I can't believe it's been six months since Jewell turned 14! It's already time to start planning Brack's party for early May, so I wanted to share the details of Jewell's party since I haven't done that yet.
Jewell chose an "Outdoor Movie Night" for her theme this year. Since her birthday is at the beginning of October, and it is the Deep South, it was the perfect time of the year for an evening outdoors!
I began by handmaking her invitations. What's a movie without tickets and popcorn, right?
I always try to have a backup plan for inclimate weather, but that night was absolutely perfect!
I had seen the lightbox at Hobby Lobby, and using my 40% off coupon, bought it for her party. I have loved it and use it all the time!
I had bought a large supply of the white food trays a while back. They were perfect for the occasion. Standing the napkins in the woven box kept them from flying away.
My black tablecloths were a perfect base and I decided to use a red runner I had made a while back for a Mother/Son Valentine's Day party. I filled several black wire baskets with lots of varieties of candy like you might find at the theater concession stand.
Speaking of which, my niece, Mary Reagan, was there as I set everything out, and I had her draw the popcorn sign for me. Her artistic skills are much better than mine!
Pizza was an easy choice. Gerald picked it up and I kept it in the oven on the warmer setting until I needed it.
A few candles scattered throughout were pretty but also helpful after the sun went down.
I chose a variety of soft drinks to serve. The yellow cups matched the napkins and added a pop of color to the darker reds and blacks.
I made my standard white wedding cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing - always a favorite, and I can make them in my sleep!
Behind them you can see my cotton candy maker. Unfortunately, the wind was too high that evening to allow it to work.
I also brought out my commercial popcorn popper that I invested in a few years ago. I have already gotten my money's worth! I had a guest popcorn maker that evening - my fifteen year old nephew, Copeland! He was the ONLY boy (besides Brack and Gerald) at an all-girl party! He guaranteed me that he volunteered ONLY to lighten my load. Wasn't that gracious of him? I wish I had a picture of him there, but you'll have to take my word for it.
I found these individual popcorn containers years ago at Dollar Tree. I think they were three for a $1. Anyway - I had bought several white mums for fall, but hadn't had time to plant them yet. I placed them in the containers, watered them good and added some rocks to keep them from blowing over. They were so cute and just required a good wash in hot water to get them back in shape for popcorn.
I also made nachos - simple tortilla chips and cheese and one pot with Rotel tomatoes.
The girls ate a little before dark.
They all posed for pics with the birthday girl! Sorry, EK! I obviously snapped that one before you were ready, but it was the only one with the sign.
We borrowed the screen and projector from some friends at church and hung the screen in front of our garage door. I brought out a couple dozen quilts and blankets for the girls to sit on. We were initially going to sit on bales of hay borrowed from my parents, but they had been so loosely tied, I was afraid they'd fall apart. In the end, this was perfect as it allowed the girls to move around more to visit than having lines of chairs or hay bales.
I think you can catch Copeland in the top right of this photo. He made the popcorn and delivered it, too! Once everyone had their food and was settled, we began the movie. They had a lot of fun, and while they enjoyed the movie ("Parental Guidance" - I highly recommend it), they had more fun just being together.
More pics of Jewell with some of her friends.
We ended up inside so Jewell could open her gifts and thank her friends for coming.
Jewell told me this was one of her favorite parties ever. She loved that she had so many friends there, and that she could move around to visit with all of them.
We're already talking about what to do for #15. After all - it's only six months away!
I'm so glad you stopped by my neck of the woods!
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