Aurora’s Mermazing 7th Birthday

When I asked Aurora where she wanted to have her seventh birthday party she immediately said the Hands On Children’s Museum! The party prices are actually a lot more reasonable than others we have looked into and this museum is by far the best children’s museum we’ve ever visited! Here is our experience with having her party there as well as local vendors we used for the food and where we got our mermaid party supplies!

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Picking a theme….of course when Aurora was 1 and 2 I chose her party themes for her but now that she’s older she decides. She decided on a Mermaid Theme this year. Not The Little Mermaid (Ariel), just Mermaid. We also decided to do the popular trending “Fiver Party”.

What is a “Fiver Party”? Instead of bringing gifts (AKA twenty toys your child will forget about in a month) you ask each person to bring $5 instead. I love this trend, and I think it benefits everyone involved. Party attendees can rest easy knowing they wont have to go out and spend $20-30 (especially since Aurora’s birthday is in December, the tightest month for money). It also teaches the child about budgeting and spending money, since you can take them somewhere to pick out something they can buy with their own money OR save up to get a big item they’ve been wanting.

We ordered Aurora’s invitations on Etsy and there is the wording we used for the “Fiver Party”. Etsy is so easy since you can buy a download then get them printed at Walmart or Costco for cheap! Here’s a few mermaid invitations available, click the photo to view and shop!

I got almost all of our party supplies on Amazon! Gotta love FREE 2 day shipping with Prime. Click on the photo to view the item and shop!

The Hands On Children’s Museum in Olympia has quite a few Birthday Party Packages. Packages range from $205-600+ depending on how many attendees and if you want the museum closed to the public for your private party. We did the Bay View Room which is $260 for non-members. If you have a membership to the museum you get a discount on all party packages. Not to worry though, you can still get some discounts! Military members receive a $25 discount on any party package. You can get $10 off with the “Green Discount” for using the museum’s reusable plates, cups, and napkins (which we did). I didn’t have to buy all that, which was great! If you have your party on a weekday, you’ll get 20% the party package. Best part? You can stack these discounts! We got $35 off total.
To view the HOCM website, click here.
To view Party Packages at HOCM, click here.

I love to support locally owned small businesses when I can, so this is where we got the cookies, macaroons, and cake for Aurora’s Party! I bought the cupcakes from our local Walmart. Instead of cheap party favors that are going to end up in the trash, I decided to do mini handmade cookies!

For our handmade cookie favors, Two Little Sprinkles was a lifesaver! I decided very last minute to do cookies as favors and she was able to squeeze me in less than two weeks before the party! She is located in Puyallup, WA and did an amazing job. I paid $52 for 24 mini cookies individually wrapped with ribbon. (it’s extra to individually wrap, normally $20/dozen).
To contact or order from Two Little Sprinkles, click here.

We did Aurora’s party from 2-4 pm so we didn’t have to provide food food, so we did smaller snack type items. I did a really simple goldfish inside of fishbowls for the middle of each table for people to snack on while they sit before cake. I also ordered some Macaroons from Macaroon Moos by Lucy. She is local to JBLM and made them based off a few photos I had sent her off Pinterest. I did 2 dozen macaroons, one dozen birthday cake flavor and one dozen strawberry flavor. It is $22 per dozen.
To contact or order form Macaroon Moos by Lucy, click here.

I always like to get a mini cake for Aurora to blow out candles on and for us to take home and eat on for a few days. Then I usually buy cupcakes for everyone at the party to eat. Cupcakes are not as messy as cutting cake and then you also don’t have to get forks! Honestly I always buy them from a local grocery store, however, Walmart did not have a mermaid theme birthday cake! Come on Walmart, get on the game. So instead I ordered the cupcakes from there with just matching colors and ordered her mini cake from a local baker, Ana’s Sweet creations. She is local to Dupont, WA and charged $45 for an 8 inch cake. I sent her a few photos from Pinterest for inspiration!
To contact or order from Ana’s Sweet Creations, click here.

I cant tag Aurora’s exact outfit she wore, but I found some really cute mermaid outfits on Etsy. Click the photo to view and shop!

We did it! Don’t all parents feel this way after their kid’s birthday party??? Shop our birthday looks below, click the photo to view and shop!

Finding the fun everywhere life takes us!
Love, Olivia Michelle