LEGO party

We are about to do our third Lego party this week.... so I guess it's time for us to share some photos of this fabulous theme. Nothing get's little big brains turning like a bunch of legos!!! My kids adore them -- following the instructions to create cool things and - better yet -- just letting their imagination run wild by building something from scratch. Legos are amazing! And they are gender neutral -- one of our favorite things at the COOP! For the Lego theme party -- we did some cool tall cylindrical vases filled with Legos (well-- they are actually the larger Duplos....) as the centerpieces on the main table with red and white graphic tablerunners, primary colored balloons, lego plates and hats for everyone.... we also used wall stickers of legos and put them on the table runners to make it super Lego-ie! Very simple and clean looking -- another COOP favorite! My FAVORITE part of the party were the super adorable lego goody bags -- which were custom made to look like the little yellow Lego heads. Aren't they fab!! I really loved how they turned out. The bags were filled with a small lego, a primary colored punching balloon and these great crayons in the shapes of legos and lego people. At the party pictured above -- we also hired the "Lego guy" -- who came with loads of legos and tracks and all sorts of cool stuff which kept the kids creating for hours! Bravo Lego --- almost 70 years after they were founded kids are still building parties around this fabulous toy!

DISCO for 12 year olds!!

Every once in a while, people ask us when a kid is too old to party at the COOP. We stand by that you are NEVER too old to play and party at our fabulous space! We have done 50 year old parties, 30 year old parties, cocktail parties, 16 year old parties, 13 year old parties -- and on and on down the line to baby showers (I guess that would be considered a 0 year old party!!) While we may not be the first place you think of when you are thinking of an older child -- it's a great choice for the tween set. Our space is really special at night (the lighting is amazing!)... and we don't think anyone is too old for a bounce or a dive into the ball pit! This is a good example of an "older"party we did recently. We did this lovely chic Disco party for a gorgeous little 12 year old and all her fabulously fun -- super high energy -- friends! The birthday girl LOVES purple (had a purple dress for the occasion, in fact!) , so we used that as our jumping off point. Everyone got purple boas, silver wigs and "elvis- style" silver glasses with purple lenses. I actually spied one of the boys wearing his shades at school the following Monday... that's a sign of a good party favor!! The birthday girl is NOT very into pink -- so I didn't use the bright multicolored "disco" table runners -- and instead went for a simple chic burlap table covering. Also on the table are the gorgeous flowers I did for the occasion, and a couple of vases filled with mini mirrored silver and purple disco balls, and 2 small vases filled with flashing light rings (that the kids also got to wear and take home!) it was such fun -- all the kids really had a blast (and my shy little 3rd grader actually got to hang with the cool 6th graders for a bit before I left the party in our fabulous COOP staff's hands!) Win/ win all around!!!

MICKEY/ MINNIE PARTY

When this client first came to us -- she wanted a Mickey Mouse theme party for her young daughter. We decided on Red tutus for the girls, and red capes for the boys as the "main" part of their gift. Then everyone would also get white gloves (just like Mickey himself), a Mickey Sippy Cup and Mickey ears for all! Such a cute and chic way to do a mickey party... I mean, who DOESN'T want a red tutu or cape, right!? We were all set to go when -- 3 days before the party,mom hit us with the fact that she wanted to incorporated PINK into the mix ! Enter MINNIE!!! We added Pink and yellow accents -- balloons, hanging paper balls to "girlie" up the party for her.... and I actually think it turned out quite nicely. The Jumbo balloons really help welcome everyone into the main lobby.... and how can you not ADORE that little Birthday girl's outfit! Just darling. We had a wonderful musician (Melissa Green) outside on the patio playing for the kids... and again -- our fabulous Julie from Blue Cupcake provided the wonderful cake and cupcakes. Mickey -- gone girlie at the last minute! It turned out really cute... and everyone was VERY pleased!

HELLO KITTY -part deux

I couldn't resist posting pics of this one. It's not one of our theme parties -- so we didn't do any decorations or gift bags for this one. I basically am posting just to show how amazing -- once again -- the fabulous Julie from Blue Cupcake is at making super gorgeous cakes and cupcakes. She did this Hello Kitty tower for our client and we think it just turned out beautifully! So gorgeous -- very chic... and the BEST thing about blue cupcake is that - no matter how gorgeous presentation, everything she makes actually tastes BETTER than it looks. No small feat for such gorgeous looking goodies! I also love how our gorgeous purple arrangements compliment the table so nicely for this party.... How lucky was Maggie's mommy to find THAT gorgeous surprise when she waltzed into the COOP!!

