Winter Birthday Party Ideas: Hot Cocoa Bar

Today always marks our official descent into Crazy Town as I think ahead to not only upcoming Christmas festivities but to our two December birthday kiddos. While I've certainly embraced winter-themed party ideas, I try to keep them completely separate from actual Christmas-related items. That makes sense, right?

This hot cocoa bar was one of my all-time favorites. (I think I shared it on the Rose and Ruffle blog, but not here.) It was a cinch to set up and it looked so festive and fun...and it was! Truth be told, you don't have to celebrate a birthday in order to enjoy this party- it's great for any gathering of family or friends throughout the winter season!

You can never go wrong with colorful balloons and crepe paper. This was a big family party for a boy and a girl so we kept it colorful and non-gender specific, which is surprisingly easy to do.

I removed a few of our Christmas decorations in the dining room for the party, but the greenery above the windows and the tree all lit up in the corner add to the festive spirit.

Our Thanksgiving weekend tradition- cutting out snowflakes while watching Elf- also adds a nice touch. =)

You can make your own cocoa mix or simply pour store-bought powder into fun containers like this one. We had several flavored creamers for guests, as well as "shots" of different cooking flavors such as vanilla and peppermint. Candy canes are a must- and they look so fun!- and so is the whipped cream (not pictured). We also had cinnamon and nutmeg to sprinkle on top, which is fantastically yummy.

To add the most color possible, I simply cut pieces of ribbon and displayed them throughout the tables. Just an easy little something which adds big impact. I used all the Christmas mugs I own, and the Dollar Tree came in handy when I decided to grab a few more.

One last look at the whole room- we had such a fun time at this party!

My birthday boy...

...and my birthday girl

This had been her beloved, much-requested hairdo...which lastly about thirty seconds into the big shindig. She's too much of a mover and a shaker for fancy hair, ha. (There's a post about how to make a birthday brooch over HERE if you'd like to see it.)

The pics are so blurry, but one of our birthday traditions for Isabelle is that she can wear a summer dress on her special day. She looks forward to it every year. #winterbirthdayprobs

 I'm not sure why she looks grumpy here because she definitely was not!

 See?

 Our birthday princess :)

Painting some snowflake ornaments to hand out as party favors later...

 I couldn't find the glitter so we used cookie sprinkles instead. Clever? Of course. Sad? Maybe just a little bit.

Since the next day was her actual birthday, Daddy pampered her with pretty nails

She looks like she's in the middle of some grand conversation here while Daddy simply paints away and I just love this picture!!!

Here is the cake that Caleb requested...my Marbled Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust. Good choice, buddy! I need to blog this recipe!

Isabelle got the ol' standby ice cream Snowman cake, ha ha. She will get a special cake in January for her party.  She was SO excited!

Here is Caleb on his actual birthday...

 And Isabelle on hers...

We had a fun friend party for Caleb the weekend before, a winter pool party - you can read about it here.

As usual, we'll have Isabelle's friend party sometime in January...after all these parties, and then Christmas, I need a breather!

Caleb's Winter Pool Party

It's nice to break from traditional winter-themed parties once in a while, and that's what Caleb had wanted to do. So a Winter Pool Party it was! We headed up to our timeshare for a fun afternoon.

I think he had so much fun at Jonah's pool party earlier in March that he wanted to have one of his own. =)

Food was super simple: cupcakes, left over lollipops from school, and some snacks and drinks. I think we brought pretzels, chips, Capri Suns and some Coke. Easy!

The main area is decorated so nicely at Christmastime!

Heading upstairs...

Can't get enough of this view.

It's spectacular in winter and even more amazing in summer & fall with all the colors .

 There are pool tables, ping pong tables and X-Box games upstairs. So of course that's where they all congregate to within seconds of arriving. Boys. ;)

This pool area has slides and islands to jump from, but it's generally crowded with little kids. So we headed to another pool that is much deeper and much less crowded. Aren't those trees indoors so neat?

All my pool pictures are basically one giant blur, so I'll spare you. This one isn't too bad, ha!

Everyone had lots of fun, which is all you can ask for.

I know Caleb loved his pool party because he has thanked us approximately 834 times since yesterday. He is such a grateful guy, and that makes it even more fun to make things special for him because I know he really appreciates it.

I wonder what we'll be doing next year to celebrate!

Changes

Good morning! I decided to take the plunge and make a little change. You can check it out here if you like!

Here are a couple of photos you'll see on my very first post (Christmas Home Tour):

Have a great Monday!

December Running

If I were to give one word to describe the first week of December, I think it would have to be: BUSY! Running here and there, from orthodontist appointments and Christmas caroling to cookie-baking and choir practices and a million little things in between. There don't seem to be enough hours in the day. Plus, we've got those two birthdays coming up fast! ;)

I've been going a little berserk with the Christmas decorating, but it has made me so happy (at least until it's time to take it all down and pack it away) and our home feels so festive! Last year we were still in the midst of painting painting painting, and I kept things to a minimum out of necessity. Not this year! Last night the moon was shining so brightly above that Jonah dragged down the telescope so we could take a closer look- it was so neat, all bumpy and lumpy and bright!

I really enjoyed being on the decorating committee at church this year, and Thursday night was the Ladies Cookie Swap, which was so much fun. I didn't get to take as many pictures that night as I'd wanted to because the women began to arrive earlier than expected- I guess we like to party!  =) Anyhoo, William texted me a photo of my girl around 7 o'clock, sans one top front tooth. I knew it was coming, but I fought it big time. Just one more bit of proof that she is not my little baby girl anymore. There were tears, but once I saw that big ol' gap the next morning, the cuteness of it won me over.

There were, however, more tears (not mine this time) when the Tooth Fairy was MIA for about the hundredth time in our teeth-losing parenting adventure. In the end, Mama's quick thinking saved the day. Tooth was taken, fancy apology note and two dollars, plus Caleb's dime (awwww), were left, thus faith was restored. Until next time when we forget all over again. I feel like we should have our licenses revoked or something, considering all the failures we've had in this one area. Clearly we aren't cut out for Tooth Fairy work. Seriously The Worst Tooth Fairy Parents Ever.

We had Caleb's friends over yesterday to take them swimming- that's what he wanted to do for his "friend party." It was extremely low-key, which felt awesome!, and the boys had so much fun. Next weekend we'll have our families over to celebrate Caleb and Isabelle, and then as tradition goes, we'll have Isabelle Kate's party with friends in January. She has finally begun to complain a bit about this now that she realizes it means she will have to wait, but...I don't think I can handle any more crazy this month, ha!

You can read more about Caleb's Winter Pool Party here.

So yes, I've definitely been busy, but certainly not without joy. I love my quiet mornings in the twinkle-light-filled darkness and the scent of fresh pine and the near-constant aroma of Christmas cookies, cakes and tarts coming from our kitchen. The jingle of the Salvation Army bells, brand new snow on lawn and branches. Cozy nights and traditions to look forward to in the coming weeks. My heart hurts today, however, because of another adoption loss- this makes six in the past few weeks- but in a strange and wonderful way, those disappointments are also wrapped in hope and peace. I suppose that's the place where genuine faith really kicks in. Anyway, I find myself acutely aware of how much I've been given, so much for which to be perpetually giving thanks. And that makes all the difference.