Nancy O’Dell recently celebrated her daughter Ashby’s 2nd birthday with a live performance by The Jumpitz at a lavish candyland themed celebration. It’s enough to make any mom jealous! Every wish you could party like a star? Or that your kids could? I’m so in love with the partyscape that Jennifer Sbranti of Hostess with The Mostess created for Nancy O’Dell’s daughter that I had to look a little closer at the goodies. I may not have the budget of the O’Dells when it comes time to celebrate with my kids, but so many of these ideas can be adapted for a smaller budget.

The Goody Bag:

The O’Dells used these Skip Hop backpacks for the guest’s Goody Bags.They look so adorable on the table and hold a lot of loot! Our local dollar store has kid’s backpacks for under $5 on a regular basis. If you’re a planner, keep an eye out for sales in the months before the party. Oriental Traders also has these white canvas backpacks that are easily personalized or painted with candy colored dots.

The Table:

Ashby’s table was a childhood fantasy come true with towering containers of candy. For more ideas on how to achieve this look for les (and with a little less candy) check out the Hostess With The Mostess Site. My favorite crafty tip from her blog? Wrapping colored paper lanterns with cellophane to create giant pieces of candy! Jennifer shares secrets on her site of where to shop for supplies and decor for your own candyland party – no matter what your budget.

Entertainment:

Odds are you don’t have your child’s favorite video characters in your rolodex and the ability to get them to perform live at your house. No worries. Pop on their favorite musical dvd as background entertainment and they will still be happy to dance. We love the Jumpitz series, all of their videos are fun, energetic, educational and put a smile on our sons’ faces.

Photos Credit: Gina Lee Photography