On Sunday we hosted a small brunch in the garden with a few close family and friends to celebrate Ziggy and Olive turning TWO this week. We decided to save money and not to have a big party this year. No jump castle, no gift bags or party favors, no craft projects or over the top decorations from Party City. Just good food and good company. It turns out that’s all you need! The weather was simply perfect and the food was even better. Here are a few of the details:
INVITES: total spent – $0 // The invitations and menu were created by myself on Canva.com and I simply texted the final invitation to our friends and family saving a ton on stamps and expensive invitations. I made a “menu” at the last minute with the same party theme and displayed it on the food table the day of the party.
FOOD: total spent- about $180 // I relied on some of my old faithful recipes including Will’s famous cheese grits, a savory and hearty egg and sausage casserole that my kids all love, a melt in your mouth French toast casserole, these blackberry crumb bars from Inspired by Charm, and ending with my infamous floral sugar cookies. The cookies are truly a labor of love and each year I say this will be my last time making them but my gosh they are just as tasty as they are beautiful. I will share more details about the process behind the cookies soon!
ENTERTAINMENT: total spent- $30. Since the party was in our yard, we already have a nice swing and playset for the kids but we also put out ladder golf for the older kids and an outdoor bowling game, both that we already owned. And for the younger kids we had two bubble machines running at all times. I spent $20 on the bubble machine and an additional $10 in batteries.
DECORATIONS: total spent – $12. I decided to forgo balloons this year since we would be outside on a windy day but I did purchase two of these spring color bunting banners and hung them in the entrance way of the garden. I made the “Birthday is This Way” sign myself and all the table cloths and lines are from my own personal linen closet which saves money and is a nice elevated look over the plastic party store table cloths.
Linking some of the party items as well as my outfit. Ziggy and Olive’s are unfortunately already sold out but I included a similar short set and petal flower dress.
We all had the best time and now the countdown is on, only 4 more days until the twins are two years old! Bracing myself for life with two who are age TWO and for all the chaos and magic this next year will bring! xx
