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…
Carmen Butschlick says
The shot of Clara with the cookie is just so precious! Frame-worth for sure.
Kim R says
Okay, so I’ve never even met Clara, and I almost got teary when you started going backwards. ;P
After seeing last year’s video, I started going back and making the year in review vids for my kids. I have Year one for my 4 year old and just finished year 3-4. My daughter turns 7. SEVEN in August, so I gotta get going on that one. And once you have two, (if you decide to have two, or once a person/couple decides to have more than one child) it’s so much more important and so much HARDER to try and make the video just focus on one. Esp. when your little brother is always photobombing big sister’s pictures.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! That does sound challenging! We’re use to Burger photobombing, but he just gets worked in there ;)
xo
s
Lauren says
This is really random but… when I saw the jelly bean “dragon’s eggs” I immediately thought of “Albi the Racist Dragon” from Flight of the Conchords (because, as we all know, dragon tears turn into jelly beans!). Here is the Albi clip from the show… hope you find the coincidence as funny as I do! (don’t worry, it’s not as offensive as it perhaps sounds… it’s supposed to be a fake kid’s show from New Zealand):
Karen F says
awww such a cute party! Simple parties are the best – then you can actually relax and enjoy yourself! You still had a ton of cute little touches, though, that made it personal and special. and I love the dragon flame cutout on the wall – such a fun idea.
Happy birthday, Clara! You guys are such a sweet family – love the family picture of all of you!
Karen F says
sorry for the double comment – but I had to comment on the video (which I just watched) – BEAUTIFUL!! I’m wondering what program(s) you guys use to make something like this?
YoungHouseLove says
We use Final Cut Pro now (a program we bought to make a book video a while back) but we used to use iMovie (which comes free with a Mac) and that worked great too!
xo
s
linda says
what a great party!!! and that video!!!! OMG! brought tears to my eyes! she’s grown up soooo much this past year! and you’ve been holding out on us! i started out thinking “i remember that picture/video” then all the sudden new pics/vids! you need to not do that to us! share! share! and share some more! we canNOT get enough of clara (and burger!)
Kara k says
How did you attach your paper lanterns to the ceiling? My son’s birthday is in two weeks and I really want to do this too!
YoungHouseLove says
We just used white string from my sewing box and taped them into the windowsills above the table.
xo
s
Elisabeth says
Happy birthday little Clara!
No video for Germany!?
Is it possible to take the music “away”,
would be fun for “GCF”(German Clara Fans)
Elisabeth
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry! We’re over at the new house today (furiously working to get trim painted!) but we’d love to upload another version without the music for you guys later if we get a moment. We had no idea it would be blocked on mobile phones or internationally! :)
xo
s
Elisabeth says
thank you,thank you,this would be sooooooo nice!
Elisabeth
Steph @ SeeStephRun.com says
you throw the cutest birthday parties! Such a creative idea! I love this. Seriously someday.. I hope I can pull this type of stuff off!
Maura says
Oh, no, I should have saved that super sweet video for AFTER my youngest daughter’s kindergarten graduation today. Now I’m all choked up (with happy mother-love, of course).
What a fun party – I love Clara’s creative themes!
Frannie says
Isn’t it the best to have a little girl to watch grow up? My sweetie is 19 months old and she is so much fun. I’m so lucky to be her mama. Love watching her grow and love watching Clara grow!!
Bronwyn says
That video is amazing!
Almost made me cry, can’t wait to do something like this for my girl’s 1st birthday in October!
Great job on the party too!
x
Whitney Dupuis says
Ah! I love the party! Great job on everything. And just like every other time, I teared up during the video. That is one lucky little bug to have such thoughtful parents.
Laura G says
Great video! My sweet p will be turning 1 in a few weeks. I’d love to make a video for her big day. What program did you use?
YoungHouseLove says
We used Final Cut Pro (but have also made her first one with iMovie, which comes free with Macs).
xo
s
Tara Jane says
Awesome, love it. The theme is great. We just had a glow-in-the dark party for our 5 year old, super fun. Love the non-traditional ideas!
