Surprise!

We told the kids that this was going to be a party-free year. The past few years of big parties has really worn me out - Mom is tired! But as Savannah's birthday got closer and closer I just couldn't resist celebrating her birthday in a special way. I knew that she had really had her heart set on a Monster High birthday party and had been the most disappointed out of the three kids when we put a kibosh on the parties. So, wanting to celebrate my amazing girl's birthday in a way that she would truly remember and love, I decided to throw her a surprise party with a Monster High theme, of course. To get Savannah out of the house David took her on a special Daddy/Daughter date - out to dinner and then to buy the IPod touch that she had saved up for.

Once they were gone the rest of us scrambled to get everything set up for the party. Friends started arriving around 6:30 and hung out doing fun little games and coloring activities until Savannah arrived.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the big surprise moment because I was busy videotaping her reaction but it was so much fun to see the surprise on her face when all her friends jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!" Savannah told me later that she felt like she was in a dream. We got right into the theme of things, an introduction to Monster High and straight down to the backyard for a little "Cleo Says" game. I, of course, took on the role of Cleo de Nile.

Next was the Make a Monster Face cookie decorating although a lot of the candy that was for decorative purposes ended up in bellies rather than on cookies!

The girls headed down to the back patio to mix up some yummy Ghoulia Yelps special potion. With a little mixing and adding of special ingredients, the girls witnessed a bubbly surprise!

I love Noah's expression when the drink bubbled over. Too bad the drink wasn't as fun to drink as it was to make.

After that the girls split into 4 teams and had to design some funky fashion with materials they received in a bag. One girl from each team then walked the catwalk while her fashionable ensemble was described by another girl from the team. I was impressed with what the girls came up with from trash bags, aluminum foil, ribbon,and a few other items.

What would a Monster High party be without some Freeze Dance? This one involved some monsterific moves where the finalists were whittled down until we finally got the winner!

The last game of the night was the Froggie Dash inspired by the character Laguna Blue. Check out these frogs!

This picture of Savannah doing the frog jump always makes me laugh!

We all headed inside to sing Happy Birthday and enjoy cake and ice cream. This beautiful cake was done by my friend Tara Long and I just couldn't get over what a fabulous job she had done. It always pains me to cut these amazing cakes!

To end the night the girls watched a Monster High movie and then it was done! Another fun party accomplished!

And what do you know? Savannah is already telling me ideas for her next birthday party!!!