A Monster Mash Birthday Bash!

The team at Project Nursery has always been so supportive of Unpacified, and I was so excited when they asked to feature Tallulah’s fourth birthday party as part of their Halloween coverage. Keep reading for all the details and photos from Lu’s not-so-spooky monster mash (spoiler alert: it involved a lot of plastic pumpkin and a lot of pastel spray paint).

*********

We couldn’t think of more perfect timing to share this adorable Monster Mash party than Halloween day itself! Leslie Bruce, of Unpacified, threw this cute and clever party for her daughter Tallulah’s fourth birthday. It has all the spooky details, but they’ve all been made preschooler friendly. I will be taking notes for next Halloween for sure. I’ll let Leslie take it from here with all the scoop from the party!

Over the past year, Tallulah has been super into monsters. From books and movies to tv shows and toys, monsters are her obsession. I love the fact that she isn’t scared or doesn’t think that monsters are a “boy thing,” so for her fourth birthday (which happens to be a week before Halloween), we decided to throw a Monster Mash!

I wanted her party to feel like a birthday party (and not just another Halloween event), so I decided to create a different color scheme than your traditional spooktacular parties! The décor was easy, I picked up every plastic pumpkin, skull and Styrofoam graveyard sign from Michael’s, covered my backyard in plastic and spent the few weeks leading up spray painting. (It was my first time spray painting and it was surprisingly very easy).

One of my closest friends was visiting for the weekend, and she had recently watched a Youtube on making balloon arcs…talk about knowing the right people! Watching her do it, it seemed fairly simple (although time consuming). Meghann Minnello has been a friend of mine for years, and she also works with me to create the best invites and party graphics. I wanted a bunch of framed monsters for a photo booth, and she made them the perfect size for preschoolers!

We don’t have a ton of yard space, so if I was going to invite 25 kids to my house, I knew I needed an activity. Luckily, I connected with Arielle Goddard of Art Camp! This woman is a genius! She has a cute, retro camper totally built out to be a children’s craft wonderland! It could fit eight kids at a time, and she and her staff guide kids through creating their own art project. For Tallulah’s birthday, she dreamed up a project where kids would make their own “Silly Monster Ball” out of paper lanterns. It was an incredible hit—AND it kept all the mess out of my house!

My go-to pastry chef for the last few years has been Lauren Lowstan of Sweet Savory. This girl is a baking genius, and she can make just about any vision you might have into reality! The birthday cake popcorn—to match the colors of the invite–was a huge hit, and of course the three layered spider web cake (funfetti/chocolate/ funfetti).

My daughter is obsessed with face painting, and we found the most incredible face painter, Tracy Kiggen of Artovator. I love finding a great face painter because it’s fun for boys and girls, and the good ones (like Tracy) can get through a ton of kids fast, while also making totally dreamy creations. And because I seriously spazzed about not having enough to occupy these kids in my home, I had the REAL LIFE VAMPIRINA make a cameo! She played games, read stories and sang songs! The preschoolers went nuts for her!

The great thing about this party theme is that right about now, most Halloween decorations are on serious discount and you can pull it all together for a total steal!

This story first appeared on Project Nursery.

Photos by Jessi Burrone.