My daughter turned 5-years-old last week.  Six months ago, she told me she wanted a “Gnomeo and Juliet” themed party.  Really?  Don’t get me wrong, we love that movie.  It’s adorable, truly kid-friendly, hilarious, and it’s filled with Elton John songs.  But the color theme is red and blue and could easily be mistaken for a 4^th of July BBQ.

And although cartoon garden gnomes are cute as a button, garden gnomes in person are delightfully tacky.

I was confident she had made her decision much too early, and as her birthday approached, I was sure she would choose a different theme.  Not a chance.  So, my hunt for garden gnomes began.  Two months ago.  I searched high and low for gnomes that didn’t cost an arm and a leg (who knew gnomes were so expensive?!)

Finally, about two weeks before the party, I found my gnome at JoAnn Fabrics on clearance for 70% off.  It was meant to be.  He’s even found a home in our backyard.  I’m sure many scorpions will love living underneath him.

For the food, I decided to go with a picnic theme, so we had pasta salad, summer sausage and cheese, fruit salad, and a hot dog bar.  I made strawberry cupcakes, some that looked like mushrooms and some that were topped with Juliet’s gnome hat (a strawberry.)

Since most of Ella’s friends had not yet seen “Gnomeo and Juliet” we thought it was a good idea to show the movie to the kids.  I bought movie theater popcorn from Harkins Theatres, and Mike and Ike’s, Skittles and Twizzlers.  The girls sat quietly eating their popcorn, enjoying the movie.

Inspired by my friend Robyn, who has her own craft room at home, I decided to set up a couple of craft tables.  The girls were able to make their own flowers with supplies purchased from the Dollar Store.  They also decorated their own butterfly puppets, and the take-away gift was a terracotta pot filled with fake grass and a bouquet of Tootsie Pops.  I will take the credit for that concept myself, who needs Pinterest?  Just kidding.

This year Ella wanted a kitten for her birthday.  So, yesterday we adopted an adorable grey tabby named Violet from Friends for Life Animal Rescue.  She is currently sleeping peacefully in a corner of Ella’s closet.  As you can imagine, a kitten doesn’t get much reprieve from a 5-year-old.

The best part, the one person who didn’t want a cat {I won’t name names, but there are only three of us,} is enjoying the cat as much as Ella.

The reality is, even though I wasn’t too hip on a “Gnomeo and Juliet” themed party, it worked out in the end.  In fact, I think it’s the best birthday party we’ve had, so far.  Ella started Kindergarten four weeks ago, and she’s only going to keep growing.

Throwing kids parties is a lot of fun and it’s sometimes hard to just live in the moment, but I try to remind myself to do so every day.

My friend Gretchen from Gretchen Wakeman Photography took all of the photos of the party.  She did an amazing job, as always!