a birthday celebration

Morgan had her first ever friend party on Sunday afternoon. Our house and our budget are boundary-setters when it comes to events like this, and Morgan has 21 girls in her class. So I struggled with when and how to have a party without hurting feelings. After polling some of my mom-friends, I decided it would be okay for her to invite five girls for a little birthday get-together at our home.

For the party, we tried to re-create some similarities to Morgan's favorite American Girl, Kit Kittredge, and the things she would have done at her Penny Pincher party in the 1930's. I worked hard on homemade decorations and activities with items we already had around the house, while still hoping that all the references to another era wouldn't be lost on seven and eight year olds.

Paper flags were our only real decoration.




















Our first activity was to have the girls create their own party hats for themselves and the dolls they brought to the party. I found a template online and had the elastic in my sewing drawer.

Up next the girls sewed little penny pouches with extra fabric from my stash. I finished the top of each pouch on my sewing machine before the party, and they just had to stitch up the bottom and one side. Needles and thread were all set to go, and for the most part it was a success. We had some struggles with knots and some girls were faster than others, but they were all so proud that they sewed! The girls put pennies inside to use as Bingo markers and cinched with a ribbon. Complete.

Bingo was next. I thought this would be an easy thing to create homemade. In theory, yes. But it was time consuming to choose images online and create six separate cards with varied layouts. I found 13 images that would work and interchanged them on each card.

Three classic 1930's games followed: 

Drop the Clothespin

Pin the Tail on the Donkey

Button, Button

So easy. All things I had here at home already.

After the activities concluded it was time for our Kit Kittredge roll cake and ice cream. Not quite as authentic as the 1930's, but it sure tasted good. Wish I had taken a picture of the inside, but didn't think of it while I was cutting. 

We concluded with opening gifts. Considering Morgan doesn't like to be on display, I wasn't sure what to expect from her. Awkward moments? Not too bad. 

Because Morgan and I enjoyed reading the Kit Kittredge books together so much, we gifted each girl with her very own copy of Meet Kit. Unlike the ones published today, the copies we gave were original, fully illustrated versions that maybe, just maybe, will grow a love of history and reading as it already has in Morgan. 

Throwing a friend party is probably not something I will do every year, but this sure was a fun way to get my feet wet. Regardless of the details, the plans and the effort, the girls had a good time and I was thrilled to fulfill this wish for Morgan.