Abby's 6th birthday bowling party

So, she had the choice, as all the kids do to either go on a family trip or have a party. She wanted to go bowling. So here we are.
I try to be creative, original...ya know the things the really great moms do. It doesn't always work out but hey, at least I try!
The invitations were hand made in the shape of a bowling bowl using a music CD as a template and brightly colored card stock paper. Used glitter markers to decorate, write and draw the holes on the ball. Sent them outs using paper CD cases as the envelopes. Worked out alright and wasn't too much work.
Step 2...the party.
Decided to do cake pops rather than a cake or cupcakes. Never done them before but baking is my thing. So with Gus' help we accomplished rolling and chilling the balls so far. Tomorrow we shape and dip.

Here's our current progress:


Well, I think it went amazingly well. Here's the finished result, I think it looks great. Abby really liked them. I love doing these sort of projects, learning as you go and getting better each time.

Today was her party. She ended up with 3 girls from her class, her 7 year old cousin Kamryn and her brother and sister. So, 7 little ones all together. My older brother Paul and my Aunt and her 2 teenage girls also made it. My in laws too. The kids enjoyed bowling but lost interest must sooner than I expected. Most of the adults bowled as well, Gus kicked out butts way out of the park. Sometimes it's annoying that he's good at anything he does. What a show off!
After bowling we had pizza and soda...all the girls commented and smiled about being able to drink the clear soda. We finished that up with singing happy birthday and eating the cake pops. They were a big sweet hit with all the kids, I gloated in their happiness. After cake pops Abby opened her gifts. She especially loved the tote full of craft kits from her Aunt. Kamryn gave her a great kids scrapbook kit that we're going to start with her party memories. Gus was thrilled when she opened her new 50 piece Polly Pocket gift (any of you parents out there with experience on this know exactly what I'm talking about...the vaccuum has more pieces that what's left in their toys).
We played arcade games then handed out the party favors that I was especially proud of. I always hate getting and giving the typical cheap toys and candy party favors. You end up reluctantly throwing away most of the junky toys. So, I put a lot of thought into it and ended up buying cute pink Hello Kitty resusable tumbler cups for each girls, filling them with mini chocolates, starburst, suckers, cute pencils for school, stickers and princess tatoos. I but the whole cup in a clear gift bag and tied it with pink ribbon. All the girls seemed happy with them...I was, especially knowing they would most likely use everything in their bag. Oh and I made one special for Ben using a Transformers cup.  So, the ultimate lesson learned...the best party favors are either consumable, resuable or crafty in some way.

Also, used my Shutterfly photo credits to order custom Thank you cards with this picture of all the girls:

Had a great day overall.