Who smells smoke? Don’t panic, that’s just Clara’s dragon party, rollin’ into town (er, the internet?). Note: you can’t really smell this party through your computer, so if you smell smoke, please look into it. This year’s party was lower key than our last two (here’s her first birthday party, and her worm party from last year) and even though it was rainy and wet outside, eight kiddos and twelve adults jammed out inside. It was fun. And Clara made me cry. She’s just so big and sweet and hilarious and I’m the luckiest mom in the world.
Plus, dragons. I mean if that’s not a trump card for a party, I’m not sure what is. After she picked worms for her party last year I wasn’t sure it got more fun than that, but when she told us she wanted dragons this year, well, we laughed and jumped right in. She even told the doctor at her three year appointment that dragons were coming to her party and I’m pretty sure he was hedging for an invite after she name dropped winged-fire-breathing-creatures.
Look at this kid of mine, holding her cousin’s hand and dragging him into the sunroom for pizza. A second after I snapped this shot, she turned to Emanuel and said “be happy! there’s pizza!”
My favorite part of the whole day was this little painting of fire that I made on foam core and taped to the wall at kid-mouth-height. Everyone could be a dragon and we snapped lots of photos of all the kids having fun with it.
Burger even got in on the action…
Some adults posed for a few pretty hilarious photos too (turns out kid mouth height is adult bum height so you can guess where I’m going).
Here’s the sunroom all decked out. No balloons and streamers this year, just a few packs of paper lanterns from the dollar spot at Target (they sell them in sets of 2 & 3). The paper tablecloth is also from Target (it has some pretty dragon-ish consummate Vs) which is also where we grabbed the plates and napkins. Then we just ordered pizza, heated up some dragon-shaped chicken nuggets (aka: dragon nuggets), sliced up some vegetables, and tossed some chips and popcorn into a few bowls.
Oh and the table is the one from the deck. We just dragged it into the sunroom and wiped it down (dang rain!) and it was all good.
Who knew sliced peppers could look so fire-like, eh? John. John knew. Apparently guys + fire = besties. And of course we had the castles that Clara painted in the background with little rubber dragons on them (snagged at Michael’s in a few tubes of 8, so they also ended up in the kids’ favors). And those flame-like sunflowers were a few bucks at Kroger (that’s a local grocery store for the non-locals). How awesome are they?! They’re like fire on a stick.
We kept the food super simple. In fact, except for baking some cookies with the birthday girl herself, we didn’t cook a thing. We really just wanted this to be an easy and casual gathering, so we didn’t go crazy cooking or decorating. Plus it’s a fun challenge to look at “party food” like chips, jelly beans, and popcorn to see if we could somehow make it dragon-ish. Here’s what we came up with:
We also played up the hot/fire-breathing thing and had some Hot Tamales and FireBalls (clearly labeled so no kiddos accidentally ate them and blew smoke out of their ears). They were a big hit with the grown ups. Meanwhile the kids rocked out with the rock candy. I thought they were fire-ish so I grabbed them at the register at Michaels (hello impulse buy).
Gratuitous sunflower shot. I love them. I hope they last a good long time so I can soak them up through the move (I’m the girl who will hold this vase on her lap in the car on moving day so they make it to the new house).
Clara’s favorites were the lanterns. She thought they were balloons and even said “I’m sad they’re going to get small” and I said “Yay! They’re paper lanterns! We can use them for every birthday for ever and ever!” Cheered her right up.
On the other side of the sunroom we temporarily removed the bike art (it was John’s idea… I couldn’t believe it!) to make a little drink station out of the expedit bookcase with Clara’s monthly photos taped up on the wall between some fire-ish bursts of tissue paper.
That’s also where I stuck the favors, which are always my favorite thing to throw together. This year I found some red tins at the dollar store that I filled with tissue paper that I cut to look like fire.
They were each filled with a pair of dragon socks that I found at Target for 99 cents, a pack of crayons, a glowing bracelet, a dollar store pinwheel (they were 3/$1) and a few of the aforementioned plastic dragons from Michael’s that also graced Clara’s painted castles on the table.
In the drink tin we had red and yellow Izze bottles for the grown ups (along with bottled water, juice boxes, and a few other beverage choices in a cooler nearby).
As for how I made the tissue paper poofs on the wall, I just smooshed them up and used one staple to hold them together in the back. One loop of painter’s tape held each of them in place between the Clara pics on the wall.
