The Shopping Mama » all things birthday

Monkey Themed First Birthday Party

by Kate on July 24th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  All Things Birthday, Birthday Parties

Kathy from A Mom’s Impression shared her son’s first monkey themed birthday party! I love how she incorporated the iconic sock monkey in modern touches like cupcake toppers, and other fun monkey images in everything from the invitation  to her son’s birthday shirt.


Invitation designed by AmyAdele.com.

Kathy found inspiration for the monkey cupcakes from Wilton but modified the directions a little to use ready make icing for the mouth, cheeks and eyes.


Monkey cupcake toppers from Silly Seira Design.

The baskets for the party favors were purchased during Easter at Target and filled with little monkey goodies including books, tissues, a little stuffed monkey and the Barrel of Monkeys game.

Kathy found Sock Monkeys in the classic Fisher Price toy area of Target and used them to decorate her home.

The birthday boy looked adorable in his birthday onesie from Stitcheroos.

This party was submitted for the All Things Birthday event. We’d love to share your party, too. (And to say thanks, you get FIVE BONUS Entries into every All Things Birthday giveaway!)

Green Party Goods Cupcake Stands (with Giveaway)

by Kate on July 24th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  All Things Birthday, Giveaways, Party Planning, Reviews

Green Party Goods make celebrating “green” easy with a huge assortment of planet friendly party products. To make the cut, each of GreenPartyGoods’ products must meet at least one of these criteria: recycled, re-useable, biodegradable, sustainable, or organic.

About Green Party Goods

GreenPartyGoods knows that parents and other celebrators, given the convenience of shopping for eco-friendly products that are stylish and sensible, will embrace this option.
We have also maintained our commitment to the environment through our packaging materials, when possible. Boxes are from recycled board, protective chips are biodegradable, tissue paper and labels are from recycled paper. And the cellophane bags and ribbon are biodegradable.

Cupcake Stand

The “Mini Cupcake Stand” in Zebra from Green Party Goods was a great addition to the Dinosaur Party we hosted a couple weeks ago. Eventhough this is the “Mini” version of cupcake stands – it holds an impressive 40 cupcakes and is a very good size. (The Polka Dot version holds 50 cupcakes.) The Cupcake Stand arrives flat and is very simple to assemble – it only takes a few moments. The Cupcake Stand was a big hit at the Dinosaur Party – all the moms complimented it. As you can see, there is plenty of height between the layers to accommodate a cupcake with lots of icing and a topper. Although it’s made from recycled corrugated cardboard, the finish is very smooth and it doesn’t feel like dry cardboard. It’s easy to take apart for storage so you can save it and resuse it again and again.

The Mini Cupcake Stand comes in Zebra or Polka Dots pattern. To really make the Cupcake Stand the star of the dessert table, you can attach ribbons around the edges of the stand resulting in a more finished look.

More Green Party Goods

I love the coordinating party Zebra party items and think the hot pink and zebra combination is perfect for a sassy girls’ birthday party.

Green Party Goods also has a good selection of original party favors that won’t break the bank.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… The Mini Cupcake stand is a good looking and practical way to display cupcakes at your next party. The Zebra and Polka Dot patterns are fun and can easily coordinate with another party theme, particularly if you embellish it with ribbon to match your color scheme. And, of course, there’s the feel good factor that comes with buying a product made of recycled materials.

Or Not to Buy… I’d love to see more patterns in the Mini Cupcake Stand – but you can also buy plain non-patterned stands to match your party.

Shop! Get in on the Cupcake Craze with the Mini Cupcake Stands are $27.00 and available at www.greenpartygoods.com. Check out the eco-friendly party favors,  decorations and green gifts.

Win! The Mini Cupcake Stand of Your Choice from Green Party Goods!

How to Enter: Visit Green Party Goods and leave a comment with something else you’d like to use at your next party.

Giveaway ends August 6. Open to US residents only.

Disclosure: Thanks to Green Party Goods for providing a sample for the purpose of this review. Others may have a different experience.

