Lizzie Jean's Cookies

Monday, January 20, 2014

How to pull off a great AT HOME birthday party!!!

So as I have long as I have had kids I have LOVED throwing some crazy birthday parties.....it is my passion! Hence why I left my full time sales position back a few years ago to focus on my passion of Lizzie Jean's Cookies. During that time and more recently I have somewhat finally realized what it takes to keep yourself and your hubby sane!

I have come up with a couple important tips to help you pull off that great party!!

1) Determine A BUDGET! Parties can get out of hand real quick!

2) Come up with a THEME....all kids under the age of 10-12 I would say still enjoy a specific type of theme! Even if it is just a specific COLOR scheme...pick one and roll with it. I find that it seems to work best when this is determined about a month before party.

3) Find a great shop on ETSY that creates invitations & printables. The best way to save some $$ is to get the ones that you buy the image, they create and then you print at your leisure!! I highly recommend Erin over at EThree Design Studio She creates all my invites & printables for my dessert tables for corporate events as well as my family parties!! I truly think this really ties the whole party together and makes it look amazing!

4) Search your themed party on Pinterest to gather fun ideas and create a board for your party...that way you can reference it over and over again for those ideas.

5) Search online again for decor under you party theme. If you are like me I like to find a good deal...and if that means I can get it all online (free shipping) and not have to mess with taking my kiddos shopping I am all for it! Grab yourself a cup of coffee one morning while everyone is still sleeping and search away. If that doesn't work...my favorite places for party decor is Hobby Lobby for sure! Best selection in my book! Party City is a close second.

6) Start assembling banners, printables, crafty pieces you will be adding to the party decor a week ahead of time. These are the fine details that really set the party apart. And if you wait to the last minute these are the things that get pushed aside....I know because I have done that more times than I can count! Whether you do them yourself or purchase from a crafty friend...just give yourself enough time :)

Burlap & Bandana Party Decor

Mason Jars are such a great accent to parties...you can do so much with them!!!

Baking Party - Personalized Hats

Baking Party Garland

7) Assemble everything the night before (except for food) This way you aren't running around like a MAD woman the day of. I have been known to throw a few parties and in more times than not, this momma has a ball cap on (or latest a cowboy hat) because I run out of time to be able to wash my hair! My kiddos usually steer pretty clear of me when I am in this mode :) But it all works out if you have things together the night before in my opinion.

8) LAST BUT NOT LEAST....Enjoy the party. Sit back have a few drinks of your choice and realize you are creating GREAT memories for your little ones....

Landry's 1st Birthday Cowboy/Western Party

Bella's 1st Birthday - Orange & Pink Theme

Lizzie's 7th Birthday - Rockstar Theme

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Cowboy Themed 1st Birthday Party for my little Landry!

My little man turned 1 on Saturday & we decided to go with a Cowboy Theme. It was so fun to go with a boy theme since I have 4 girls :) It was new territory and SO FUN!!!

I had taken pics all year of Landry & used the same hashtag on instagram so it was super simple to print them all out for his 1st birthday. I used Persnickety Prints to print them all out and I just loved how they turned out! You can see some of them hanging in the dessert table picture.

I used a lot of stuff from around my house to decorate the Dessert Table as I am obsessed with all things vintage. Mason jars, bandana print & burlap were a big focus point throughout the party.

The burlap hoops are available for purchase on

ETSY - Lizzie Jean's ETSY shop.

The cake & smash cake were provided by Lizzie Jean's Cookies

The top layer of the cake actually had a red bandana edible image which really pulled the cowboy theme together perfectly!

All of the party printables were Cowboy Themed as well.

EThree Design Studio does such a great job with all my parties!!

Burlap & Bandana mason jars accented the whole party around the house. I put tea lights in all of them and looked great!

Front door mesh burlap wreath along with a wooden letter L that I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

I also picked up a couple really great Cowboy signs at

Hobby Lobby. They have a whole Cowboy/Western section in their home decor section :)

Here is the big guy getting ready to dig into the cow smash cake. He was a little hesitant at first but dug right in with the help of his older sisters :)

What a great 1st Birthday for this little guy!

Cake/Cookies/Cakepops - Lizzie Jean's Cookies

Party Decor - Lizzie Jean's Cookies ETSY

Invitations & Printables - EThree Design Studio

Friday, January 17, 2014

Minnie Mouse Sugar Cookies & Cookie Bouquet

Super cute Minnie Mouse sugar cookies along with a personalized scallop & #1 for a sweet little one's birthday party. Thanks so much Erica for your order and I hope Lealah loved her cookie bouquet!!!