I also used a sharpie to draw a bunch of dragons on card stock and set them out on the coffee table in the sunroom with a bowl full of crayons.
Oh and we dragged out Clara’s train board, which ended up being a fun little kid zone while the parents chatted each other up.
We had planned on an outdoor “dragon egg hunt” (with a bunch of on-clearance plastic eggs that we got at Target after Easter with a few jelly beans in each one) but since it was too wet outside we hid them all over the dining room and the office. It was pretty cute watching the kids run around and grab as many as they could – especially when they were in such strange spots like under the chair cushions, behind the curtains, and even on our favorite concrete pet’s head…
As for desserts, we ordered 10 dragon cookies from Snickety Snacks (they’re like works of art – and they taste amazing!) along with making some homemade white chocolate chip cookies with Clara (we stamped them with “dinosaur footprints” right after they came out of the oven).
The cupcakes are local favorites from the grocery store (Ukrops) and I made those spikes in about ten minutes by cutting up airheads (yes, those crazy candies that look like long flat tongues). I just used a knife to cut them down the center to make two skinny strips and then cut little triangles from each row and shoved four of them into each cupcake in a spiny little line.
This picture is a small miracle. How I got the cookie in focus and caught her looking up at me, I’ll never know. Oh beansie, this makes me want to cry. How’d you get so big?!
As is the tradition, we did our best to grab a family photo. This was the best we could do, but I’ll take it.
When three of us were walking around wearing similar striped shirts, we had to snap a shot of that too. We’re practically triplets.
So Clara’s three and her dragon party was a fire-breathing good time. I can’t wait to see what she picks next year. Chickens? Ninjas? A Burger theme? Time will tell…
Halen says
Clara looks cute in pics. Lucky parents, Stay blessed.
Natalie says
I love how you guys take very simple things/ideas and make them look fabulous! You are seriously talented!
I was wondering if some readers would know of a good free video making software that works on a PC… I have windows movie maker but it can be glitchy and I’d love to make these darling videos!
YoungHouseLove says
Anyone have any ideas for Natalie?
xo
s
alivicwil says
Animoto is pretty good. (Not exactly free – but you can make short clips for free, and longer clips aren’t too expensive, from memory)
Jessica says
Wow, so impressed with Clara’s video..as always. She is one very loved, special girl.
I’m tempted to break out almost 5 years of video of my twins. Their birthday is in October….I wonder if I can swing it??!!!
You guys are amazing.
YoungHouseLove says
You can do it!
xo
s
Jessica says
Pregnant women shouldn’t watch that video. CRY-ing.
So sweet!
Keri says
Happy birthday to Clara! Too cute! My daughter turned three last month and we watched “How to Train Your Dragon” the other night. There are a few scary parts, but she might like it. My five-year-old son definitely did!
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds like fun!
xo
s
Connie says
Love the Strongbad reference! I was thinking one of those dragons looked a little Trogdor-ish. Happy Birthday Clara!
Vanessa says
What a cute party! I loved Clara’s video too, especially when she was dancing in the kitchen! Adorable! :-)
Juliet says
I love it..true to theme, fun for the kids & Clara…and seems like a nice low-key gathering for the adults. Well done!
Paula M. says
Totally adorable! The foam-core flames and all the dragon-themed treats are inspired! And I love Clara’s cute little dress with the cheery color and the semi-ruffly flounce effect.
Now, of course, I am jonesing for both sunflowers and paper lanterns. I haven’t been to Target in many months, but this may lure me back in there …wonderful lantern colors, resuable and dirt-cheap, sounds like. What a find!
Heather @ What Does She Do All Day? says
Pizza? Not tacos? But dragons love tacos! :) Such a great theme for the party. I love how it turned out! We had our daughter’s whale party on Saturday, too, which we also had at home. Thankfully we had gorgeous weather so the kids could play outside.
http://whatdoesshedoallday.com/a-whale-of-a-good-time-whale-party/
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we thought about tacos but couldn’t figure out how to do that without the kiddos dripping meat and cheese everywhere! Haha! If it hadn’t rained we would have loved to do tacos outside!
xo
s
Cristina says
“Be happy, there’s pizza!” – wise words :)
Marie says
The bean is so lucky that she will have those videos to look back at years from now. John does an amazing job of capturing the highlights of a year in eight minutes.
