The 413 Mom

Happy 350th Birthday, Westfield! #community #westfield350

Even though I live next door in Agawam, I love the city of Westfield. I've experienced so many important milestones in the city. My first real job was at Westfield News Publishing. My first apartment was in Westfield. I'm a proud graduate of Westfield State College (yes, College, not University). I was married at Stanley Park. 

I love the history and the community of the city. So of course I couldn't miss the big culminating event to celebrate their 350th Birthday today at the honorary parade.

We've enjoyed so many of the birthday events that Westfield has hosted this year. Great memories were made. I hope a lot of you visited the city and enjoyed the festivities as well. Thank you to all of the volunteers and businesses who made the celebration possible. Well done, Westfield. You sure know how to throw a party!

#westfield350 #community #lovewhereyoulive #westernmass #westfieldstatealumni #the413

 

Keeping the kids entertained so you can enjoy the Big Game #supersunday #supereasy

While Super Sunday parties may be super fun for us adults, it can be a total bummer when the kids are not so into the game and are constantly interrupting the show. I've hunted down a few tips to help keep them occupied and well fed so that they'll be on their best behavior.

Visit yescoloring  for a FREE printable Patriot's coloring page:

Or PlayPartyPlan for a FREE printable Super Bowl Commercial BINGO card:

 

I love this game idea from Play PartyPlan -- all you need is some tape, a piece of black poster board, a foam football, and some chalk: 

Don't underestimate the entertainment value of Patriots-themed partyware to make the kids feel included. Big Y has a great selection:

   

Let them use the cups to hold their snacks (less spills than balancing a paper plate) and set up a juice box and water bottle drink station where they can help themselves. 

Depending on how many kids will be hanging at your house, consider getting them their very own big game sandwich -- without the peppers, onions, tomatoes, or whatever else they'll fuss about and want to pick off. Big Y's giant 30" In-Vince-Ible Sandwich, which you can custom order with meats and cheeses is only $10.99. If you would like one for a Sunday party, you can call ASAP to custom order. Order your favorite adult version in addition to a kid-pallet-friendly simple sandwich. 

Same goes for the pizza. Big Y's party-size, baked fresh in-store pizza starts at $19.99 for plain cheese. Less than $20 for 40 slices. Cannot beat that price. (Each additional topping is $2.50). Order up a plain cheese for the kiddos and go wild with the toppings for yourself (pepperoni, mushrooms, red and green peppers, black olives, ground beef, and sweet sausage are all options). If you are ordering for Sunday, plan at least an hour's notice. 

The bummer about a Sunday night football party is that it's a school night/work night and you've got to do the cleanup in advance of an early wake-up. Prepared foods go a long way in reducing the kitchen mess. In addition to the pizza and grinders, Big Y is also offering prepared platters for wings, nuggets or tenders, ciabatta sandwiches, wraps, cheese and deli platters, and pasta and meatball combos. This looks like an amazing deal:

Not to mention all of their amazing desserts. Did you even see the Tom Brady jersey pull-apart cupcake creation they will have in store this weekend?

Unfortunately, with the food allergies in this house, the cupcake platter is out. However, I will be trying my hand at these super simple touches for dessert:

   
And of course, don't forget to dress the kiddos in their pajamas whether you are headed to or hosting a party -- if they fall asleep you have a better chance of plopping them in bed without waking. Better yet, make it a pajama party all around and then everyone's already got their elastic waistbands on to make room for all of the noshing.

Wishing you a super Super Simple Super Sunday!

Super Easy Super Sunday Football Party Fun

So the Pats didn't make the Super Bowl. That sucks, but we're all still going to watch the game. We don't want to spend a ton of money and prep time if our boys are not playing. AND we still want to keep the kids busy so we can really concentrate on the commercials, right? 

A few ideas for some super easy Super Sunday fun:

LOVE this Commercial Bingo printable from Flamingo Toes. 

Pleasantest Thing offers this printable Football I Spy sheet. 

All you have to do to customize these store-bought Quarterback Brownie Bites from Catch My Party is add some white tube frosting. Same trick works with prepackaged ice cream sandwiches (The Celebration Shoppe). 

