All I have to say is THANK YOU,THANK YOU,THANK YOU! Claire had a wonderful birthday because of everyones help. I would like to thank everyone who came to celebrate with Claire and make it a brilliant party. I would also like to give a special thanks to the artBeast staff. They were amazing and I could have never done it without their help. The room was perfect and everything went according to plan. The children had a marvelous time in and out of the birthday room. I can not say enough about them. Thank you Laura,thank you David,thank you Jessica,thank you Blithe,and thank you to everyone else you helped behind the scenes!
ArtBeast is the perfect place to have a natural and creative birthday party. They supplied the gorgeous party room with tables,chairs,plates,silverware,glasses,cloth napkins,and bud vases. They also set up the food and beverage and the craft table,guide the craft,and generally take the lead in the helping the kids through out the party. I chose to bring my own food,flowers,and party favors,but for a reasonable fee they can supplies those too. I am very grateful to them for painting the mural on the mirror. This was a special request and something I really wanted. I just told them the theme of the party and they did the rest. I was really impressed with everything and I had very high expectations. Thanks again!
We had a Narnia themed birthday party with Claire’s classmates. Mark (my husband) made a wonderful wardrobe from an old freezer box:spray painted it,put handles on it,cut out the back and velcroed fabric onto the back (about $20,the box was free). We placed the wardrobe at the entrance to the party room and closed the curtains,so it was the only way in and out of the room. It was so much fun! As the children came through the wardrobe,I put on their capes. I found the fabric on sale at JoAnn’s and used ribbon from Costco. It cost a little less than $2.00 per cape. Once equipped with their capes,they began making their crowns (supplied by artBeast). As the children finished their crowns,they moved onto the story circle and read the storybook version of The Lion,the Witch ,and the Wardrobe. I was worried the story would be a little long,but they were really engaged and practically siting in Laura’s (artBeast coach) lap by the end of it!
When the story was over,Laura lead them in the Wish Circle. Each child made a wish for Claire on her birthday,Laura wrote them down on a Wish Ticket (I used a gold stamp that said “make a Wish”and place cards from Michael’s),and placed them in the wisk box (I bought a plain wooden star shaped box from Michael’s and painted it white). Wished included:“”wish for good friends,”“wish for candy,”“wish she could go to the redwoods,”and “wished for a smile.”Once all the children has given Claire their wishes,Claire was given the Wish Box. (The whole wish circle cost about $11,$7 of which was was the gold stamp pad.)
After the Wish Circle,we took a group photo and the children took their places at the table. Each seat had on it their goodie bags which included a bubble necklace (like Lucy’s cordial in the LWW),a few chocolate gold coins,and a few peppermint puffs in a white organza bag (each gift bag cost about $2.50) Then we sang Happy Birthday and blew out the candles.
For refreshments,we had chocolate,cake with peppermint icing,peppermint chocolates,hot chocolate,teas,water,popcorn,and mandarins. I made the cake wheat free and dairy free with spelt flour and earth balance. I really wanted to get this post out right away,so I will post the recipe later.
After the refreshments,the children just went to play though out artBeast and had a great time! Most of them ended up down stairs in the drama area and all played together until we left. It truly was a magical and wonderful birthday!
I just want to say again,Thank You for making Claire’s 6th birthday so memorable!