Barb says
That girl of yours has personalityyy! *Love the video*
Lindsay says
Your kiddos are pup are too cute! Love this idea ;)
Joanna Banana says
That looks like one fabulous birthday party! Such creative and thoughtful, yet SIMPLE ideas. Also…it’s amazing how Clara’s hair has grown so much in the past few months. I noticed that watching the video!
Gabbi @ Retro Ranch Reno says
Words cannot even describe how cute that video was!!! I loved every second of it…thanks for sharing! :)
Jess says
that picture of clara eating the cookie is gorgeous! the folks who made it should totally use it for an advertisement :)
also, in the family picture right after that, i’ve never seen clara look more like sherry! cover up the hair and you have the same face/smile twice. so sweet! :)
Elizabeth says
Such a great theme! Love how a few months back Clara had to give herself a pep talk to ‘be friendly’ and now she’s escorting her cousin to the pizza. You have a beautiful and kind little girl!
Kate says
Totally jealous! I wish I had a cool dragon party ;-)
I’m glad the party was a hit and sucha nice video too. =)
Lisa says
Oh my, that video…right in the feels! I cried! You guys are the best parents in the world, and what an amazing little girl you’re raising.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! Right in the feels = hilarious.
xo
s
Mary says
My favorite part of the video was John feeding her like a mother bird with his chopsticks! She has had some awesome experiences already in her short life!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! I LOVE that picture!
xo
s
Destiny says
She’s a beauty, your girl — and it’s been so much fun watching her grow up.
A review of the video (Best, and happiest, eight minutes in a week of bad/sad news, so thank you for it…) proves to the naysayers that you don’t live to blog. You clearly live your lives and blog bits and pieces of it for our education and entertainment. Keep on keeping on!
Kerry says
Hahaha yesss thanks for the Trogdor reference! Burninating the countryside…burninating the peasants…
Seriously, looks like an awesome party. Can’t believe she’s three!
Amanda says
I’m going to have to drive to Richmond just to try these delicious cupcakes!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, they’re worth the drive!
xo
s
Ann says
We (I) had a list on yellow legal paper of to-do’s for our whole house remodel, and crossed each item off when complete. Of course it changed over the years from want to what makes sense. I started with removing the ugliest things first. I had friends come over too and I listened to their comments like, “that light is hideous”.
Julianne says
Fantastic ideas! Thanks for sharing….I’ve got a little one’s birthday coming up & you’ve got my creative juices flowing!! ;0)
Kristin says
Cannot believe that one of my FAVORITE bloggers dropped a references to one of my FAVORITE internet cartoons. TROGDOR forever!
Jill says
Beautiful video <3
Sarah says
What a very fun and colorful party! I love how your party themes for Clara’s birthdays encourage her to be an independent and strong girl. It is so awesome how you have taken worms and dragons and made them just right for a little girl’s party through your color choices. You are probably not just impacting your own strong girl’s life, but dozens of others as parents copy your ideas for their daughters’ parties.
Lauren {L'amour chez nous} says
Oh. my. gosh. that is adorable! I don’t even have a child, but I am a teacher and I will clearly have to replicate the fire breathing photo idea. Love!
Jessica says
Are the cicadas out in Richmond yet? We’re waiting for them in NY. What does Clara think of those tiny dragons? ; )
YoungHouseLove says
We just saw one on the doorway of the new house! They’re heeeeere! So far the jury is out if Clara likes them or things they’re a poor substitute for worms and spiders. Haha!
xo
s
Stacey says
OK, two things:
1. Clara is amazingly adorable and now I want a three-year old, too. :)
2. I was really, really hoping I’d see a Trogdor reference in this post. You did not disappoint. Props, Petersiks.
Victoria says
Your family photo is perfect! I don’t think you could ask for a better one! Clara’s giggling face makes it perfect :)
Hilary says
Was there ice in the drink bin? If do, how did you keep it from sweating everywhere?! And where did you find such a nice one…target?!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, there was lots of ice in that bin (from Target a few years back). It definitely sweated, but pretty much just under itself if that makes sense (it didn’t spread water all over the whole table or anything, just in about an inch ring under where the base was).
xo
s
Terri says
Burninating the countryside… Burninating the peasants…
You guys are awesome.
Autumn Beach says
Oh my. Okay. Where do I begin??
Love ALL of the creative, fiery references! Especially those flowers!
Love the fire-breathing photo op! (My family would be all over the, ahem, bathroom humor.)
Love the photo wall!