Simple & Sweet Personalized Notes by Paper Nook Review + Giveaway

by Kate on July 23rd, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  All Things Birthday, Birthday Gifts, Giveaways, Party Planning, Reviews

The personalized note cards by Paper Nook are both a TSM top planning pick and top present pick. These notes are great to have on hand for all of those thank you notes you need to send after the big birthday party. They are also a thoughtful gift for an older child who is learning to write, as it will encourage him or her to write their own thank yous… or at least attempt to sign his or her name!

A bit about Paper Nook

Paper Nook specializes in stylish personalized stationery, perfect for writing thank you notes to friends and family. You’ll find stationery for yourself as well as lots of great gift ideas for family, friends, bridesmaids, and teacher gifts.

Kids Personalized Stationary Review

Tacy, owner of Paper Nook, very generously sent personalized stationary for each of my girls. Right out of the package I was impressed with the bold colors and simple & sweet designs of both sets. Each set at Paper Nook contains 8 personalized vertical folded note cards measuring 4.25″ x 5.5,  printed on smooth soft-white 80 lb. card stock. Beautifully coordinated envelopes are also included.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… Each set of personalized stationary is $10.50, which is a total steal for these classy, well-designed notes. With lots of colors and designs to choose from, it’s easy to find something that suits the birthday boy or girl.

Or Not to Buy… Really, I can’t find a reason not to buy these sweet notes. They’re priced right, beautifully designed, and ship within 1 to 3 days of order.

Shop! You can purchase all of Paper Nook’s simple & sweet designs on Etsy!

Win! Your choice of personalized stationary from Paper Nook!

How to enter: Visit Paper Nook and tell us which design you would choose if you won.

Disclosure: Giveaway ends August 6. Open to US mailing addresses only. Thanks to Paper Nook for providing a sample product for the purpose of this review and the giveaway prize. Opinions here are my own and uninfluenced by receipt of product.

Flower & Mermaid Theme Birthday Party

by Kate on July 19th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  All Things Birthday, Birthday Parties

We’ve shared several of your boy birthday parties so I’m so excited to share this very girlie party submitted by Kate. For her daughter’s third birthday she put together a gorgeous Flower and Ariel themed pool party.

A prominent decoration throughout was Tissue Paper Pom Poms that Kate made herself using this Martha Stewart Tutorial. Don’t they look awesome?

She also created a birthday banner using colored paper from a scrapbook store and printed letters. She used ribbon to string the letters together.

Her daughter looked like one of the Pom Poms in an adorable pettiskirt Kate found at a boutique sample sale. The birthday shirt is from Three Sweets on Etsy.

Little party goers were treated to adorable favors consisting of flower clips from Blissful Moments in buckets from Target filled with Ariel goodies from Party City.

Kate actually made these amazing flower cupcakes based on instructions in the What’s New, Cupcake? book. You can also find a video tutorial on YouTube. Seriously, when I first glanced at the pictures I thought it was a fake flower decoration – they’re so gorgeous!

Even though everything looks perfect, Kate says she learned a few things. “We hired Ariel to show up ….but it didn’t have the full effect. Think the kids were too young for her. A bouncy would have been better.” She also reports they had TONS of food leftover. My guess it that everyone filled up on those scrumptious looking cupcakes!

This party was submitted for the All Things Birthday event. We’d love to share your party, too. (And to say thanks, you get FIVE BONUS Entries into every All Things Birthday giveaway!)

Birthday Crowns from The Merry Crown Society Giveaway

by Kate on July 19th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  All Things Birthday, Birthday Gifts, Giveaways

A crown from The Merry Crown Society is a fun and colorful way to add extra flair to your child’s birthday, or any day for that matter! You can choose from crowns to fit your party theme such as the Princess Posey or the Yo Ho Ho Pirate. In addition, there are lots of crowns with a more general theme like the La La Lovely Garden or The Royal Crown. It would be so much fun to arrive at a birthday party with one of these in-hand for  the guest of honor!

A little bit About The Merry Crown Society

The Merry Crown Society is run by two merry ladies from Maine – Bonnie & Mallory (mother & daughter). At the moment, Bonnie does the sewing while Mallory runs the business/store side of things. We love bright colors, buttons, and felt… as you can probably tell.

Construction of the Crowns

Each crown is handmade using eco-fi felt (felt made from recycled plastic bottles.) A piece of elastic is enclosed in the back to allow for a variety of different head sizes. Pellon interfacing is used between the layers of felt to give a sturdy & non-floppy effect. All of this careful construction means that your little one can wear her or her crown day after day.

