Back on December 15, we hosted a party for toddlers. It was actually a covert ploy to get to know several of the moms with toddlers in the area. We sent our guests on their way with mixed feelings about the success-rate of the party.
Our final count included 10 toddlers, 4 infants, and 11 adults. Not including our family. I was kind of freaking out. But freaking out in a good way- in the way that got the entire downstairs portion of our house spotless and all the preparations for the party done well in advance (if you count the night before at 11 o’clock- don’t judge!).
The Entryway featured Hula Girl’s hot pink and purple cupcake Christmas tree and favor bags.
I had several stations set up around our house. There was a “Pin the Nose on the Snowman” game, a felt Christmas tree with ornaments, a Christmas sensory table, and the cookie decorating area. First loved by toddlers was the sensory table. I knew it would be a hit- I am SO glad someone from my mom’s group suggested it. They also adored decorating cookies. One little girl decorated at least seven cookies! It was awesome.
Pin the Nose on the Snowman!
Felt Christmas tree for the kids to decorate again and again!
Christmas Sensory Table- we just filled Hula Girl’s water table with peppermint-scented rice and Christmasy goodness!
A close-up of Christmas wonderland!
Ready to decorate!
I got ahead of myself; let’s get back to the preparations. We made spiced cider in the crock pot, we had coffee brewing. I had eggnog for eggnog lattes. I had put some peppermint oil in the sensory table, so our house smelled like a Starbucks with all the mixed aromas! We also had PB&J sandwiches cut out in the shape of gingerbread men, and I made some Christmas-themed fruit skewers (red grapes and honeydew melon skewered on $0.97 Christmas-colored swizzle sticks). Of course the whole house was already decked out for Jesus’ birthday celebration, so decorating was a non-issue.
Christmasy toddler snack food (good thing the formica countertops are hunter green, huh? lol)
On the morning of the party, Hula Girl was just so excited. She kept asking, “Are my friends coming today?” Of course they were coming! She named several friends she was looking forward to seeing. She didn’t eat breakfast. She is not one to eat when she’s excited. Can’t imagine where she gets that.
Our party was scheduled to begin at 10 and the invitation clearly stated that it would conclude at 11. After all, I have a very excitable toddler on my hands, and I wanted to make sure she got something to eat before her nap!
At 8:45, we received a call saying that one of Hula Girl’s friends was sick and wouldn’t be able to make it. I was very grateful to that mom. Sure, it was lame for her daughter to miss the party, but THANK YOU for not bringing your flu-infected child to my house!
At 10:00, no one had showed.
At 10:05, we began to get nervous that somehow I printed the wrong date on the invitations. I checked. It was correct.
At 10:10, Jonathan started saying things like, “Well, at least we got the house all clean and we don’t have to make lunch for Hula Girl for the next week!”
At 10:15, two toddlers and their families showed up. Sigh. of. relief.
At 10:25, another toddler and his family showed up. Yay! The more the merrier!
BUT NO ONE ELSE CAME.
Yeah, 5 of the families who RSVP’d in the affirmative did not show, call, email, or send smoke signals. That irked me. Moving on.
Two of the guests were little girls right about Hula Girl’s age. One of them loved decorating cookies so very much. The other, much like Hula Girl, was more interested in eating the decorations and the cookies than actually making anything pretty. 🙂 The first one, Sprinkle Girl, ended up making a giant mountain of green sugar crystals on one cookie while her mom was looking the other way. Hah! It was classic. Her mom was so embarrassed and flustered, but we made sure to tell her over and over that it is a TODDLER party, we have a TODDLER too, and we know that TODDLERS do funny things like that.