Jeanna says
Amazing job with the video! I don’t have anything like this from when my boys were little, and I so wish I did. Precious memories. She’s growing up so fast!
Karen says
Wow Clara has grown so much in the last year! Her last birthday she still looked like a baby! And now she’s a little girl…with a lot more hair! :)
Hilary Park says
Oh my goodness, the videos you make are so sweet and adorable! I loved the first two and this one is no different. I love me some electronic Clara time! :)
Liz | Hogs Ever After says
So cute. I’m not going to lie…I read this whole post hoping to find $herdog in a Khaleesi costume complete with dragons. Total twinkies!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! John said I should have done that. But I didn’t have a big blonde wig to pop into…
xo
s
hannah says
consummate Vs…. the BEST. :)
happy birthday! :)
Diana says
You have a smart, beatiful, woderful, perfect little girl. i know how it feels. Happy birthday, Clara! Happy anniversary, Sherry and John, it’s been three years since you’ve become Mommy and Daddy! You two are doing a perfect job in adoring, loving and raising her!
Lauren says
You always have the cutest and sweetest ideas! I love that you put so much thought into it, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend months working on it! I can’t wait to see all of the parties she ends up “themeing” as she gets older. Happy birthday, Clara!
Kari says
You guys are the best! Who knew that a dragon themed party could be so stylish, fun, and feminine enough for a little lady? Awesome creativity.
Jessica says
Very cute party! I always love the idea of labeling party foods around the party theme. In this case, I like to think that rather than a brick fire oven or wood fire oven, the pizzas were baked in a dragon fire oven.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love that!
xo
s
Sandy says
The fact that you guys have a HomeStar Runner reference in here makes me love you even more! The party looked amazing!
BreeAnn says
Haven’t even finidhed reading this post, I’m just so excited about your referencing of CONUSMMATE Vs! Trogdor!!!
As always, you guys are amazing.
Pat says
Another big win for you guys. Looks like everyone had a blast. I love dragons, too, even though I’m 70 years older than Clara. :D I think I need to make those cupcakes.
Megan says
I love it! And that family pic is pretty adorable!!
Danielle says
Okay so the party was adorbs, as usual :) Clara is too funny and spot-on with her “life is good with pizza” attitude! However, the gem in your post, for me, was the Homestar Runner reference. My eyes practically fell outta my head when I saw that, and I proceeded to spend my lunch break watching old Teen Girl Squads and Strongbad E-mails :) Thanks for the throwback. ALSO, they sell a Trogdor t-shirt (my 18 month old is getting one now!), up to 3T size……..just sayin’, Clara would make one epic Trogdor!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love it!
xo
s
Stef says
I’m totally go to steal all of these ideas for my son’s 2nd birthday party in Feb. He was born year of the dragon (2012)- so a dragon theme would be great!
April says
Love the party and the video was awesome! Happy birthday Clara!
Kate says
Love this- “be happy! there’s pizza!”
I want pizza now, too!
karen says
that video!! very sweet
Liz says
What did you serve the pizzas on? While serving it right out of a klassy pizza box appeals to my laziness, I’d like to put a bit more effort into my daughter’s first birthday party.
YoungHouseLove says
For her first birthday party I got these large clear plastic platters (they look like glass ones, but were a buck at the dollar store). They come in handy every year!
xo
s
Lauren says
HAHAHA love the consummate V reference…I knew exactly what you were talking about even though I haven’t thought about anything Homestar Runner-related in at least 7 or 8 years.
What a sweet party. I love that Clara chooses such unique themes every year!!
Kara says
TROGDOR! I haven’t thought about Stong Bad’s emails since college. Thanks for that!
Karla@{TheClassyWoman} says
I was waiting for this post! You guys always do an amazing job with your parties for Clara!! Every detail is just perfection and I love how cozy and fun everything is and you didn’t not slave away in the kitchen, only baking the cookies and bought everything else. Down to the dragon socks in the $1 spot, everything fell into place. I think a big part of party planning and getting deals comes from shopping all year round before the event as you guys do.
