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Sunday, January 24, 2010

A Winter Skating Party


  My girl had a birthday party with some of her close friends this past weekend.  Winter Birthdays require a little creativity and thinking. We decided on a skating party for her and they all had a blast.  They were frozen with rosy cheeks and a little worn out when all was said and done


but what old fashioned fun they had!


After lacing up skates for nine sweet girls,
(thank god hubby was there to help out) they all headed out onto the ice in the outdoor rink....



It was so funny to watch the girls out there, first they all looked like they were all walking with a walker, clinging to the sides of the wall.  But before long they released their grips and became brave enough to balance.  My bundled up, mitten wearing, girl was pretty good considering she doesn't do much skating. 



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Watching them brought back some wonderful childhood memories of skating with my cousins.  They lived near a cranberry bog, down the street from my current home, that would freeze hard enough in the wintertime to skate on.  There was also a horse field behind their house that some winters would flood when it rained and freeze over enough for us to skate on, which was safer.  There were several winter afternoons that I can recall skating with them.  With nothing to hold onto, you had to go at it alone with only with the faith that you would learn to balance yourself or end up on your backside!  My cousin, Tara, was the one doing pirouettes and jumps, while I was just ecstatic when I learned how to skate backwards!  She would be whipping around and around in circles, while I would pretend I was the olympic skater, Dorothy Hamill, there on a manmade rink in the middle of the horsefield all those winters ago!

I now own the house across the street from that very horse field  and some winter afternoons I look out my upstairs bedroom window to a clear view of that field and I am instantly transported back to those
wonderful childhood days.
Bundled up twirling around on the ice.....


Exhausted from our ice capades in the chilly winter air we eventually always made our way inside for some WARM COCOA.

Is there anything more instantly comforting on a winter's afternoon than a warm cup of cocoa with puffy marshmallows and a dollop of whip cream wrapped in your hands?



Have you tried a cup of white cocoa yet?
Here's a Paula Deen recipe my family loves.


Oh...sorry!  I got a little off track reminising! Back to my daughters party...
When we were finished skating we had a Winter Fun themed party back at home with family and friends.....



How cute would this be for a winter get together for grownups too?  It was fairly inexpensive, alot of the items came from the dollar store and craft stores.  Blue frames, snowflake mittens......


iridescent tissue paper, snowflake garland, ice skate ornaments and foam snowflakes
all from the craft store...


cupcakes iced with blue tinted icing, snowflake candies and white (snow) jimmies....


My daughter felt like a birthday snow princess.....


Sno-Caps candy....a Cocoa packet and Smores goodie bags.....
easy and inexpensive tied with a snowflake ribbon.


We had so much fun and it certainly was a birthday to remember....
I really enjoy making my children's birthdays special, and always try to stick to a reasonable budget. 
Have you hosted themed winter parties?  I would love to hear some of your great ideas! 

Thank you all for your kind Birthday wishes to my girl in my last post, she read each and every one of them!  You are all so such sweet blogging friends to have taken the time to do so!   I love it when you leave a note for me, I feel like you are stopping in for a chat!  Enjoy your winter days....
Take care,
Dee





25 comments:

  1. What a great idea. I love to ice skate but truly - I have a hard time staying on my feet -hehe. She looked beautiful and so did the party. I love all the blue and white decorations, cupcakes and candy - so very cute. The work you put forth to make it special for her she will remember always. Happy Birthday to your sweet daughter. Cathy

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  2. Your treat bags are so adorable! My boys are too grown up for fun treat bags like that... enjoy the time you still can do that!
    Laurie

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  3. Dee, I truely enjoyed your post today. I grew up near my Grandfathers farm which had a pond, we used it frequently for ice skating as kids. Thanks for bringing all that winter fun back to life. I loved your theme, what a beautiful job, you should consider being a traveling theme party decorator, No, I mean it!
    And, your daughter looks like she is the winter princess, indeed.

    Thanks for the chocolate, and winter fun...
    Mel

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  4. Dee, you have some wonderful childhood memories and some great party ideas. I never saw a frozen pond or real ice skates while growing up in Texas. I'm making up for that now! Your table, cupcakes and decor was gorgeous. Thanks for sharing that with us and also your memories.
    Debbie

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  5. What a wonderful special birthday celebration for your daughter Dee! I'm sure the girls all had fun ice skating but then to come back to that winter wonderland birthday tablescape must have been magical for your daughter and her friends. I just love the winter theme in blue and white - it is so pretty! Love the blue and white cupcakes too!