COLORFUL DISCO

Just a couple of pics of a recent Disco party we did. It was for 2 sisters -- so the guest list was huge (bigger than we usually allow actually).... so we bagged all the goodies right from the get go! Everyone got mylar wigs in an array of colors, disco ball bopper headbands and flashing disco rings. I love the colors of this party -- 2 girls meant we could go for the fun funky 70's bright colors.... which makes for a fun party palette. We used bright colored Dahlia's and white Hibiscus in glitter ribbon wrapped vases to decorate the space a bit more (since all the goodies were pre bagged!) Pretty Party....

DOLPHIN, DONUT, DISCO Party!

Well.... here at the COOP we pride ourselves on the fact that we can make ANYTHING a theme party! And we think this party is pretty good evidence of that!! Gracie was turning 5.... and she had VERY specific ideas of what kind of party she wanted. So much so, in fact, that when I was at her house one day (she's the daughter of one of my good friends) she and I were talking about her upcoming BDay -- and she was telling me that she wanted a "Dolphin, Donut, Disco" party. Ever the party planner, I immediately started throwing out ideas... "we can do this.... or this -- wouldn't it be cool if we did this?" I kid you not -- she looked me dead in the eye and said "When we are on a playdate at YOUR house -- we can talk about YOUR ideas.... right now, we are going to talk about MY ideas" I adore her. Thus began the planning for the fabulous Dolphin Donut Disco party you see above! Gracie's mom had these super cute invites made with the dolphin wearing a rainbow afro wig sitting atop a heap of donuts -- and off we went! I grabbed the image of the dolphin off the invite and had stickers made for all the goody bags, We did a really cool opalescent crinklie tablecloth all bunched up down the middle of the main table -- which looked like water (very cool)... on which we placed the AMAZING cake created by the insanely talented Julie from Blue Cupcake (she is seriously a goddess when it comes to cakes and cupcakes.... all sweet treats, actually!) and some vases filled with all kinds of candies in shades of white and blue. The goody bags were filled with a plush dolphin, a rainbow disco wig (we tried to make it look like the Dolphin was wearing the wig as he peeked out of the bags), a disco ball necklace and a cool dolphin mobile. We had a Bubble guy come and do a show in the lobby -- and then the kids had a free for all bubble fest out in the courtyard area. Super fun! We also filled the bouncer with clear and different shades of blue balloons -- as well as some mylar dolphins too! It was great. My absolute favorite element was the milk and donut cups -- clear cups with a theme sticker on them, filled with a shot of refreshing milk with a mini Krispy Kreme Donut looped on the straw! So cute ... so delicious! Hope you enjoy the pics!

THOMAS the TRAIN

We have had not one, but TWO Thomas the Train parties over the past two weeks -- so I think we better post some pics! It is clearly a hot theme right now! We used our fabulous red and white striped tablecloths which add a nice shot of color AND are reminiscent of railroad tracks... which is a cool bonus! As with most of our "branded" parties ... we kept the really branded items minimal (balloons, plates, napkins) -- and went for a cool train engineer inspired gift.... Engineer cap, wooden train whistle, red bandanna and a Thomas the Train sippy cup. The gift is great because it is gender neutral -- which is easier and also lends itself to a more cohesive overall look to the party. Thomas is loved by boys and girls alike -- so much so, in fact, that one of our Thomas parties was for a birthday boy, and the other was for a birthday girl!

New COOP TEEPEE

Don't you LOOOOVE!!!??!!!! We painted it like our cool wall in our lobby to make it "Tres Coop-e"!!! It's been a BIG hit so far. Isn't it great!?

CUTE COOP CRITTER PARTY

Here are a couple of shots of an "Animal" themed party we did last weekend. As usual -- the COOP can't go the obvious route -- so we did a MOD version of an animal theme. The mom and dad are super hip and cool -- and we knew they'd love a modern take on the theme... so we went for it. It was a party for 2 little boys -- so we used our new graphic blue table runners -- and this was one of the fist parties with our Winter white balls hanging over the main table. Everyone got these super bright, super graphic (and super cute if I do say so myself) animal masks -- and matching bags filled with all kinds of cute critter goodies. It was so fun -- the boys (and mom and dad) were thrilled with how it looked!

