The Lee Family: Sofia's Birthday Party

We'd gone back and forth on throwing Sofia a birthday party partially because when I'd ask her about it she was pretty non-committal and also because most of Sofia's friends seem to be traveling and out of town in late July. Originally we thought of doing a swim party at our house as we've done before but it's actually a lot of work and it's so hot for parents to be sitting outside. Plus, with CK's parents in town he really wanted to go flying with his Dad on Saturday. About two weeks before Sofia's birthday I was looking at Facebook and saw photos of a 10 year old girl's birthday party at The Wild Nest which is an art studio in Colleyville. I haven't been to The Wild Nest but my book club went a few months back and they loved it. Plus, the pictures of the studio look amazing! I called and talked with Carla, the co-owner and we set up a paint-your-own unicorn painting party on the Friday after Sofia's birthday from 4pm to 7pm.

Once I set up the time and date I sent out an Evite to Sofia's friends: Shivaji, Clementine, Emily from school, Kelley, Emily from soccer, Gabrielle, Emma, Milani, Alexa and Chloe. All her friends said yes except for Alexa and Chloe who both planned to be out of town. Since the party would be during dinnertime, I decided to have Chik-Fil-A chicken nuggets, superfood salad (one of my favorites), watermelon, blueberry and strawberry fruit salad, pretzels and apple juice, fruit punch or water. Instead of a cake I decided to get the character cookies from Market Street and asked them to decorate them with unicorns. They turned out so cute! I also bought some mini chocolate cupcakes for a little variety and for those who prefer chocolate.

We arrived just before 4pm and set out the food and balloons, thanks to Connie, CK Sr, Michelle and my CK. Michelle is always the first to arrive anywhere she goes and it was great to have an extra set of hands to bring everything inside. The Wild Nest is even more overwhelming and awesome in person than in pictures! It's so decorative and over-the-top and reminded me of something my Mom would dream up! I loved it! All the girls arrived at 4pm and the party started!

Carla set out a blank canvas, a plate with dollops of paint they kids would be using, paintbrushes, a cup of water and paper towels at each kid's seat. All the girls found a seat and the painting party started. Just before everyone arrived, Carla showed Sofia several different unicorn paintings to chose from and she picked a really fun one to paint. The girls got started and Carla was great at explaining what to do as they painted. Unfortunately, Olivia didn't take part in the painting and preferred to hang out with her Grandma and Grandpa in the back seating area. I thought that she would either really be excited to paint and be a part of the party or be too shy and tired to join. She and Sofia spent almost the entire day swimming with their new mermaid tales and she was tired and wasn't interested in joining in. I considered having her take a nap earlier that day but we were too busy and the time got away from us. She was content to sit on her Grandma's lap, eat pretzels and play with my iPhone while the girls painted.

Carla walked the girls through the unicorn painting and they all were awesome at paying attention and following her directions. In about an hour, each girl had their completed unicorn painting and they all looked awesome! Even little Emily, who is 6 months younger than Olivia, painted with the group and did an awesome job without any help from Carla or her mom! I was hoping with Emily there that Olivia would want to join, but she didn't. After the girls were done with their paintings, they took off their smocks and old t-shirts and headed to the seating area where Olivia, Connie and CK Sr were sitting. Unfortunately CK had a board meeting that evening in Fort Worth and only stayed for the first 45 minutes of the party before he had to leave. Sofia sat in one of the chairs and the girls piled around her on the couch and even on the floor while she opened presents from her friends. She got so many great presents, all of which are right up her alley! She got a Toys R Us gift card from Shivaji, Mini Treats sowing kit from Clementine, Magnus Chase book and scratch tiles from school Emily, The Frog Princess and Valerie books and a Harry Potter coloring book from Kelley, a Barnes and Nobles gift card from Gabrielle and little Emily, a stained glass dragon art kit and large Darla dragon stuffed animal as well as a small Darla dragon stuffed animal for Olivia from soccer Emily, an art portfolio, Rainbow Rocks doll, paintable animal figures and bead and butterfly necklace from Emma, and a gift card to Half Priced Books from Milani. She got so many great gifts from her friends! She also got a paint your own plastic glitter horses and kinetic sand from Antonio and Luca.

After she opened her gifts and looked at all of her great things, the girls went back into the painting area to pick up a plate of food and sit down at the table where they painted. While Sofia was opening her gifts, Carla had cleaned up all the painting supplies and moved the finished unicorn paintings in the middle of the table so the girls could eat. After eating, Carla told the girls that there were birds hidden throughout the art studio and she wanted them to count how many each of them could find. I think Shivaji found over 70 while Sofia found around 60! It was hard to believe there were that many birds around the studio, but once you started looking birds were everywhere.

Once the girls were done with their search, I moved the unicorn cookies and cupcakes to the art table and we sang Happy Birthday to Sofia. The girls loved the cookies and before we knew it they and the mini cupcakes were gone! We took a group photo of the girls with their paintings and they all turned out so cute! The girls' moms started showing up and Sofia thanked each of her friends and gave them a thank you bag that included a box of colored pencils, a blank notebook to doodle in and several sheets of butterfly and fantasy coloring pages. She had written a note on each bag that read "Thank you for coming to my party. Love, Sofia" None of the parents had even heard of The Wild Nest before and we all talked about doing a mom's painting night out after school starts. It's such a fun place.

After all the moms and friends left, we loaded up our car and thanked Carla for a fantastic party! She actually told me that it was the best group of girls she's had for a birthday party! The girls were really awesome and respectful and it was a great party. I think because not all the girls knew each other and there were a few girls from Sofia's soccer team who don't know her from school as well as friends who don't know Sofia from school or soccer. They all got along well and I think everyone had a fun evening. As we drove off, Sofia said it was the "best party ever." I sure thought it was - it was so easy since Carla made it clear that her goal is to have the parents enjoy the party without having to manage anything. It was great! Ironically as I drove home I realized that I'd never payed Carla so I ended up returning to pay her! What a great party and experience!

Happy Birthday unicorn cookies and mini chocolate cupcakes