Watch out for that DRAGON!

At last, pictures from J's Dragon birthday party:

We got a 6 foot tall cardboard castle for $9 at an after Christmas sale I ran into at our local drugstore. Score! It was a hit with all the kids.

J and I made the centerpiece based on a design we saw online, out of toilet paper and paper towel tubes, an oatmeal canister, a Quik canister, sparkly craft foam, and scrapbook paper. We had so much fun, and we really like the way it came out.

We decorated with dragons, all but two of which came from the thrift store over the past few months for $1 or less. The castle and knights were also from the thrift store, a last minute addition from our last trip there. they were perfect and also cost less than $1 for the castle AND 7 knights.

This is a party put on by me, so of course there were books involved!

And Grandma Beth came through with a hand illustrated Pin the Tail on the Dragon which everyone LOVED!

J doesn't look too happy here but he really did enjoy his pizza lunch and confetti cupcakes. Other children, not so much: one said to me "Why would we want to eat cupcakes? We're just going to get crazy from all the sugar!" Umm, yes, and your point is....?

One friend brought this exorbitant/generous pirate ship. It was the hit of the day.

The pirate ship even came with canons that actually shoot!

The only thing J said he wanted at his party besides dragons was a dragon pinata. This one came from Oriental Trading Company and held so much candy I thought the other parents were going to kill me when they came to pick up their children and their overflowing pockets! Of course, another child asked me "What do we do with all this candy?" Fill your pockets and then eat it later, I said. "Why would I want to eat all that candy? I will just get sick!!" Still another said "I'm going to put this in my Trick or Treating jar!" It's the end of January!
Kids today, I tell you!!

The pinata did burst but needed a little extra help to break wide open, provided by the husband.

Luckily, the snow had melted earlier that week and it wasn't bitterly cold that day, so we were actually able to break open the pinata outside, behind our apartment building. Apparently, we freaked out many of the geriatric residents while doing so!

E was sent to a friend's house for the duration of the party. When he got back, he was able to eat all the food and play with the toys, but I think he wasn't too happy we tricked him!