YO GABBA GABBA

We have gotten a lot of requests for Yo Gabba Gabba parties this year (maybe it has something to do with Brad Pitt as DJ Lance last halloween;) !) The FIRST time we got the request, there were no party supplies available -- so I had to download templates to MAKE party bags in the shape of all the characters from their website. Very cute -- waaaaaay too time consuming! Finally some party supplies hit the market. As we have mentioned before -- sometimes it's not possible for us to just do a broad modern interpretation on the gift -- sometimes we NEED to do the branded stuff. When we do -- we still try to keep the look neat and clean... as is evident here (I hope). I love the multicolored balloons -- and the bright green paper "grass"runners. It's a super cheerful, colorful fun party... hope you like!!!

GLEE!

Here is an example of us turning something that has virtually NO party supplies on the market(I am sure they will change that soon!) and making a party out of it. We took the GLEE logo and grabbed the colors for our color scheme -- Red, White and Yellow - used the striped tablecloth and did flowers in that color scheme as well. As I mentioned there are no actual party supplies available for this theme -- so we made our own! We printed stickers -- and placed them on the goodie bags and cake plates to make it "Glee-ie" and used posters on foam core as decor all around the space. The goodie bags included red and white pom poms, glitter microphones and a Glee CD in each. We think it turned out great -- it looked modern and clean and still "on theme"! Hope you agree....

the COOP is TWO!!

Picture slideshow made with Smilebox

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The COOP is two today! Thanks to everyone who has supported us over these past two fabulous, fun (occasionally overwhelming !) years... we couldn't have done it without the support of so many fabulous friends, and like-minded mommies and daddies who have made the COOP such a wonderful success. We can't thank you enough for your love and support....

GO GREEN....

We LOVE these Lunchboxes. Lucinda and I are both going into our second school year using them for each our boys. We both loved them so, we now sell them at the COOP. Did you know that a typical American child generates 67 POUNDS of lunch packaging waste each school year! That is an astonishing figure. My kids go to a "no trash" school -- which tries to get the kids to bring lunches that generate no extra trash (i.e ziplock baggies and juice box containers). We are officially superstars after showing up with our fabulous (and stylish!) GoGreen Lunchbox. The super cool (and insulated) exterior ... which comes in lots of cool designs... holds a 5 compartment tray that seals with a turn lock so your food -- no matter how gushy -- doesn't slosh into other compartments of the tray. It works great, looks great, and is great for the environment. What more can you ask for?

TRUCKS Party

Another one for the boys.... I had someone in today asking about this party....so here are the pictures! Again -- we made the table runners out of black wrapping paper that I added the yellow hash marks to, and then had laminated, to make a cool "road" runner. The hats are construction cones -- which are so cute on the kids! And everyone get a super cool monster truck, some stickers and an awesome tire shaped sippy cup as their goodie to go.

COOL new retail Product. Rocklovepeace Wooden teethers

Just ordered some of these FAB eco friendly teethers to sell at the COOP. We think they are super cute, great for momma earth, and non toxic for the wee ones (MOST importantly!) The company who makes them, Rocklovepeace, says it best on their website " Many plastic baby products contain toxic additives that are harmful to your baby and the earth. Not to mention, plastic takes about 600 years to biodegrade! Wooden toys stimulate the senses with their natural beauty, contain nothing icky, and can be passed from generation to generation." Bravo! We couldn't have said it better ourselves.....

Beauty and the Beast

Just like I mentioned before -- we try to not go the obvious cheesy route when it comes to "branded" parties. We try to take the character (usually a fabulous Disney character!) and "make it our own". That way we avoid the bag full of junkie plastic "goodies" as the gifts for our parties. For this party, we took the Beauty and the Beast idea and did yellow tutus (like Belle's dress) stuffed red roses (very romantic!) and pretty white gloves for the girls.... and the boys got blue capes, a clip on "beastly" tail and a black mask. Added a branded Mylar Balloon... vases of red roses and Voila! Again -- a "branded"party -- without the cheesy goodies! It looked so great -- and sooooooooo Beauty and the Beast. And best of all I can guarantee that the guests will enjoy their tutus and capes for a long time!