Birthday Party - Brenham,TX

If you were offered a pony, then you could do a cowgirl theme.

For games you could do potato sack races, plastic horseshoe toss, pin the tail on the donkey, hay maze, etc.

Oh, and I agree with the cupcakes vs a cake.

For my daughter' first, I printed a bunch of coloring pages from the internet and set up a table with a ton of papers and crayons. We also had a cupcake cake that was shaped like a 1. Everyone got a cupcake, a juice box, and an ice cream cup.

check out this cute party idea site: http://www.karaspartyideas.blogspot.com/

also: kids this young don't need much activities. Maybe have some sugar cookies they can decorate with icing and various sprinkles. Open presents early and the kids will probably want to play with those for the rest of the party. I usually combine my 4 yr old girl and my 2 yr old boy because their birthdays are so close together. This will probably be the last year I do that. I like doing that so that all the relatives don't have to come out for two separate parties so close together. Have fun!

A super cute theme for girls that age is ladybugs! You'd be able to get a mix of red, black, and white paper products if you want. You could do a pin the spots on the ladybug for the kiddos that it's appropriate for, or you could even have bug shaped cookies (there's got to be cookie cutters out there for that) and let the kiddos decorate them. I love the pinatas with the ribbons. Good luck and have fun!

BTW: A friend of mine has gotten products from this site/blog, and I came across some pictures from a little girl's ladybug-themed party! http://tomkatstudio.blogspot.com/2009/09/sweet-customers-...

I would keep it simple. If you have it at your house use bubbles, hula hoops, jump ropes, balls, etc. Maybe kiddie pool? They are little and won't care so don't overwhelm them. Just make it a pink theme and make cupcakes. They are easy and everyone is happy with the serving size. Or do one large sheet cake and make it half and half (chocolate/vanilla). My daughters shared parties in the past. They are 3 years and 15 days apart. This is their b-day month. What about a pinita, they can pull the strings not hit it. Make sure you buy candy, they don't come filled. Happy Birthday to your girls.

Oh yeah, sloppy Joe's go a long way if you want something other then pizza. Maybe you want hamburgers and hotdogs? Keep the food simple also. Same with drinks, water, soda and juice for the kids.

okay, well I'm sort of a party crazy person, so maybe you should take what I say with a grain of salt...but..;)...I think you should have fun! My kids are exactly 2 years and 7 days apart and I'm doing two separate parties this year! Yipes! :)

I think the ponies would be great in another year or two, but hoenstly, right at 1 and 2 I think they might be really scared of the ponies, plus you'd have to hold on to them the entire time. Probably at 2/3 or 3/4 would be even better. I don't think you necessarily have to have games but sometimes I do crafts. I would start with picking a theme b/c then you can really focus your ideas. Oriental Trading Co has great ideas for crafts and party favors. My daughter's 2nd b-day was a golf theme and the kids made their own golf visors (foam with foam stickers) and put on sports tatoos. Then I just had a ton of toys in the back yard and they entertained themselves. But, really, a craft isn't always necessary. It depends on the ages of your kids really. Tatoos are always a hit, so that's an easy one.

I would also suggest doing cupcakes only b/c then you don't have to stand there cutting the cake forever. Your party seems smaller, so it might not be a huge deal, but if you'll have a lot of adults plus 10 kids, go for cupcakes...it's easier. Costco has AWESOME cakes and cupcakes and they are super cheap. I buy those and then decorate them myself according to my theme. Costco won't do any decorating but they're so good and so inexpensive that it's fun to add some touches to them yourself.

As far as the parents, I would just have enough food and chairs for them to sit, chat and watch the kids. We are also having beer at my son's 1st party, b/c really, it's more about me than him at this age and I'm okay with it! Plus, it's more of a family and friends backyard bash b/c he doesn't really know it's all about him yet! Some people certainly probably disagree with me, but that's okay. We do juice and water for the kids and iced tea and beer for the grown ups! People know and respect that it's a kid party and no body ever has too much!

If you want more crazy party ideas, feel free to ask! :)

**I also was going to mention to look into bounce houses and stuff...they are less expensive than I thought they were and you get to keep them for 8 hours usually so your kids can play with it all day long! I don't know your budget, but since you're combining it might be a bit more. We didn't get a bounce house but I did get a balloon artist for this year and everyone is really excited!

I went to a b-day party for a 4 year old yesterday and they had a pinata. Instead of beating it, there were multiple colored ribbons hanging off and each child got to pull one, and only one would open the pinata. It was genius!

That being said, for our own daughter we've only ever had family and close friends, max of 3 small children besides her and just snacks, cake and presents, no games. Although I did make up gift bags that I handed out right before she opened presents so the kids had something to play with while she opened.

Skip the pony. Too much money for your girls that are too young. Let them pick the theme. It really doesn't matter. Go online or look at a catalog and see what the 2 year old points to. What do they like to do for fun? Do they like to dress up or paint or play water games? What kind of crafts do they like to do? It should be fun for the 2 year old, especially and you can tailor it to the needs of the other kids. Something that will make a frame is good. Then you can send pictures with the thank you. If the kids have their parents there you think they won't mind helping them, then just have some samples made up. If not, do a lot of the prep ahead of time and they just have to assemble and/or decorate.

The nice thing about crafts is that the older kids can help the younger kids, too. If you have a variety of options for them to do, then everyone will use the items they like.

Does the 16-year-old like to take pictures? You can have the older kids take turns being in charge of taking pictures. Remind them to get pictures of everyone there - some posed and some not. It's great if they have a job that is fun. If you have several, then you can have them help each other with ideas of what pictures to take, reminding them they need to take turns.

My kids loved decorating cupcakes. That keeps them busy and people of all ages, even the adults like to decide what color frosting or candy, etc. to put on their cupcake. You can even have a jelly bean or a gummy bear for them to stick inside the cupcake before they frost it. Then there is a "surprise" when they bite into it.

i dont think a pony not be so great for the 1 and 2 or the 16 yr old. i would do a go fish (where you put the pole and string over the curtian and get a prize) the 16 yr old can be behind the curtian and help out. the blow up slides seem to be fun for all ages even little ones. good luck.