According to Simply Kierstie, you can add some white tape to brown paper lunch bags to easily create Football Snack Sacks which perfectly hold chips or candy.  (Hopefully more makes it into the mouth and less into the couch cushions).

How cute is this Football Cheese Plate from Skinny Mom? 

The kids will go crazy for these Super Bowl rings a la Michelle Paige. 

The bummer about a Sunday night football party is that it's a school night/work night and you've got to do the cleanup in advance of an early wake-up. Prepared foods go a long way in reducing the kitchen mess. My go-to for already prepared party food for a crowd is Big Y. You can pick up a huge pizza, giant sandwich, chicken wings, veggie platter, chips, cheese and crackers, drinks, and desserts all at one stop. My two favorites:

• Their party-size, baked fresh in-store pizza starts at $19.99 for plain cheese. Less than $20 for 40 slices. Cannot beat that price. (Each additional topping is $2.50). If you are ordering for Sunday, plan at least an hour's notice. 
• The giant 30" In-Vince-Ible Sandwich, which you can custom order with meats and cheeses, starts at $15.95 (only $10.98 with the Silver Club Card or only $7.48 if you have a gold coin). If you would like one for a Sunday party, you can call ASAP to custom order. 

Wishing you a super Super Sunday!

 

Big Y Birthday Party: Best Deal in Town

Have you even heard about the Big Y birthday party? It's honestly the best party deal in town. And by that I mean any town that hosts a Big Y grocery store -- because you can have your kid's birthday at any store location. Faith adores the grocery store like most kids love Chuck E. Cheese, so I knew exactly how we were going to celebrate her recent birthday. 

The Big Y party is geared toward children ages 4-10 and is limited to 10 guests or less. The party includes a behind-the-scenes tour of the store, a chance to ring and bag groceries at a real cash register, a decorate-your-own cupcake session, a balloon bouquet for the birthday child, and enough food to feed all the party guests. The menu includes a freshly-baked, large-size pizza, juice boxes, a giant bag of chips and of course the cupcakes. All of this for only $64.99. $64.99, people! I can't feed the kids alone while having a party at the house for that price, never mind entertainment. And, do I even need to mention that, like any venue party -- I don't have to clean my house afterward!

 

When we arrived at Big Y for Faith's fete, we were greeted at customer service and shown to the conference room which doubles as the party room. Waiting for her was an adorable Paw Patrol (her current fave -- they will try to accommodate any request) balloon bouquet -- one mylar balloon and three latex ones. The tables were decorated with cute "Happy Birthday" tablecloths. While we waited for our guests to arrive, I hung up a few other Paw Patrol decorations I had brought and we met our Big Y hosts -- the employees who were going to give us a behind-the-scenes tour of the store and basically make sure we all had a great time. 

Once all of our friends had arrived, it was time to set off on our store tour. We started in the deli where we got to see how the slicer worked and had a sample of deli ham and cheese and moved on to the bakery where we got to see dough being prepared for baking. Then we were off and running: we got to touch a lobster from the tank, we had a demonstration of how the meat grinder works to churn out hamburger, witnessed the baler make a pancake out of a stack of cardboard boxes, and we got to visit the giant freezer to see all the ice cream stocked away. Whew! Then, it was time for the highlight of the day -- playing cashier on our very own register. The crew had set up a register with small grocery items. The kids had a ball running the items through the "beeper" and then bagging them. 

After the tour was over, we headed back to the conference room to decorate cupcakes. There was one cupcake for each child and bags of colored icing and sprinkles to chose from. O my goodness, did those kids have a ball. Once the cupcakes were beautifully adorned, we sang happy birthday and dug in. Then, the pizza arrived. After lunch we had a few minutes left for Faith to open her gifts. As we handed out the goodie bags we brought with us and said goodbye to our guests, the Big Y crew loaded up a grocery cart with our gifts and leftovers making it super easy to get back to our car. 