Birthday Crown!

Since we’re in the middle of our ALL THINGS BIRTHDAY EVENT, we just have to showcase our most favorite crown of all: The Yummy Cupcake. Check out the cupcake ribbon and adorable button sprinkles. It doesn’t get anymore festive than this!

Shop! The crowns at The Merry Crown Society are affordably priced between $17-$20. The Christmas in July sale is on… BUY ONE CROWN, GET ONE 25% off! You can purchase one of these brightly colored, festive tot toppers at The Merry Crown Society on Etsy.

Win! Your choice of crown from The Merry Crown Society!

How to enter: Visit The Merry Crown Society and tell us which crown you would choose if you won.

Bonus Entries - Valid only after completing first mandatory entry. Please leave a separate comment for each you do.

Disclosure: Giveaway ends August 1. Open to US mailing addresses only. Thanks to The Merry Crown Society for providing the giveaway prize. Opinions here are my own.

Birthday Present Shopping Guide!

by Kate on July 18th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  All Things Birthday, Birthday Gifts

It’s finally finished! We’ve spent hours collecting the best birthday gifts for kids and the result is the Birthday Present Shopping Guide. The kids birthday present gift guide includes everything from a $13 personalized puzzle to $400 doll house, the best green toys, gifts to get moving and the best personalized and handmade finds.

Click to see ALL The Shopping Mama Top Present Picks!

You can always find all the The Shopping Mama Shopping Guides on the menu bar at the top of the page. We really hope you’ll use the guide as a resource when you’re shopping for your child’s birthday or that you’ll check it out for ideas next time your little one receives a birthday party invite.

Take a look… what’s your favorite birthday gift idea?

And, by the way, the Shopping Guide contains affiliate links so when you purchase you are supporting The Shopping Mama.

Bubbles are Fun! Gazillion Bubbles Review + Giveaway

by Kate on July 18th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  All Things Birthday, Birthday Gifts, Party Planning, Reviews, Toys

My kids LOVE bubbles and I know they are not alone. Our local park has a bubble machine that is so popular it’s out of bubble solution have the time we visit. There’s another at the gym where my kids take gymnastics – and bubble day is always a hit. I often thought, “How awesome would it be to have a bubble machine at home?” I assumed it was expensive, but I was so wrong! Gazillion Bubbles has a huge variety of bubble toys, including a great bubble machine – and the prices are extremely affordable.

The One and Only Gazillion Bubbles

Funrise has elevated the world of bubbles with The One and Only Gazillion® Bubbles – a line of bubble toys bursting with a one-of-a-kind bubble solution and great bubble blowing accessories. Gazillion Bubbles is a ‘top secret’ solution that enables the bubbles to float higher, longer and reflects light around them.

Every bottle of Gazillion Bubbles solution provides hours of enchanting, colorful bubble play! Kids love blowing Gazillion Bubbles and parents do too since the Eco-Friendly, safe, non-toxic bubble solution doesn’t stain their clothing or the furniture. Gazillion Bubbles is helping the earth live another Gazillion years!

Bubbly Fun

We received two Gazillion bubble toys to use and both would be perfect for birthday party fun – or as a birthday gift: the Gazillion Bubble Machine and Gazillion Bubble Rocket.

The most exciting thing about the Gazillion Bubble Machine is the price tag. At only $15.99, the Bubble Machine creates a blizzard of bubbles – truly way more than I thought possible from such a small machine. The Gazillion Bubbles bottle attaches easily to the side and flows to create continuous bubbles. The Bubble Machine takes a few moments to get bubbles on all of the rotating wands, but once it starts it delivers some serious bubbly fun. Though the pictures show tons of bubbles, I have to say it really doesn’t do it justice. The kids have a blast every time we get out the bubble machine and I like that they chase around a seemingly endless supply of bubbles. The one negative is all those bubbles take lot of bubble solution – so one time playing with the Bubble Machine nearly empties an 8 ounce bottle of bubbles.