Love how you plated most of the food on white. I do this, too! I read somewhere that it always makes food look more appetizing. Ha!
Love Clara’s dress!
And that video. Oh! That video. Love. It. Too. Clara’s not even my child and it ALMOST made me cry.
SO smart to not prepare any of the food yourself. I finally learned this lesson. I can’t be the party planner AND the caterer!
No amount of rain could dim that ray of sunshine that IS sweet Clara. What a wonderful celebration. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
Lena says
Such a great looking party!
The video brings tears to my eyes. I love how she changes the monkeys (?) diaper! And asks for the wipe!! Too cute. The dancing is sweet too. Sherry she looks so much like you in the picture where she is in the stroller. I was thinking it was a parade but now that i type this i vaguely remember a race he was in that had rain? A bike race?
Either way she looks a lot like u in that pic.
On another quick topic…is there a way to get email updates when u respond to a comment?
YoungHouseLove says
We wish we could do an email response for comments but it crashes our blog when we enable that plugin. So sorry! Hopefully we’ll figure out how to get it to work someday! We have it working on Young House Life without an issue, but for some reason over here it won’t work.
xo
s
Lena says
No problem. It must just be Because you get so many comments and you’re actually good at responding that it causes it to crash. I’m just always trying to remember what post i commented on and what page of comments it happened to be so that I can come back and check. Just today I was thinking “didn’t i ask YHL something? What was it?” Lol glad I remembered. It’s so nice that you actually take the time to respond to so many comments I’d hate to miss out on one of them.
Thanks again :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Lena!
xo
s
Rachelle says
When we moved across the country in the dead of winter I brought along some daffodils I had forced into bloom. I was so happy those yellow blooms survived the 1700 mile trip and freezing temps.
Tracey says
I just watched the video. That was so sweet. I don’t know who is luckier Clara or you two. That is one blessed house full LOVE!!!
Rosie Broadway says
You are the cutest little family! I adore all three of you, and Burger too.
Christen says
This is THE cutest party! I love those dragon cupcakes. I don’t have any children, but maybe my pups can could have a dragon birthday party? I think it’s totally acceptable… lol
Avone says
Adorable video! I watched the entire minute+ of black at the end. I kept waiting for a dragon to jump out and scare me or something. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah! We should have done that!
xo
s
Mary O. says
Happy Birthday Sweet Clara. The slideshow is so sweet and you’ll love watching it i the years to come.
Claudi says
In germany you cannot see the video. Such a pity. :-(.
I love your blog. It´s great to be involved in your diy projects and to be with your family in a way.
very dear greetings from germany
claudi
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry! We’d love to get a new video uploaded without the music that’s causing it to be blocked internationally and on cell phones, so if we get that done we’ll post a link for ya :)
xo
s
Bella says
Happy Birthday clara!
you should let her take dance lessons if she loves to dance so much :) i used to take ballet as a child and I loved it! (had to stop though due to a car accident)
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to get her into dance! Right now she takes a music class (she gets to dance and sing there) and loves that :)
xo
s
Julie says
I loved the dragon themed food at Clara’s party. You can’t go wrong with pizza and dragon nuggets! And the dancing parts in the video, especially in the kitchen with that light up ball, was the best. Maybe except for her climbing into her crib. When I was about 4 and my sister was 6 months old, I used to climb into the crib with her to play. lol
HK says
OMG. You guys are so creative. If you ever want to do something else, you can be party planners. The dragon fire on the wall is genius. Wall decorations, simple and beautiful… genius. I don’t even have kids, but want some just to have a dragon party now.
Donamarie says
What a great way to start my morning! Watching Clara can’t help but make you happy!! She’s a doll !! The memories you are making and saving for her are priceless! You have a beautiful family ..good luck in your new digs! By the way burger is hilarious!! My daughter and I love burger sightings!!! God bless! Donnamarie
Melissa van Herksen says
Perfect…reallly what a cute party. We also celebrated a third birthday on Saturday and it was also cold and rainy. http://www.vanherksen.blogspot.com/2013/05/yay-sammy-is-three.html
YoungHouseLove says
Happy birthday Sammy! That cake is adorable!
xo
s
Brandi says
I challenged myself to get through the the video without crying… I lasted 4 minutes!!! Such a sweet party for Clara. You guys are seriously the best.
YoungHouseLove says
Hilarious! I love a challenge. I would fail in the first ten seconds…
xo
s