I can't say enough about the warmth and enthusiasm of all the employees we encountered during our party. Not just the party hosts, but the lady in the deli, the man who showed us the meat grinder, the lady who delivered the pizza -- they were all super friendly and answered all the kids' questions. Simply put -- it was the easiest and most relaxing kid party we've ever had. No clean up, no worrying about the entertainment showing up or worrying that someone was going to get hurt in the bounce house. I didn't even have to think about food. Or, the invitations -- Big Y provided those as well. And, of course, no stressing about a big party expense. This birthday party really was the whole package.

To schedule your own Big Y party, call the customer service desk of your local store. You won't regret it. 

Simple (Green and Affordable) Hundred Acre Wood Pooh Party

Have you even seen these new Disney invites from Paperless Post? I love the simple themes and how all the artwork has a vintage look.  I love that you can personalize the invites with a photograph. And I really love that these invites produce no waste. It's super easy to keep track of the RSVPs right on the Paperless Post site and these invitations are very affordable too -- usually less than $1 each. Just about the price of a postage stamp. Or even FREE. Paperless Post works on a "coin" system -- with the pricing of the Disney invites starting at 2 coins each. You can purchase 20 coins for $6 on the site. OR, you can use the 25 coins you receive for FREE just for signing up for a Paperless Post account online. You can learn more about the pricing here. It's so fun to receive a beautiful invitation in your email inbox. Just like getting a lovely card in the real mailbox, amidst all the junk mail (but again -- no waste! And no postage fees!) 

I especially love the Pooh invites from this new line. I was slightly obsessed with all things Winnie the Pooh when I was a kid (OK -- I kinda still am) and the art on this invitation reminds me of the simplicity of how kid birthday parties used to be. A few decorations, some simple games, cake and ice cream, and of course -- friends! I know I'm not the only one who feels that the modern one-upmanship surrounding children's events has gotten out of hand. 

Anyway, this invite got me thinking about a simple Hundred Acre Wood party that could actually take place in the woods. A very "green" party, much like the invitation itself which produces little waste and is very affordable. It could be held at a local park, hiking trail or someone's wooded backyard.  The venue itself would require a simple approach -- you're not going to be able to bring a ton of stuff out into the woods. A few simple games, some easy snacks, and a few decorations. Similar to the parties we remember so vividly for the little details -- not for the bouncey house, the DJ, the laser tag. For the time well spent with family and friends. Here are some ideas for a rustic and affordable Pooh Party:

• Send the kids around the wooded area to search for sticks. Lots of sticks for playing Pooh Sticks (if your venue has a stream) and also for making a game out of trying to build a house for Eeyore. 
• Print out some simple honeybee trail markers to place on trees and send the kids on a Hundred Acre Wood explore. Pooh and his friends are always exploring (hiking) through the woods and discovering new adventures. 
• Print out a map of the Hundred Acre Wood and see who can find the homes of Pooh, Piglet and Rabbit. Which tree belongs to Owl? Where is Gopher's hole?
• The kids can sit on picnic blankets for their simple snacks of veggies from Rabbit's garden and honey cupcakes. While eating, they can listen to a Pooh storybook -- there are hundreds to choose from. Encourage attendees to bring their favorite Pooh stuffed animal to share in the teddy bear picnic.
• Host an acorn hunt -- who can find the most acorns for Piglet?
• Leaf rubbings provide a simple craft. All you need are some leaves, plain paper, and crayons. 
• For simple decorations, hang a flag banner from two trees, bring a few balloons, and some party hats. Pooh and his friends love party hats. 
• Bear shaped bottles of honey provide a fun (and consumable) party favor. 

There are too many cool ideas from around the web to share them all, but here are a few that caught my attention:

 

I really hope Faith wants a Hundred Acre Wood themed party...too bad I have to wait a year to host it. She just turned three last week! I love that this collage is a reminder that the magic of childhood comes from the simple things. Here's to lots and lots of magic!

 

Host a Kid Birthday Party at Big Y?!

Have you all seen this? You can now host your child's birthday party at Big Y! The first time I noticed the ad I thought it was a late April Fool's joke. However, the more I looked into the idea, the more appealing it seemed. 

