HRM Parent Blog

It seems appropriate to post this reptilian party when Little Ray's Reptile Zoo is in town for the weekend . While the zoo isn't here in Halifax all year round, some of their slithery friends are always available for birthday parties in the HRM. My reptile loving son was delighted at the idea of a SNAKE BIRTHDAY!!! even if nobody else in the family was enthusiastic at the idea of snakes, scorpions and spiders temporarily (we hoped!) taking over the living room.

The party was a huge hit with all the kids and the staff from Ray's Reptiles did a great job with the kids, making sure that everyone was safe while still getting a chance to be up close and personal with some of these fascinating creatures. Many parents were surprised to find themselves lining up just as eagerly as the 5-year-olds to get a chance to hold and touch.

I doubt that it will be the last time that we have Ray's Reptiles in the house and we'll definitely be down at Exhibition Park this weekend to see some of the non-house sized specimens!

The treat table, the snake cake was made with a bundt cake cut in half and a fruit leather tongue.

The kids happily slurped down "swamp water", more enthusiastically than they would have plain water ;) The personal size veggies and dip were also fun and less messy in a crowd.

The grape gobbling frog

Out comes the spider!

The kids all learned where each animal was from on the world map.

Lots of different textures to check out!

 Unless you'd rather just stay safe with mom!

My youngest daughter just celebrated her 3rd birthday and it was one of the easiest parties we’ve had so far.  We offered up lots of ideas - a princess theme, a Dora party, tea party, barbie, teddy bear picnic the list goes on.  She said no to all of it.  Instead, she asked for a “red” party.  Red, red, red...was all she wanted.  Which is not surprising since it's her absolute favourite color.  A near obsession really, since she’s currently on the search for a red cereal, red soap for the tub and red pajamas for her doll.

Believe it or not, our whole family had fun coming up with all the red things we could think of.  My older daughter was on mission to come up with as many red things as she could and would catch us off guard a few times as she shouted “licorice” from the back seat of the car, or whispered  “pomegranate” from her bed one evening.  It was definitely a family affair.

The whole thing was pretty simple in the end. Granted we chose to have it at the Funzone at Dalplex, but as for the party side, we served a load of red snacks and drinks including: mini-jello cups (which the parents enjoyed just as much as the kids!), babybel cheeses cut into fun shapes and faces and of course a red cake. 

I attempted to make red candy apples as a loot bag but, let’s just say that was a bust…so we found these at the dollar store and filled them with a pack of popcorn, a red juice box, red napkin and a few other red snacks.

We also had all her guests wear something red and one of her friends even gave her a couple of red themed books which we've been reading every night since! 

 

Everyone had a great time and many of the parents agreed that a simple “colour” theme makes for a fast and easy party that’s still lots of fun!

Now my older daughter wants a “pink” party for her birthday in December – gotta love it!

 

We love hearing from you and always love content for our blog.  If you have a party or family celebration you want to share in our Let's Party blog, send some photos and a write-up of the party details to sarah@hrmparent.ca and we'll feature it in an upcoming blog.

The countdown is on but don’t let the celebration of summer end just because school is starting.  Here are some tips and ideas for hosting your own back-to-school bash:

 

What’s a party without cake?  Watch this video for step-by-step instructions for a really cute and easy school bus cake.

 

 

This is a really cool idea for a neighbourhood breakfast celebration to get everyone prepped for rising early again.

 

 

 

Such an inspiring party to celebrate the End of Summer.  The little apple and watermelon boats are adorable!

 

 

The name alone gives this party an A+, get your child’s classmates together before school for a meet and greet treat party.

 

 

This site has some fun ideas for invitations, cool décor, food and more.

 

 

This amazing back to school party gets top marks from us.  Seriously brilliant ideas! (be sure to check out subsequent blog posts for tutorials and detailed info on the party details)

Today we have a guest post on planning birthday parties from Kelly Yeats, a local mom with two lovely little girls Emma and Molly. Thanks Kelly! (If you're interested in writing a guest post for HRM Parent, please email Charmaine to chat about it - charmaine@hrmparent.ca)

I have to admit that I love planning and throwing birthday parties for my two daughters. Call it a form of creative expression, call it pure insanity, but I derive great satisfaction from making my girls’ “special days” just a little bit extra special.

Let me start by saying that I’m not a “professional” by any stretch of the imagination. I’m just a “regular mom” with a cake decorator, a hot glue gun, and internet access. That’s really all you need to throw your kid a fun birthday party that you pulled off yourself.