Peter Pan Party Post

Well, about 6 weeks ago we had Finley's Peter Pan Party. It was so much fun--which is probably why it's taken me so long to recap it! This post has a lot of words and pictures--you win my undying love if you read it all. There are lots of awesome items in the party that are from various vendors, so make sure to check out the credits at the end of the post. 

First up, the missing picture with the photographer that made it all possible.  Thanks Jenn!

This party was especially fun to plan because of the costumes--oh, the costumes.

Initially I just was going to make a Peter Pan costume... and then I pretty much decided we needed the rest of the set too. I packaged the kids' costumes in paper sacks so they could quickly change when they arrived and not miss a minute of the fun.



Wendy was made by one of my friend's mother-in-law, it was way beyond my sel-taught skill level. And Tinkerbell was an eBay purchase--the rest were sewn/scavenged by me. I'm especially proud of... well everything. Captain Hook's three corner hat and coat, the crocodile's awesome head, and Tiger Lily's dress--I was just so pleased with how everything turned out! So pleased.

Here's the whole crew--they were such troopers for braving the slightly chilly weather for some pictures.



Um, love. Why don't I have little girls to wear such sweet costumes? Someone tell me now please.



I couldn't stop at sewing costumes... I had to sew a teepee too. Naturally. You know, for the highly offensive part of Peter Pan involving the Native Americans. The boys loved playing in it while it was in the house and the kids had a blast relaxing in it during the party--in between jumping in the bounce house, playing Captain Hook's ring toss and sword fighting with our crocodile pinata.

I'm overly in love with setting tables (no thanks to Jenn!) and can't get over how much I love this particular set up.  I rented a kids party table and six chairs for the event--it was much cheaper than you'd think!  I packed little lunches in gable boxes, tied with a red string.  Our guest dined on Neverland Star Sandwiches, Pirates Booty and Peter's Fruit Pouches. Unfortunately, none of them were packaged in a way that four year olds could open without help... planning fail. I tried to keep the decorations as "natural" as possible--the kids' wooden flatware was tied to a red feather with some leather cord and the gable boxes were perched on top of slices of tree trunks. (Helpful hint: the tree slices are called "cookies" and you can probably sweet talk your way into some for free from a local tree removal company.  I seriously went to a random house where trees were being cut down and the nice men made me some slices. It was ridiculous.)

Pops of gold were fun to include in the decor--down the table runner I had spray painted Tinkerbell's lantern, a hook and the Crocodile's clock all gold. I could have spray painted forever. Do you have any idea how fun it is to turn things gold? Only me and King Midas know.

It was a chilly day, so I was glad we had planned an indoor activity. We were all very nervous about how sand art with four year olds would go--but it went shockingly well.  They all took it very seriously and dutifully poured and shared sand to make their Pixie Dust.  A few guests were disappointed that they didn't actually get to sprinkle it and fly. Life's tough, kids.  Two tips: first, the red funnels are cheap at IKEA and help minimize mess and second, hot glue the lids on. 

I think the theme of this post is starting to be "Rachel pats herself on the back" but listen, I made a pinata. With newspaper and flour and water. And it turned out to be quite obviously a crocodile. Can we all take a minute to bask in his scaly glory? I bought thisfellow on Amazon and used him as a mold.  That's a completely reasonable thing to do, I promise.

Speaking of buying things on Amazon, I also bought a bounce house so the kids could "fly." Please stop looking at me like that. I promise it was a good idea.  We used it for Braden's party the following weekend and like ten times since then. And I have a feeling that it will be used at every party (and in our new basement on yucky days) until it pops and dies a sad, leaky death. Much much cheaper than renting one. And it immediately makes you the coolest house on the block. (Next set of helpful hints: I got the bounce house for about $200... let me introduce you to my new friend, CamelCamelCamel. You can set up an Amazon alert to let you know when a product drops to a certain price and can check out the price history on an item to see if you are getting a good deal. Aren't you glad you read until the end of this long paragraph?)

Oh my goodness this is getting long.  Treat bags!  Full of pirate goodies, a crocodile lollipop and clapper. Pretty much I just loved the burlap and feathers. Love it.

I joked that I should have given all the parents an apology note regarding sugar intake... because there was a lot of sugar. I was lucky to have wonderful friends and vendors to work with who made all the sweets for me--so I can say without any bias that everything was DELICIOUS. I can not get enough of the cake pops. I want to throw parties just so I can order more! Other non-edible things I love on the dessert table--the amazing felt ball garland and darling balloon wreath. I feel like putting them all over every surface of my next house.  I'm only kidding a bit.

I saw this Peter Pan peg people set and fell in love.  I had to include a bigger picture so you can see their full amazingness--they get a bit lost in the next picture.  Unfortunately, Peter was out fighting battles and was unable to make this particular picture, but you can only assume how amazing he is as well.



And here's the full table--burlap, sparkly gold, wood, feathers... I loved it.

Writing all these paragraphs (at midnight!) makes me grateful for the friends who helped with the party and didn't stage an intervention.  I sure used vintage stamps on the envelopes because I HAVE NO IDEA WHY. I had to. Even after I kind of said it was over the top. I had to have them. But look, aren't they perfect? They are.

And the most important moment--Finley blowing out his candles.  He was clearly excited and loving his party. After the party was finished he came to me with a shaky voice and very sadly let me know that I had forgotten two very important things. His party didn't have cake or balloons.  He was upset.  And so it goes to show... you can't please everyone. You'd think that any four year old would be thrilled with the party, but all the kid wanted was cake and balloons. You better believe there were BOTH when his actual birthday rolled around.

So many people to thank. Vic for being my partner in crime, Jenn for being my photographer, Kat for basically doing whatever I asked, Sol for letting me work on parties like this for a month in advance, Finley for being born, Finley's friends (and their parents!) for coming to the party and putting up with a crazy lady planning extravagant parties.  And all the lovely vendors who helped make the party easy to set up and lovely to be a part of.  If you are interested in anything, you can probably find it below. And if not, leave me a comment and I'll try to help!

Printables, Costumes, Sugar Cookies and Party Styling - RV Parties

Photography - Peanut Butter and Jenny Photography

Red and Ostrich Feathers - Moonlight Feather

Leather Cord - Sleepy Dog Beads

Vintage Postage Stamps - Verde Studio

Peter Pan Peg People - Allie Gray Creations

Burlap Ribbon, Favor Bags and Twine - We Can Package

Felt Ball Garland - The Fickle Felt Tree

Cake Pops, Pretzels and Dubloons - Miss Lulu's Sweet Treats

Crocodile Lollipops - Candied Cakes

Balloon Wreath - Little Crafty Cottage