Big Y will let you use the conference room at one of their stores for the party site. The package includes two large cheese pizzas, a bag of Big Y chips, and a juice box for every child. They will also include a balloon bouquet (one mylar and three latex) and each child gets to decorate their own cupcake. During the party, children will be taken on a tour of the grocery store -- they will get to visit with the lobsters, see what's behind the scenes in the big refrigerators, visit the bakery and see how the cakes are decorated, visit the pizza chefs and see how the pizza is made, snag some cheese in the deli, scan groceries and more. You can also bring a small craft of your own for the kids to do, but you only have the conference room for a maximum of two hours. The Big Y party is recommended for kids ages 3-9. I can see this party venue being an especially big hit for the 4-7 age group, when they become so fascinated by how grown ups get things done. 

Compared to other non-home party sites, this one is a steal. $64.99 for 10 kids. $6.49 per kid. Most kid party venues run $10-$25 per person. What a great value, especially since all the food is included and no clean up at home! While 10 is not a hard and fast number, this party venue is for smaller groups. Not an "invite the whole classroom" kind of affair. The Big Y rep I spoke to recommended 12 or less children.

If interested, you can contact the customer service desk at your local Big Y to book a date. Reservations should be made at least one week in advance.  You can find out more about having your child's birthday party at Big Y here. 

Bounce Town (South Windsor, CT) Pristine Party Spot

We recently had the privilege of attending a birthday part at Bounce Town in South Windsor, CT (thanks Mady!) and I was so very impressed with the facility and staff. 

The Bounce Town concept is simple: six inflatable bounce houses, obstacle courses, slides will delight and exhaust your party-goers. With a booked party, the kids get one hour of play time in the inflatables, followed by 45-minutes in a party room for cake and presents. Weekend party packages start at $250 for 15 children (children under 2 and adults are not included in head count). Only birthday cake, ice cream, fruit or veggies are allowed to be brought into the facility, any other food (including drinks) must be purchased from the Bounce Town menu. 

The party assistants (Bounce Town staff) were so great! Super cheerful and helpful. I noticed the girl assigned to the party we were attending going out of her way to chat with all of the kids and parents. She made us feel very welcome and even organized a group photo before our time in the inflatable park was over. When it was time to transition to the party room, the two assistants made quick work of serving the cake, drinks, and ice cream. They even assisted with gift opening and kept a list of who gave what so Mom wouldn't have to. 

A huge bonus is that Bounce Town is SO clean. From the bounce houses, to the floors, the party room, and even the bathrooms. This place was immaculate. None of that "ick" vibe you sometimes experience at kid venues-- like you just know your child is going to come down with a stomach bug or cold within 24 hours after visiting. I didn't feel like that at all here. So impressed with their housekeeping. 

Bounce Town is also open to the public Monday - Friday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 3-6 p.m for open playtime. $10/child. Children over 12 not permitted unless accompanied by a child under 12. Children under 2 admitted free with a paying child. Socks are required for entry. 

Bounce Town is located at 97 Commerce Way in South Windsor, CT. (So worth the drive!)

Scholastic Spirit Animals Themed Birthday Party

Eden requested a birthday party based on the Scholastic kids' book series "Spirit Animals." These books follow a group of warriors called "Greencloaks" who battle evil with the help of their spirit animal guides. Eden is, perhaps, the first child ever to request this obscure party idea so I had zero help from Pinterest. Here's what we came up with on our own:

We decorated the garage using green Dollar Tree tablecloths as backdrops and plenty of green balloons and streamers. We also created a banner that read "Welcome to Greenhaven Castle" (the name of the castle where the Greencloaks have their homebase). I printed the banner with a gothic-looking font from MS Word and used a castle photo I found online. 

As guests arrived we had each one decorate a green cloak of their own. Here is Faith modeling hers. I raided the remnant bin at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft in Holyoke and came out with lots of different shades and textures of green fabrics for the cloaks. All of the remnants were an additional 50% off, so I was able to get enough fabric for all of the cloaks for about $13. The kids decorated them with fabric markers and we used safety pins to keep them on. They had a great time creating their own cloaks and each one came out so unique. 

