When I asked my daughter what theme she wanted for her seventh birthday party [1], it was no surprise to me when she squealed, "Shopkins!" Over the years, she has collected thousands of these adorable tiny characters and has spent hours upon hours playing with them. Little did I know that I would also spend hours upon hours preparing for this party.
Like many moms do, I immediately took to Pinterest to look for Shopkins party decoration ideas [2] — and there were plenty! I set up cute shopping carts and shopping baskets with Shopkins characters inside of them. I also set up a Shopkins sandwich station, where party guests could have fun creating their own sandwiches with great Shopkins-themed fixings: Cherie Tomato, Kris P Lettuce, and Chee Zee, to name a few. I even found a way to make a plain mustard bottle look like the Shopkins character Cornell Mustard. The dessert table [3] I created was also definitely Pinterest-worthy. I set up a Shopkins Sweet Shoppe, where party guests could "go shopping" by filling up a Shopkins bag with sweet treats. Everything looked amazing, and I was really proud of myself!
I definitely went all out for my daughter's party [4], but I don't think I'll ever do it again, at least not to that extent. For one thing, the whole ordeal was very stressful. I'm a perfectionist, and when it comes to entertaining, I definitely want it to be perfect. My daughter probably would have been happy with just a few decorations and some Shopkins-themed cupcakes, but I needed to go all out. I'm embarrassed to admit how much time I spent on the party and what my stress levels were before, during, and even after. I didn't have time to enjoy the party because I was so worried about everything looking perfect. Worst of all, I didn't have time to enjoy my daughter.
As I was cleaning up after the party was over, I asked myself if I really did this all for my daughter or if I was just trying to impress our guests with my decorating and entertaining skills. My heart sank. Of course the party was for my daughter, but I let those tempting Pinterest ideas take over me and take away from what the day was really about: celebrating my little girl. And ever since that party, I've kept her birthday parties much simpler [5]. Fun, but simple — that's our new motto. It saves my sanity and allows me to focus on what matters most.