struck out to create a Cabana without spending too much. I ordered most of my stuff off Temu/Amazon, and overall I’d say it was done under $100 (without food/drinks).

One of my favorite pieces was the homemade cabana I made from pallets. Two pallets, some foam, a sheet cover and a bed skirt…and you’ve got a homemade cabana. I borrowed a pretty umbrella from a friend, and voila. Could it be any cuter?

I also made my own poolside snack stand by creating shutters from foam board and an awning from an $8 photography backdrop! The whole thing turned out so cute for a grand total of $10.

She may have only been turning two, but she had the BEST time, and I will never forget the smiles on her face (mostly because I have videos to prove it, my memory is shot). I think this coming birthday may top it though, being that she is obsessed with Minnie Mouse. Stay tuned…

Other vendors include:

SunJellies Baskets
Lushra Balloons
SweetFiend Bakery
FestiveFetti

Products I Love, Travel

Disney Tips: Waiting in Line, Disney Bingo

Sawyer has been asking to go to Disneyland for years. Being as it’s only an hour away, it seems like it would have been logical to take her by now. But between the pandemic and having a new baby at home, it just wasn’t possible. Until now.

We finally got our stuff together and planned a Disney trip. Seeing as how I’m a little bit of a planner, I had to be ready to wait in all the lines. We do have a toddler after all.

I decided to make little Disney Bingo sheets for the girls to play while they waited in line. I thought it would give them something to do (and keep us sane) for approximately two point six minutes in each line. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it honestly kept Sawyer’s attention for at least 15 minutes in each line. She then proceeded to want to play while walking through the whole park. I guess I won that one.

You can download your own bingo sheets below. I decided to laminate mine and use a dry erase pen, because I’m a complete nerd and LOVE my laminator, but you could just print them and use a regular pen instead! That makes it easier to toss when you’re done!

What do you think? Do you think your kiddos would stay occupied with this?

Download the Disney Bingo printables here.