Thank you for some of the fun ideas and all the encouragement as I planned our Derby Party.  After sharing so many of the pre-party projects along the way, I wanted to also share some of the party updates.  I might be biased but I think the party decor was fun and festive. In addition to the vinyl horses and tissue pom horseshoe wreath you might have seen on Instagram, we also added paper lanterns and some circle garland from the Paper Lantern Store.  Once again,  3M command hooks saved the day making  so many of the decorations possible without worrying about the woodwork in our home. I can’t rave about the new party decor anchors (coupon also available) Here are a few pictures:

   

As any good party planner knows, no party is complete without some fun food and drink.  I am pleased to share that I believe we had it covered hearing only 1 complaint! We kept it simple with the food and did our own southern style buffet with pulled pork, jalapeno cornbread, baked beans, chopped salad, fresh veggies and sweet tea. Dessert included banana pudding, cake and cupcakes with our favorite buttercream frosting. In making the cupcakes I did give the new Wilton marshmallow flower trick a try. I had found a bag of Pastel Easter marshmallows on sale at Target that were the perfect colors so I hoped it  might work and spare me the color misting step.  While it worked, I think a normal sized marshmallow would be better instead of the egg shaped marshmallows I used. The full size would more easily create a more consistent flower.

Now, to the only complaint I heard. I was told we made it a little too hard to demonstrate  any discipline around all the food and treats. That sure is a complaint I am happy to hear! I can’t really argue as my only party regret was that my skirt was SCREAMING from overeating! 

 

Libations

As we geared up for the race, adults were entertained by plenty of beer and fun cocktails.  We did follow our Mint Julep recipe with fresh mint and  added some fun hand-stamped drink stir sticks for good luck. Of course a ScrapPop party wouldn’t be complete without some Champagne or Sparkling Wine and plenty was free flowing for all.  Colorful vinyl horse decals made for perfect glass markers so folks wouldn’t misplace their refreshments but we know how easy that can still happen — and did 😉

  

Kid Fun

The kids did enjoy the planned activities we introduced in the previous post including Derby Day Bingo, Race Day Betting Window, Hippity Horse Races, and a design your own Jockey silks color sheet. (Free downloads are available for your party) To help keep our crew entertained I had a different adult in charge of each activity.  I think it proved to be the perfect way for the grandparents to get more involved too.  Check out some of the fun:

  

The BIG Race

While the Kentucky Derby is commonly referred to as the “Greatest two minutes in sports,” our family took full advantage of the proceeding hours making bets, trash talking and anxiously awaiting the outcome so that we could claim to be the winner!  We aren’t real gamblers and no one really was very educated on any of the horses so we all jumped in on the kids race card betting game. Each person bet $1, drew 3 horses from a hat and based on their selections picked a horse to  WIN (1st), PLACE (2nd)  or SHOW(3rd). Based upon an outlined scoring system of points we would have ourselves a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner.

At the end of the day, I think a lot of new memories were made, some traditions started and fun was had by all. Now if only the cleaning fairy would come take care of my house I would really be WINNING!

Please be sure to  join the fun by following us on Instagram and Facebook and sharing your projects!

 

Music: Party Play List (Handpicked songs spanning Southern Rock, Country and Pop genres)

Drinks: Champs… need I say more?