Party On

Last night we hosted a birthday milestone masquerade party at our house.  It was our first gathering in the new place.  Part of the whole reason we bought our house is because we love the layout, which has a great flow to it even with a group of people inside.

Because I'm having some kind of crisis about turning 30, I basically threw myself a kid's party.

I set up a craft station in the dining room where guests could make their own masks.  I pre-made masks from colorful foam sheets using free templates online and got some glitter glue, rhinestones, and feathers at the craft store so people could personalize them.

I also set up a table in the eat-in kitchen for make your own cupcakes.  I baked a combo of vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, had a few different types of frosting, and some candy toppings.  Not only was it easier than frosting them myself, but it also gave people something else to do during the party.  I like to encourage creativity.

We put a small assortment of food on the kitchen island next to the eat-in area.  This is where most people gravitated during the night (always near the food).  But people also broke off into groups to make masks or sit in the living room and talk.  It's a good house for hosting and will hopefully be even better in the future when we get the kitchen and yard/porch in shape.