When my girls were little, I was obsessed with throwing them the most perfect of birthday parties. It had to have a theme, so I could build all of the fun decorations around that central idea. Kyra had an “Under the Sea” party in Kindergarten where I transformed our basement into sea creatures, tons of blue streamers hanging down, and of course, ocean sounds! One of Emily’s was “Bear in the Big Blue House” which she was obsessed with at the time, and it was after her Cancer diagnosis, so I couldn’t make that party a bigger deal more.

Fast forward to this past weekend, where Emily threw her very first “Galentines” Party. For those who don’t know the reference, it came from the show “Parks and Recreation” where the lead Character, Leslie Knope, hosts a “Galentines” party for all of her girlfriends, the day before Valentines Day. A way to love the girlfriends in your life, and celebrating those relationships instead of romantic ones. It was genius! Emily came to me last month and suggested she throw her own version of that party. And being a good Mom, and LOVING the theme, I agreed to help her out.

First, I learned that the Dollar Store is your friend in this endeavor. Make them your first stop, as I was able to score wine goblets, napkins, decorations, and heart baskets for gifts (with many fun trinkets here for them as well). Em wanted to gift each girl a “goodie bag” type basket with all sorts of fun things, she did a great job putting them all together.

Second, Wal-Mart. They didn’t have much in the Valentines section, so we checked out the Beauty area instead. For the gift baskets, the travel section can be your friend with all the travel size beauty items.

Third, Five Below. This seems to be THE place to buy stuff for the younger crowd these days, so we had fun finding face masks and makeup wipes. Lots for the ladies to pamper themselves with.

Fourth, order or buy your balloons ahead of the 14^th. I bought 10 Valentines ones at the Dollar Store but didn’t inflate them until the morning of the party, the 18^th. I asked them could I come back to do that, and as long as I had my receipt, it was fine. They DO NOT carry the Valentines kind AFTER the 14^th, so keep that in mind if your party is post Valentines Day.

Lastly, it’s a date, not a place. WAIT UNTIL FEBRUARY 15^TH or LATER to have your party!! First off, everything was marked down 50% and then a few days later, dropped to 75%!! I was able to score fresh flowers marked down from $30 to $5. Baked goods at the grocery store, with an expiration date of February 22, I was able to get for 75% off!  Cookie cutters, rose petals, twinkling lights, tablecloths,  confetti, and those huge boxes of chocolates? Yeah, allllll dirt cheap! Target’s dollar spot had most of their $5 items for half off, scoring this adorable litte tea cart to hold the dainty cupcakes. We went all out and for the fraction of the cost!

Emily hosted it Saturday night, and all I can say, is that after grocery shopping, baking the cupcakes, the cookies, making the chacudurie board, cutting up chicken pesto tea sandwiches, Craig running to get the pizza, decorating, cleaning, and grabbing 10 balloons without losing one in the parking lot to the wind….I was incredibly happy for her. This was her labor of love, and for everything this precious soul has been through, all this Mama Bear ever wanted for her was friends. She has always had them, but not like a group like this. They LOVE her, I could see it meeting them, talking with them. They were there to have fun but also they took care of each other. Seeing her in these healthy relationships makes my heart want to bust open because of the joy I feel.

Craig and I had a date night so they could enjoy the party without the parentals around. Once we got home, the ladies were so kind to chat with me and I told them all about my MegaCon outfit, Renaissance Faires, and that yes, I was a cosplayer and loved it. We shared stories about Emily, and it felt good to see them laugh with her. I went to bed early, because I was pooped from the day, but I was so incredibly happy to hear the laughter and chatting coming from the other room.

So if you are reading this ladies, THANK YOU for making the first ever Emily Rose “Galetines” Party AMAZING!! I hope it is a magical memory for all of you years from now, and Rowan, I am waiting for that middle name….

****Side note, thanks to EVERYONE who have donated to my hard work. This is what I do for a living, and it is a passion for me, so tossing me a couple bucks below helps me SO MUCH with everything needed. If you can’t, please consider subscribing to the blog, LIKING the blog post, and sharing any content you enjoy– it helps me out SOOOO much! I love being able to bring you all these amazing places so that YOU can do them as well. I work mostly on donations so thanks again.

Published by Amy Joy

Inspiring adventure and joy, one day at a time. View all posts by Amy Joy