OLIVIA party :: Budget and where to buy

This is the fourth and final blog post about the now infamous Olivia party! :) I thought you readers out there might like to see a list of where I bought supplies and such. Where you see "free" that means I already owned the product.

FOOD & SERVEWARE

• Cherrybrook chocolate cupcake mix (36 ct)... $10, Kroger
  
• Strawberries... $6, Kroger
• Watermelon... $5, Kroger
• Popcorn... $3, Kroger
• Mini-pepperoni pizza... $8, Kroger
• Chips and salsa... $6, Kroger
• Beverages... $12, Kroger
• White Beverage Napkins (50 ct)... $2.49, Oriental Trading
• Baking Cups & Picks (100 ct)... $4.99, Oriental Trading
• Polka Dot Napkins (40 ct)... $2.29, Target
• Square Red Plates (36 ct)... $3, Walmart
• Reusable Red Kids Cups (12 ct)... $4, Target
• Reusable White Adult Cups (12 ct)... FREE
• Red & White Straws... FREE

DECORATIONS

• Red Balloons... $10 for one dozen, Kroger
  
• Red and White Polka Dot Ribbon... $2, Hobby Lobby
• Foamcore for Lifesize Olivia... $5, Hobby Lobby
• Red Pennant Banner... $7.99, Oriental Trading
• Paint and brushes for art project... FREE
• Exacto knife... FREE

ACTIVITIES

• Egg Olivia Craft... $3 for Easter eggs, Target
• Olivia Coloring Pages... FREE
• Dress-Up With Red Mirror... FREE
• Basketball, tee-ball, croquet... FREE

FAVORS

• Red Pails (12 ct)... $8.99, Oriental Trading
• Red and White Swirl Lollypops (24 ct)... $9.99, Oriental Trading

MISC PARTY SUPPLIES

• Invitations (20 ct)... $7.60, Target
• Postage (18 ct)... $7.92, USPS
• Red Polka Dot and Black Damask Gift Wrap... $2, Target
• Black cardstock for thank you cards... $3, Walmart

TOTAL= $147

We had 12 children and 16 adults (28 guests total), so I thought the party was fairly affordable to feed and entertain a crew of that size! To get all the Olivia party posts, click on the tag, "olivia" below.

OLIVIA party :: Food and favors

According to Olivia's Rule of Life #100, "Red is the very best color for absolutely, positively everything!" It wasn't difficult finding party-friendly red foods. We served sliced watermelon, cherry tomatoes, chips and salsa, white chocolate dipped strawberries and bagel pizzas with mini pepperoni as a kid-sized topping.


Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting towered above the assortment of red foods. It was my mom's idea to add red hots to some of them. I loved how they turned out! I took a shortcut and got organic chocolate cake mix that was on close-out at the grocery store and then just made the frosting from scratch at home. I baked the cupcakes the night before the party and then frosted them the day of. The damask-patterned baking cups and picks came from Oriental Trading, and the black and white candles were from Hobby Lobby.

Again, taking a cue from Olivia's Rules of Life, I framed this saying, "Never miss a very important party." Along with the frame, I staggered our little red pail favors on a white tray and filled them with red swirl lollipops and Olivia stickers.

Our guests liked picking these up on their way out the door, and there was enough room in the pails to put the kids' crafts. My next post will give you the scoop on the crafts and other party activities!

To get all the Olivia party posts, click on the tag, "olivia" below.