We lucked out with the weather and the kids would have been happy just battling evil around the yard for two hours; but we had a few activities planned. Since the Greencloaks are always going on quests to find powerful animal talismans to help them conquer evil, we created a scavenger hunt with clues hidden around the yard. The kids followed the clues as a group, and at the end they uncovered a bag of tiny plastic animal "talismans" that I purchased at Party City for $.59 each.

We also purchased these small stuffed animals from amazon ($18) and held a "nectar ceremony" (the official ceremony of the Greencloaks where a spirit animal is assigned). The kids sipped lemonade from plastic goblets and decided which animal would be their guide by picking one of the stuffies out of a drawstring bag. After the nectar ceremony, we applied temporary jungle animal tattoos in following with the storyline where the human receives a tattoo of their spirit animal. 

For the cake, I printed out tiny covers of the Spirit Animal books and taped them to toothpicks for cupcake toppers. I added green frosting and the kids each picked their favorite book. 

Including pizza and drinks for 8 kids, this party totaled about $75. Not bad considering what venue parties can run. And, Eden and I had a lot of fun coming up with ideas for the party together, which of course, is priceless. 

Ninjago Birthday Party Hack

Where do we turn when the kid asks for a party theme that doesn't exist? Google, of course. 

Eden recently requested a Ninjago party theme for her birthday dinner with her cousins. There were a lot of (expensive) ideas online. I put together the the best of them here to create the ultimate Ninjago party hack:

I gratefully downloaded these printable cupcake toppers from ourhomemadehappiness and used them on a sheet cake. 

And these ninja eyes from pinterest which I used to make Ninjago balloons (just tape them on balloons in the ninja colors).

This Ninjago graphic can be found at countrygirlhome and used for invitations or decorating.

This tutorial from Lego Club Magazine shows how to make a sweet ninja mask from just a t-shirt. This is a free activity if you gather tees from around the house (the t-shirts are not altered in any way so they can go right back in the drawer afterward). These masks will make the inevitable Ninjago battles even more exciting for partygoers. 

A simple party game is "Sensei Says" rather than "Simon Says."

If you save your soda bottles and get out the duct tape, you can use this guide to make cool (and free) "Spinjitzu" tornadoes as a craft activity for the kids.

Easy snacks could include Raman (or any pasta) as "Master Chen's Delicious Noodles" and if you don't want to go the cake route, have you noticed that Carvel's Flying Saucer ice cream sandwiches look just like the ninjas' favorite "creamy biscuits?" 

I rounded out these simple ideas with Lego-yellow tableware and streamers from the dollar store. 

Using these suggestions, you could host an awesome Ninjago party for under $20. Kids' birthday parties don't have to break the bank. A little imagination goes a long way. 

Ninja-GO!

Simple Spring Bird Craft and Snack

We've got a birthday girl in the house today which means Mama got to visit school and craft with the class! We only had about 30 minutes for the classroom birthday celebration, so I came up with a quick and easy spring bird craft and nest cupcake:

 

For the craft, I found a bird template on Pinterest and printed out copies for the class. I purchased a bag of feathers at the dollar store, and a small package of paper fasteners at Target ($2.35). The kids cut out the templates and colored the birds with their desk crayons. Once they were colored, we arranged all the pieces and pushed the paper fastener through both wings and the body so the birds could "fly." To finish off, the kids used their desk glue to arrange feathers on the wings. Super easy, and inexpensive. 

 

 

For the cupcakes I used a simple boxed cake mix and green baking cups. A few drops of green food coloring in the frosting ensured our birds' nests would be a pretty spring color, and then I added three jelly bean eggs and some edible Easter grass to the top. Cost for 18 cupcakes, less than $6. 

 

 

The third graders did a great job with the project. I think it could also work for lower grades, it was that easy. They also did a great job of devouring the cupcakes and loved eating the "grass" in the nests. The whole shebang cost less than $10 and about one hour of my time at home.