Out of curiosity (as I know you always provide the budget breakdown of your projects), what was your budget for the party?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, we just tried to make casual/inexpensive choices, so the expenses were pretty much just buying plates and napkins and two tablecloths at Target, three pizzas and a box of nuggets, a few other snacky and decorative things, and the stuff for favors. Maybe it was $60 total, which breaks down to about $3 a person (including a meal for everyone and favors and egg-hunting for each kid). That would be my best guess :)
xo
s
Debbie says
I love Clara’s party. You are always so creative!! speaking of kids, I had a question for you. I am decorating my daughters bedroom and I am debating whether or not I can hang pink ruffly curtains on her window. Her window already has plantation shutters, so I didn’t know if putting curtains over the plantation shutters would be cute and layered or cluttered and busy. What do you think?? Thanks!!!
YoungHouseLove says
I would totally give it a try! Sometimes you can’t tell if something works until you see it – and hopefully you can return them or use them in some other way if you don’t like it?
xo
s
Tammie K. says
Oh my goodness!! That video is priceless!! Clara is adorable. It brought tears to my eyes and made me remember how fast they change.
Kelly K says
You may not have cooked much, but man, you guys know how to milk a theme! I love how you incorporated it into every little detail. And the video is just awesome. So well done. Happy belated birthday to Clara! She has gotten so big this past year.
Wishing you all a fabulous year in your new house full of new projects!
bobbie says
That video melted my heart!!!
..and made me feel a little guilty that I haven’t made them for my girls ;) I’d better get on that!
Randa says
You guys are wonderfully creative and I love it! The video was great, too… my favorite line is when Clara says, “and then we’ll go to… to Home Depot.” :) :)
Trista says
Your Strong Bad reference made my day.
Clara’s party looked like fun. I’m planning my son’s first birthday party. Gonna take some cues from Katie B’s Mickey Mouse decor.
Lora says
Tell us the truth..did you use Burger’s paw to make the imprints in the dinosaur white chocolate chip cookies?
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahahahahahahaha! I think he might have bitten my face off if I tried that. Or he would have eaten all the cookies. Yes, that.
xo
s
Katelyn Hickman says
Love Homestar Runner! :)
Jeremy says
So I need to know, did S really know the Homestarrunner runner reference or was the J? “I said Consummate V’s” Trogdor clearly could have been invited to Clara’s party!
YoungHouseLove says
We both did weirdly enough! Ever since Clara’s dragon obsession started we’ve been quoting that randomly (ex: Clara the Burninator!, etc). #dorksforlife
xo
s
Kim S says
I love all of Clara’s birthday parties! You guys are the best! I always had home parties growing up, and my mom was super-creative as well. I’m betting between her genes (and with her help!) and the great ideas you guys share, my future little ones will have awesomely creative and fun birthday parties as well!
Kala M. says
What a great party! The video is so cute. I think I started getting a little teary in some spots. She is getting so big and says the cutest things.
Linda says
Does John realize his video is responsible for thousands of women (and probably some guys) tearing up in their offices today?
Thanks again for sharing this look at your family – and may Clara’s year be filled with health and happiness.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! I’ll have to tell him that!
xo
s
Courtney says
Adorable video! What a sweetie you have :) Just curious, do you serve alcohol at Clara’s parties? My friends and I are always discussing if it’s appropriate or not and wonder what others do. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Since our parties are usually lunchtime (noon to 2) we don’t have any adult beverages, but when we hosted Christmas dinner this year we had them :)
xo
s
Shauna says
Cherish the moments. My last bout of crying was last year, when somehow we managed to put together a little slideshow for my son who was getting married. Seeing that change–baby to man–does it to me every time, in a happy way. Clara just seems like such an incredibly happy child! She must be in a happy family…
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, I will be straight up bawling if that time comes…
xo
s