The Gazillion Bubble Rocket is a fun feet-on way to create your own bubbles. You fill a tray with bubbles, load the rocket on cover the bottom with bubbles and then STOMP on the launch pad to shoot the rocket into the air. As the rocket goes up, the air creates bubbles. To really get the Rocket to work, I had to stomp on it. My son had fun trying, but he just couldn’t create enough power to really launch the rocket. I think older children would probably enjoy this more than my 3 year old.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… Whether you’re celebrating a birthday or just looking to play outside, the Gazillion Bubble Machine is a great way to entertain kids.

Or Not to Buy… The Bubble Rocket was a bit too difficult for my 3.5 year old to do himself, although he did enjoy seeing the bubbles when I launched the rocket. I think this is better for older school age kids.

Shop! You can purchase the Gazillion Bubble Machine for $15.99 and Gazillion Bubble Rocket for $15.89 on Amazon and in Toys R Us stores nationwide. Speaking of Toys R Us, check out The Ultimate Gazillion Bubbles Photo Contest for your chance to win a $1000 Toys R Us gift card! But, act quick – entries are due by July 23!

Win! A Gazillion Bubble Machine and Gazillion Bubble Rocket!

How to Enter: Visit Gazillion Bubbles on Funrise Toys, check out the catalog and tell me another bubble toy you’d like to own.

Bonus Entries – valid only after completing the first required entry. Please leave a separate comment for each you do.

Disclosure: Giveaway ends August 1. Open to US mailing addresses only. Thanks to Gazillion Bubbles for providing a sample product for the purpose of this review and the giveaway prize. Opinions here are my own.

Wood Toy Boats by Duck Duck Goose Toys Review + Giveaway

by Amy on July 17th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  All Things Birthday, Giveaways, Party Planning, Reviews, Shopping, Toddler, Toys

Every-so-often I come across an item on Etsy that makes me giddy and I just have to one for myself (or rather, for my kids.) This is exactly what happened when I found the wood toy boats from Duck Duck Goose Toys. These sweet, well-crafted boats make not only the perfect ‘just because’ gift, they make fun and unique summertime birthday party favors.

Lauren, owner of Duck Duck Goose Toys says the following about making toys…

I have always liked working with my hands and when when my first daughter was born I began making toys for her. I love making toys because I am creating for my favorite people in the world (my two girls). I try to use natural materials where ever possible and also try to have the toys be somewhat open-ended to encourage imaginative play.

Wood Toy Boat Review

Lauren sent a boat for each of my girls: pink polka dot and yellow polka dot prints. We couldn’t wait to sail these little darlings, and we have access to the perfect little pond to do so.

There are three parts to each boat: The 5″ base made of unfinished pine, a wooden dowel, and a sturdy fabric sail. Just slide the fabric sail onto the dowel, push the dowel into the base, pull the string on the end of the sail through the pre-cut slat on the boat, and you are ready to sail away for hours of fun!

The boats were extremely stable on the water and the sails actually worked to move the boat when the wind picked up. We were delighted to see them move around the pond and take on a life of their own.


To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… At only $10 each, these sweet wooden boats allow your little one to set sail anywhere they can find water: the pond, the pool, even the tub! We have had hours of fun sailing these just about everywhere…even in puddles after a rainstorm. They’re made of solid wood that has been beautifully sanded smooth, and the sails are available in lots of bold, colorful fabrics.

Or Not to Buy… While on it’s adventure in the pond, one of our boats fell over when it ran into a rock. Naturally, the fabric sail got wet and we were unable to sail that boat until it dried. Within an hour in the warm Vermont sun, the sail was dry and it was back on the water, good as new! This isn’t the fault of this well-made wooden toy, just a side-note. Another reason to buy more than one of these little guys!

Shop! A single Wood Toy Boat is priced at $10, but if you buy more (say, for party favors!), you save more. 4 or more boats are priced at just $8.50, and 6 or more boats are just $8 each + a flat rate shipping fee of only $5.

Win! FIVE Wood Toy Boats from Duck Duck Goose Toys!

How to enter: Visit Duck Duck Goose Toys and tell us the colors of sails you would choose if you won the 5 boats.

Disclosure: Giveaway ends July 31. Open to US mailing addresses only. Thanks to Duck Duck Goose Toys for providing a sample product for the purpose of this review and the giveaway prize. Opinions here are my own and uninfluenced by receipt of product.
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