Brooklyn's 9th Birthday

Since it has been over a month since Brooklyn's birthday, it's about time I posted about her celebrations. She was excited to be turning nine, especially since she was going to get a friends party this year. (I don't do friend b-day parties every year for my kids.) We celebrated her "actual" birthday that night at good ol' "Golden Coral" (not a place we frequent often, but was her personal choice). We had all-we-could-eat and then let her open presents. We had fun time.

Then, on the following Friday, she had a birthday celebration with her friends. I was thinking that this year's party would be easy to pull together and was looking forward to not having to "put a lot into it". How wrong I was. What started out as a plan for a simple late-night girly bash turned into a huge Spa and Retreat party. It WAS a lot of work, but well worth it in the end. Brooklyn had a fabulous time and so did all the guests. Who wouldn't after a night of pampering? A lot of the girls' moms are now asking when we are going to do something like that for the moms.

We started with a light banquet of finger foods as we waited for all the guests to arrive. Soon, each girl received a spa bag that included a lot of goodies for them to use during the party, and/or to enjoy later at home. The goodies included a white waffle spa robe, headband, chap stick, lip gloss, lotion, fingernail polish, pedicure sandals, perfume, facial mask peel, etc. They were very excited about it and immediately put on their robes. Then, the pampering began. We did manicures, pedicures, facials, painted fingernails and toes, and made homemade soaps. Whew! It was hectic and busy, but the girls couldn't get enough. They were very well behaved, which made the experience pleasant. (I was expecting worse with 11 little girls around.) Brooklyn only had one request in planning for the night...cucumbers. She wanted cucumbers for the facials and we delivered. We got some of the cutest photos of all the girls posing with their cucumbers in place.

I guess I don't know how to do anything less than 250%. What started out as a simple plan, turned into "the funnest party I've ever been to" (as quoted by many of the guests during their ride home @ 11 p.m.). Below are some pics highlighting the spa party.