    Teacup Lane (Sandy)

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  6. Ice skating birthday parties are fun! Your blue mitten and snowflake decor is wonderful! We had an iceskating party for my daughter and 10 of her friends when she was in the 4th grade. (she has a Dec birthday) It was great because it kept them entertained for 3 hours and all we had to do was set out the cake and snacks.

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  7. What a great theme for a party! You did a great job, I have tried that hot chocolate my kids love hot chocolate. We thought it was very good too.

    Carey

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  8. What fun! The party decorations are just perfect.

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  9. how lucky your daughter is to have an imaginative and energetic mom to put forth this wonderful party! love all of your special touches! so very nice.

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  10. What a great idea for a birthday party! My own daughter's 13th birthday was January 15th. We used a 50's Diner theme, playing oldies, and dressing in 50's style. One girl's grammy made her a poodle skirt just for this occasion. They had a hula-hooping contest and we played other 50's games. The girls had a great time and I had fun planning it along with my girl. Country Living should do a party feature each month with idea's for decorating, menu and giveaway's: if CL won't, others should. This would be a fun monthly feature, don't you think? I enjoyed reading this post, happy birthday to your daughter.

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  11. Oh Dee what a wonderful post. I used to love to ice-skate although I must say I am not very good at it. I would go every weekend when I was in high school however I must admit so did the cutest boy in school. Maybe my motivation wasn't the love for skating at all (heheheh) I am glad your daughter had such a great birthday. The decorations you made were beautiful!!---just like being in a snow forest. When Alex was a little boy I used to love to plan birthday parties. His birthday is in April so I had it easy---we were always able to be outside. I think my favorite was the pirate party. We had a treasure hunt (with a buried treasure of course), and the menu consisted of chicken legs, corn on the cob, and cheese balls(for cannon balls. All the boys dressed as pirates complete with hats and eye patches. It was so much fun. I miss those little boy birthdays.
    Happy Birthday to your sweet girl!!!
    Fondly
    Mimi
    PS
    Thanks for sharing the white hot chocolate recipe---I can't wait to try it :)

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  12. I love the photos of your daughters birthday...you captured the winter snow theme perfectly..love it all and love the colors...always love coming by for a visit..I always feel like I am right there enjoying it with you..:)

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  13. your daughters party sounds lovely. The party was so pretty. I think I would like to try a winter theme party for some friends, using some of your ideas. Thanks for sharing.

    Hugs,
    Cindy
    www.homesimplehome.blogspot.com

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  14. What a "cute as pie party"..
    You are so creative.. Just like it came out of one of those party planning idea books..
    This gives me such inspiration to plan my niece's next party.. Your one million Dee..
    Love your blog...

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  15. Happy belated Birthday to your sweet daughter! What an great party! Sounds like such fun and the decorating is awesome! I'm glad she had a great day surrounded by her family and friends.

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  16. Looks like fun! I love blue, white, and silver theme. Thanks for sharing it with us!

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  17. What a very cool birthday party.... the table was gorgeous!!!

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  18. I love it alllllllll! What a wonderful birthday party you did for your daughter!!!!!!! You are a wonderful momma. Loved the blue gloves with the snowflakes!

    Blessings, Linda

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  19. WOW!! I love this! Looks beautiful and fun. My daughters birthday is in March and its still chilly in Chicago so I know what you mean about being creative. Great job.

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  20. This is such a sweet post for your daughter! Happy Birthday, too!

    LOVE the ice-skating stories - then and now. I recall the days of bumbling around the rink ..hoping nobody would say that I looked like a new born doe....or calf. lol

    hugs,
    Becky

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  21. Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I'm really enjoying visiting yours as well. I love the snowflake tablescape! I've been so busy this month that I've barely had time to blog. Soon I'll be back in the swing of things. Take care, Jackie

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  22. Thanks so much for visiting my blog and becoming a follower. I did the same. I love your writing style! Great photos and pics too.

    What a lucky girl to have such a great themed party. I especially liked the themed table and the icing colour is so pretty!

    Our boys and lots of nieces and nephews play hockey so we spend a great deal of time at rink side.

    Take care and I will be back.

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  23. Well if you aren't the cutest little thing, I don't know what is! :) What a fun and sweet blog... you have me at anything "Paula Deen" girl.

    Blessings,
    LMM

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  24. Happy Birthday to your sweet daughter! What a fun time add by all. When I was a young teen I use to love to ice skate, oh the memories.
    Loved your post.
    Take care and enjoy your weekend,
    Elizabeth

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  25. I'm so glad you quit stalking and left a comment so I could find your blog! It's so pretty! I love the design and font. Can I be your daughter? I want a birthday party like that! I'm a winter baby~!

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