We did it! I don’t know how we managed to pull off Dylan’s 2nd bash, but I can say that I’m pleased it went the way it did. It wasn’t how I envisioned it, but due to the unforeseen weather forecast with mother nature, we were either going to cancel the party or have it go on. And, for Dilly Willy, the party had to go on! For the first time in my life, I tracked the weather hourly since Saturday night, in hopes, that the weather was wrong (like it is sometimes).
Papa Dang and I didn’t have a contingency plan in place in the event it was going to rain. We were just going to cancel. We couldn’t think of where else to host the party that could accommodate our guests (approx. 150 people) until 11:25 a.m. the day of the party. I was down to the buckle when the weather changed from sunny to 70% probability of rain starting at 2 p.m. There was no way I was going to have our guests stand in the cold anyways and just like being at work, I put my thinking cap on quickly. Within 10 minutes of contacting folks I had connections with, the party was moved from Zoomars Petting Zoo to Mon Cheri. It was the best decisions I’ve made!! I kept our guests updated via e-mail of any changes. Thanks to the ever-so-technological advancement with cell phones – it definitely saved my life since e-mail was accessible to most within minutes. In addition, I didn’t want to toss everything Papa Dang and I worked on so hard away. It took us an entire month to plan and the last week was brutal. We would stay up together working on details (once our boys were sound asleep) to make our vision come to life. I’m so thankful for Papa Dang; he’s very accommodating and normally gives his two cents on my vision, which is sometimes better than what I originally planned.
I designed everything on paper, laid it out in word document / PS, loaded our guest lists to Excel, reviewed vendor contracts and booked them, kept a spreadsheet with vendor information, weekly agenda (to-do list) and expected completion date…. I was very organized and you basically have to be when you’re trying to execute a birthday party to ensure it goes smoothly. Yup, it’s time management.
Ok, let’s get down to the details, which will have to be broken in several posts. Hopefully, this will insipre or help you when you decide to throw a superhero bash of your own. I’m going to start with the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) projects (love doing these) for making superhero capes:
Materials Required – Fabric, Sewing Machine, Velcro, Cape Pattern, Scissor, Pins (Cost per Cape - $1.75)
My original plan was to not make capes and have kids come in their alter-ego superhero costumes, but since I knew that some wouldn’t have any, I had to accommodate them to make them fit in. Kids shouldn’t feel left out (in my opinion). It was basically all or nothing. I was set to make 20 capes, which then turn to 50 capes and for someone who never sew before, this was going to be an interesting and fun task. Thanks to my Crazy Cousin Diane for the pattern and for teaching me the basics of sewing. Also, thanks to Lil Anh for coming over to help cut fabrics and later took some home to sew, but I went “sew-crazy” one night, I basically didn’t need her help. However, she did sew 10 capes for me!
I decided to invest in a sewing machine from Target for $100 bucks. I remember the first night I brought it home and started practicing in our bedroom while Papa Dang was asleep. It was such a bad idea because he kept waking up to the loud noise that I had to move myself the following day to the dining room. I am funny.
I used cotton fabrics that were purchased from Joanns. Joanns have the coolest deals ever! You don’t ever have to pay full-price for anything. There are always coupons and it is easily available through the web or weekly ads.
I would put together instructions on how to make the cape, but I don’t have pictures to show right now on how it was done. If you want to learn, just ask me and I’ll show you. The capes were not perfect, but good enough to allow kids to run around being little superhero. In the end, I was able to mass produce and it became an addiction. I went “sew-crazy”, people! I would normally sew late at night after our boys were asleep, but there was only one Saturday morning, where I worked on it for 30 minutes and allowed Aiden and Dilly to watch TV. As a result, I let them watch "diego" and Aiden picked up "hola amigo". Haha!
Thanks to our friend, Tony, for the superhero vinyl that were pressed on each cape.
Personalized Name Hangers:
Materials Required: Hangers, 18 or 16 Gauge - 200 ft. Galvanized Wire, Long Nose Pliers, Ribbons (Cost per Hanger $1.00)
Papa Dang showed me a personalized wire hanger name from a wedding he saw on Facebook and I thought to myself, would it not be cool if I could do this for each little superhero? I spent the night doing some research and the following day, I asked Papa Dang to buy me some galvanized wire from Home Depot. We spent a few nights trying to figure out how to twist the names to make it look decent. I would write the name on a piece of paper and then, tried twisting it. I started off with both our boy’s name. Again, another hideous attempt that I dare not to show! I wasted about 100 ft of galvanized wire before I was able to master what turned out to be “OK” looking. I was very close to just putting them on wooden hangers, but I’m very optimistic and continue to teach myself.
After several attempts, my hands got used to twisting the names. I could twist one name in about 3-5 minutes.
I didn’t take pictures of how the hangers were made, but can show you if you’re interested. I taught my friend, Vivian, when she came over to our house one night. If I can do it, so can you! They are very inexpensive to make.
Here’s the breakdown:
Wooden hangers purchased from IKEA (8 for $3.99).
Ribbons purchased at Michaels ($1.00)
18 or 16 Gauge - 200 ft. Galvanized Wire ($6.29)
Long Nose Pliers (every guy owns this – just borrow it – haha).
All of the hangers were made by yours truly, except for one. I couldn't believe I made them. :)
Thanks to Tank Driver Sissy and Uncle Stinky for tying the ribbons on the hangers.
Picture courtesy of Catherine Tang Photography.
