ebay – Mummy To Twins Plus One

Next month my little babies are turning five. Yes they will be five! Hard to believe it has been five years since I had my little joys. Oh well. Enough marvelling at how long it has been. What will I do to celebrate this milestone? An Octonaut party is in order, don’t you think? (Make sure to check out all that was created at the party here)

Since the family are off to the gold coast soon we don’t want to spend too much on this party so we have decided to have it in the park. Perfect for kids to run around and pretend they are an Octonaut or a pirate or whatever takes their fancy. I am skilled with using Photoshop so managed to whip up the invites for the girls and had them printed cheaply at the local photo shop for just a bit over $8.00. So not bad.

Party Invite, like the one I did but different name and image.

So now the invite is sorted, what do I need to organise next? Envelopes, and decorations for them. What would I get? Well I thought why not get a colour to match the invite. I managed to find a bright organge just like the Octo Alert and the colour I have used in the invitation. I wanted to make sure it matches and ties in.

I like to put the stickers on the back to help seal the envelope and to also add some fun to the invite itself. Kids love them so it helps to create interest in the party. If you don’t want to add to the invitation why not put it the thank you bags for your guests.

Some great sites that can help when planning an Octonauts party:

On the Verge Mom – Has a brilliant list and is very creative. She has created some great printable for personal use. I love them and it will make the party even better. Thanks.
Misadventures of a first time mum – She has great printables. Pesco’s bandages, books to make for Captain Barnacles and other great things.
1plus1plus1equals1net – Great printables for toddlers and older children. Can help with learning also.
Kevin Cooney created a great party for his kids and made the Octo Alert. Any handy people out there why not do the same thing!
Etsty has great stuff at reasonable prices, so check out invitations and decorations for an Octonauts Party
Knitty Mummy – Great ideas and food for the party. Also has a print out for Peso’s medical bag
Matilda’s Mum – Great food ideas, will steal some so thanks for the ideas 🙂
Ninaribena Makes – Great food ideas. Love the one that adds blue food dye to tomato sauce to make squid ink
Ebay – I found some great decorations for the cupcakes on Ebay. Why not have a look and it might be a cheap way to get what you were after
Octonauts.com – Great colouring sheets and activities

If you cannot find an image that you want, look on Google and search under the images link. This is great for simple do it yourself party invitations or decorations. It gets complicated if you are selling the image as most have copyright. Fine for at home but you would need permission to sell or be in business with these images.

I plan on making shortbread biscuits and cutting them out with a fish shape, just like Tunip the Vegimal’s fish biscuits. Well not the same but will look great nonetheless. I will have a look at some of the ideas on the links and see how we go. One game that is taking my fancy is pinning the eye patch on Kwazii Cat. This is a great idea that others have sourced of the internet.

I have also purchased some cheap t-shirts for the twins so I can add Octonaut characters to them. This will be great so that they have a fun t-shirt for their party. Check out the link for On verge mom, she created great transfers. If you cannot see what you want, get the image and print it and then all should be good to transfer onto the t-shirt. Just remember to read the instructions on for the iron on transfer sheets as there is only five in the pack (you might be able to get more though) and you don’t want to ruin the shirt or run out of sheets.

Thanks to all the lovely blogs and links that I have added on this post. Your tips and ideas have been invaluable to the planning of this party. I am trying to do things on the cheap as we are trying to maximize our cash for going away, so most of the ideas are things that you can create or purchase for little money.

I hope this helps your next party and especially if it is an Octonaut themed one. Have you thrown an Octonaut Party? If you have had one send in your ideas and what worked well for you.

I had to take the kids to the shop to get their mate a birthday present for his birthday party next week. While we were there both girls would not take their hands off toy story dolls, I have managed to get them some toy story plush dolls for their birthday however the ones in the shop were great, taller, spoke and were much more expensive, $69 each to be exact. I could not afford to get each kid a doll each and then all the stuff that came with them so I found the next best thing, Ebay and it was all sorted.

I was so happy that they wanted the dolls and hope they like the ones I have organized for them, I have got all the characters, Woody, Jessie, Buzz Lightyear, and Bulls Eye the horse. Before I got the Ebay toy story dolls I sourced Bulls Eye the horse from Target but I got 2 horses so that each child can have a character on a horse, now all characters will have a horse so has worked out well and has not cost the earth. I feel very proud of my purchase and the fact it was not as expensive as all the stores were selling them for. Is it strange to want to be super proud of this shopping purchase, and skill to find a cheaper price? Oh well, I am! I am sure this happens to others as well not just me. Let me know if you feel like this once you organise something wonderful.

While at playgroup yesterday the kids were playing with Lego and asking about the one that they wanted (Lego Friends), I told them if they are good they might get it but it is very expensive so probably not right away. This was met with upset faces, and maybe at Christmas mummy???? Little do they know is that we have organised (we got them a big set of Lego Friends) what they want but the family is all going to put in for it so not to make so expensive for one person. They will be so excited to find that they are getting things they would like and I must say they are to be very spoilt as they are getting what they have asked for, not spoilt as we are not getting many things, just a few.

Since I was very lucky to win the blogging competition from 1stAvailable.com.au I am able to take the kids to the Gold Coast for their birthday so we are not spending a lot here to maximize our trip in September.

Have you had moments in the shop where your kid/kids want the toy that you have already arranged for their birthday or Christmas? Have you had a secret smile on your face as you are getting excited to see their reaction, I know I am!

I am going to take the plush toys with us on our trip as the kids will celebrate their actual birthday while we are away. This way they will squish in the bag fine and they can have them to play with in the hotel room and on the way home from our trip. Plus it will be nice to give them an actual present on their real day.

What things have you organised secretly for your little ones?