It's a Sock Hop Party

This year Bear wanted to have a Sock Hop Party.

These were the invitations that we sent out. I tried to make them look like a record. I clipped a little brad on them so they would slide open. I thought the poem fit perfectly with the theme.

I tried to turn our kitchen into a Soda Shop. I bought a ton of records for super cheap at a thrift store.  I also lined our kitchen "island" with a black plastic table cloth and taped white computer paper to it to make it look like a checkered counter.

I'm trying to make it a tradition to make the kids a special banner every year for their birthday. Here is Bear's banner this year "_____'s Soda Shop".

I wish I would have gotten a better picture of the table setting but I totally forgot to take one until almost all the food was gone. I cut a big piece of black glitter felt and tried to make it look like a big record.

Now for the Sock Hop Bash! This was the hardest to decorate for since there was little to non Sock Hop decorations at the party store. Originally I wanted to line the garage with white sheets to cover up all our junk but that was going to be too much $$. So plan B went into action. Once again the amazing visqueen came to the rescue. I picked up a bunch of dollar store white table clothes and hung them from the ceiling to give a "curtain" effect. I covered the ugly couch with a white sheet and borrowed pillows and a blanket. Billy picked up the pink shelves for free on the side of the road. I'm using for another project but for now they worked out great to display the jute box and records.

I knew Bear really wanted a checkered dance floor. But hello, can anyone say lots of $$? I had a crazy idea that ended up working out perfectly! I bought a bunch of really ugly peel and stick linoleum tiles at Home Depot for a total of $14. The hubs helped me spray paint them black and white and then I attached them to some old flannel material that I had. Wha-la! A dance floor. I loved the way it turned out! Of course Bear wanted a poodle skirt. I had originally planned to make her one at family camp but never got around to it so I ended up sewing one for the party. We added a little felt "L" to her leotard and she was ready for the Hop.

For the activies we had a ton of dancing. The Hand Jive was definitely a big hit. My friendcame through and made me a couple of Cd's with a ton of "50's" music on them. I loved the songs she picked out! And so did all the girls.

We also had a Hula Hoop contest.

And a "Who Can Blow The Biggest Bubble Gum Bubble" contest which ended up changing to a " Who Can Just Blow A Bubble" contest. Apparently 9 and 10 year olds don't have this technique down yet. But we did have a winner. Great Bubble.

Cake Time! I really had no creativity when it came to the cake. My DD said she wanted a record but seriously all I could think about was black frosting getting all over my carpet so I decided to just make her a clone of her outfit that she was wearing that day. I'm glad she liked it and I managed to serve almost every part of the cake except the black belt.

Wouldn't be a Sock Hop with out Root Beer Floats! A bit overkill on the sugar but hey these girls were going home soon. Haha.

When it was time to leave each one of the guest got a giant lollipop that I found at the dollar store (I love that place)! And they also got a music CD that my friend made for me.
I knew I wanted the Cd's to look like a record. I asked a friend to design the label for the Cd's.

Gotta say I was a little concerned about how this party was going to happen but I think it all worked out spectacular.

Total cost of party including food was $93!