The other guest was a three-year-old little boy who is our neighbor. He was not interested, in the slightest, in cookie decorating. Not even to eat one! All he wanted to do was put his action figure in the Christmas sensory table (filled with rice) and make things explode. Boys. 🙂
Once the girls were done with the cookies, they meandered over to the sensory table, where Hula Girl stood back and observed her “friends” playing with HER toy. This was a very new experience for her and at first she wasn’t sure about it. Then she got into the spirit of things and tried to play along, only to be told “NOOOOOOOOOOO!” and “It’s MINE!” by Sprinkle Girl and Action Figure Boy. She was unsure of what to do. Jonathan and I gently coached her to say, “I want to play, too,” and to ignore the other kids’ complaints. She did fine. She even made sure that the other little girl, Curly-Q, got to play with some toys.
Another big hit on the toddler scene was the Little People Nativity set. This is a set that Hula Girl played with for hours every day all throughout the Christmas season. It really appealed to all the children at the party. I was very glad that there were several wise men- those seemed to be the most desired characters for some reason. Maybe it’s because they are holding presents?
Both Action Figure Boy and Sprinkle Girl have younger siblings. I got to hold both of the babies- a 6-month-old boy and a 4-month-old girl. It was pretty funny to hold someone else’s child. Gelato outweighs both other babies by at least 2 pounds, and he just feels so much more solid compared to them. That’s my chunk!
Our party finally ended sometime around 1:00. Yes, two hours after the invitation said the party was over, people were walking out the door. That’s another story. And most of the reason I don’t call the whole thing a big success.
All in all, it was really good to get to know the other moms better. I will definitely be trying to set up another playdate with Curly-Q. We might try to do something with Sprinkle Girl, too. As for our neighbors, well, Hula Girl was a bit frightened by Action Figure Boy. We might hold off on playdates with them until she’s more used to socializing one-on-one. Otherwise they’d spend a really long time playing hide-and-seek. 😉
Here's a little more detail about my daily life. Not always really exciting, but never really that bland. I tend to find drama in the small stuff, so there's always something to talk about!
Wee Irish Family 
kate @ livinglovinglaughing said,
January 3, 2013 at 3:50 pm
so sorry ppl didnt turn up (what a shame!) – you put sooo much work in!! looks like an amazing party, i know my two would have loved it 🙂 hmm maybe ppl thought the invite meant 1pm as didnt expect a 1 hour party OR perhaps ppl were having so much fun or thought you might have felt hurt if everyone trooped out after all your work and they were only there 30-40 mins? At least it shows your guests were having a good time if you couldnt get them out of the place, haha! Great effort, maybe try again next year!
WeeIrishFamily said,
January 3, 2013 at 5:54 pm
I’m sure we’ll do another little get-together again! I’m thinking during the summer this time. It would be nice to let the littles have full reign over the backyard. And, yes, I even had crafty things planned out for some older girls who didn’t show. I am sure your little fairy would have ADORED that part.
Kristy said,
January 9, 2013 at 7:17 pm
The RSVP situation was just what happened for Xander’s last birthday party. We agonized over how many we could invite. Based on how many came, I could have invited everyone he knows. 😦 It’s like you just have to make a wild guess if you’re going to host anything.
This party looks awesome. Did Hula Girl have fun with it overall? You did an amazing job setting this up. Not your fault people ignore what’s printed on the invite.
WeeIrishFamily said,
January 10, 2013 at 8:55 pm
Yes, she did have a really good time. She was so excited that her friends came over to her house. She kept wanting to know when they could come over again. 🙂
Sad that Xander had to have that disappointment! That happened to my across-the-street-neighbor for her daughter’s birthday this summer. I just don’t get why people think it’s okay to RSVP yes and then not attend.
Along those lines, our wedding was the same. 150 invites, 120 “Yes”, 75 attendees. Thanks, guys. Sure glad we paid for your stupid chicken.
Kristy said,
January 11, 2013 at 12:22 pm
Yeah, why does that happen? You made me laugh – stupid chicken.
We’re having another Toddler Party « Wee Irish Family said,
January 21, 2013 at 9:06 pm
[…] our Christmas party wasn’t the rollicking success we’d hoped for, I was pretty bummed. Jonathan actually […]
Wee Irish Family said,
February 25, 2013 at 8:46 pm
[…] This party was much more successful than the Christmas party. […]