Eight is So Great: Raleigh's Gymnastics Party

Over the weekend, our sweet Raleigh Jane turned 8 years old. Her actual birthday was on Sunday, but we held her party the day before. I threw out all kinds of party options a couple months ago, but she was adamant: a gymnastics party! The funny thing is, she also had a gymnastics birthday party when she turned 5. At that time, however, she was with a different gymnastics program. The next couple years, she switched back over to dance, but then this year, she wanted to return to gymnastics and wanted another gymnastics party. And what the birthday girl wants, the birthday girl gets. :) Here, a look at how our birthday girl celebrated turning 8 with her girlfriends: 

The birthday girl: Raleigh's favorite color is purple, so that was the color scheme we went with for her party. She also wanted me to straighten her hair and was so proud of her long, straight pony. :) 

The invitation: I know most use electronic invitations these days, but I just love sending out paper invitations and probably always will - to each his (her ;) ) own! For me, I always keep one for my own memory's sake, and I just love helping my kiddos deliver the invites to their friends. And it's easy! I find a thematic, cute invitation on etsy, customize it, and have it printed at our local UPS/Kinkos. It's very cost efficient and easy to do! Here's what it looked like for Raleigh's party this year: 

The decor and food: I kept the decorations super simple this year, knowing the girls would spend half of their time in the gym and the other half eating treats, opening gifts, and hanging out. And the food consisted of...cupcakes! I made it easy on myself knowing I had cookies to bake and decorate (as well as Raleigh's actual birthday cake for the following day to make) : I ordered two dozen cupcakes from our grocery store and added the gymnast toppers, which came straight from Amazon. Easy peasy!

The favors: I am a sucker for fun favors. We gifted Raleigh's guests with three different favors: thematic cookies (which were promptly eaten on the spot - ha!); scrunchies (because 7- and 8-year-old girls cannot get enough scrunchies these days ;) ); and personalized water bottles (I bought the water bottles from Amazon and then personalized them with purple glitter vinyl using my trusty Silhouette). 

The fun: These girls were just so adorable to watch. The first half of the party, they participated in a gymnastics class with the sweet-as-can-be Coach Kailyn. I sat in the gym with them and just watched how strong and fierce (and oh so cute!) they all were, snapping a few pictures here and there. 

Then came the cupcakes and cookies, followed by the opening gifts and the handing out of favors. 

And that was it! Seriously so easy and fun to put together. And local friends, I truly cannot recommend Metrolina Gymnastics any more highly -  not just for birthday parties but also for gymnastics classes. Raleigh has progressed so much since returning to gymnastics in September. She loves her coach and has learned so many new skills. But my favorite part? It is a faith-based program, and while the gym is an award-winning one with many talented athletes, they end every single session by praying together. It's amazing. 

Happy 8th Birthday Party, Raleigh! And thank you to her sweet girlfriends who made her feel so special that day. I can't think of a better way for my big girl to flip into the new year! <3