Little Man Birthday Party

This was by far my favorite party that I have hosted ever!!!  Rather than a typical two hour shin-dig, we hosted an open house and had guests start to arrive at 9:30 am and the last guest left at 8pm.  It was awesome.

The theme was little man and EVERYTHING was "moustacheified".  Even before guests entered the house, they were greeted with this tie wreath.

Once inside, I had created a "Suit Up" table complete with mustaches, sticky ties and bowties, and gifts for the Little Ladies and Misters who came to the party.  The mustache and tie garland was hung throughout the house.

All the little girls who came got blinged out mustache necklaces.  (Even some of the teenage girls wanted these).  All of the boys received handmade neckties.

I have been taking a picture of Bandon every month for the entire first year of his life.  We replaced the usual art board with a montage of these pictures.  I added a tie bow to the wreath that usually hangs here.

All of the prizes for people who won games were mustache themed.

In the bathroom, I had a sign that read "Try 'Em Before You Buy 'Em" and then I had vinyl cutouts of different mustaches so that everyone could "try" them on in the mirror.

I set up a photobooth complete with props - mostly pilfered from Thayer's dress up box.

I turned the China cabinet into a serving space and interspersed a bunch of pictures (with mustaches, of course) of Bandon.

For a game, people answered random questions about Bandon's future and wrote the answers on pre-cut bow-ties and mustaches.

I used foam board, paint sticks and chalkboard paint to make speech and thought bubbles.

What is a little man party without a keg?

Thayer got to have Gannon over to spend the night before Bandon's party.  They had so much fun.  They were very into the photo booth table and dressed up as pirates right away.  They had so much fun together.  When they went to sleep they were giggling and laughing.  We may have listened in a little bit to hear what was so funny - they were talking about bug poop on grass, on cake - great four-year-old boy humor.

The ballpit was a huge hit with all the kids.  We had sidewalk chalk, bubbles, the hammock, bean bag toss, and bocce ball too.

People were really into this theme.  Everyone showed up with their own take on the mustache theme, including adorable fingerstaches.

Our neighbor Phil went home and grabbed what I hope is every tie that he owns.  He then let all the men borrow one and we were really suited up.

Tarah's entire family came hard with fake mustaches already applied.  Tarah even bought me this necklace to match the day.

Bandon was such a good baby.  His two favorite gifts were his new swimming pool and the water table from his Nan and Boomp.

He ate his first cupcake, which ended in a very messy baby, tears when I tried to remove the paper wrapper he was eating and a bath in the kitchen sink.

I met Dan's brother for the first time ever.  Poor guy, I am sure that he was completely overwhelmed.

Thayer's outfit degenerated during the day and went from presentable to this: underwear, a tie and mustache.

I had three games for guests: Whose Stache? - identifying the owners of famous mustaches, a trivia game about Bandon and then this one: a guessing game about Banond's future.  Here were the results:
What will Bandon's nickname be?
Bandy
Bando (3 - 1 was Uncle Doo)
Bandit
Bandidoe!
Ban Dude - Josh H.
Wild Banshee - Steve
Bandicoot - Mom
Donny Bando - Lindsey
Bandy Babe
Bam
Ban Man (3 - 1 was Erin & Rory)
Bada
Bandi Man
Don
Pirate Matey for Captain Pirate Thayer - Thayer
Ban Ban
What will Bandon's favorite color be?
Blue 10 - Josh, Mom, Rory & Erin, Jade
Sky Blue
Yellow
Red
Black 2- Thayer
Orange 2 - Lindsey, Denise
Green OR Blue - Uncle Doo
Blue-Green - Russ
Green
What will Bandon's favorite food be?
Apple - Thayer
Raw Carrots - Uncle Doo
Pasta
Watermelon (2) - Mom & Denise
Kale - Tarah
Mac & Cheese (2)
Thayers Mac Cheese
Spinach
Broccoli - Steve
Squash - Russ
Italian - Josh
Hamburger
Bananas
Steak
Spaghetti (2)
What sport will Bandon be best at?
Basketball - Thayer
Soccer 6 - 1 was Rory & Erin
Swimming
Air Hockey
Triathlon
Polo - Lindsey
Beer Pong
Hockey
Chess - Josh
Paddleboard - Steve
Rollerblading - Denise
Snowboarding - Mom
Ping Pong
Football
What is the fist country Bandon will travel to?
Argentina - Lindsey
England
Canada 8 - Denise, Steve, Uncle Doo, Rory & Erin
Africa by Plane - Josh
Mexico 5- Mom
United States
Costa Rica
Italy
Where will Bandon live?
New Zealand - Mom
California - Josh
In Eastern Washington
Western Washington OR Tahiti
Australia 2
West Seattle
With Mom and Dad
Tacoma
New York - Denise
Montana
WA
Issaquah, WA - Uncle Doo
B Town - Steve
Seattle Metropolitan Area - Rory & Erin
With a HOT woman - LA
With his parents - Dylan
Farm in Montana - Lindsey
What will Bandon do for a career?
Marine Biologist - Nan
Doctor
Make Toys - Jaeden
Explorer
Firefighter - Dylan
Pilot - Tarah
Arborist
Teacher 2 - Rory & Erin & Josh
Construction Management or Engineer
Animal Lover (vet) -Russ
Paddleboard Shop - Steve
Make Sausage
Scientist - Denise
Computer Techie
Put Shirts Away (and his underwear) - Thayer
Stunt double
Environmental Science - Mom
Water Park Developer - Lindsey
What college with Bandon attend?
Tech School - Josh
WSU 2
He will be an Oregon Duck
U Dub
U of W - GO Huskies!
Western 2 - Steve
Oregon State
WWU - Uncle Doo
UW 3 - Rory & Erin
Harvard - Denise
U-Dyb! from Darcey
None...hahahaha
NYU
U of Wash.
Evergreen - Mom
What will Bandon's first word be?
"Auntie Tarah"
"Thay Thay"
"Snack" - Lindsey
"Mama Cute" - Jaeden
"Stop You"
"Car" - Thayer
"More" - Mom
"No"
"Momma" - Josh
Dadda 4
"Bubble" - Denise
"No!"
"Up" - Steve
"Mama"2  - Uncle Doo
"Nan" - I wish!
"Mom" - Erin & Rory
"Momo"

This photobooth was an even bigger hit than I had imagined.  Everyone had so much fun posing for pictures and now we have a great "guest book" of everyone who came to wish Bandon a happy first birthday.