Birthday Party Idea: Painting Pottery

By Guest Blogger Jill S

As a certified cheapskate, every year I look for inexpensive yet fun ways to have birthday parties for my girls, Olivia (6) and Joyner (almost 4). Until Olivia turned 5, I was somehow able to pull off a party at home. This saves a bundle, but requires mass amounts of labor (not the least of which was cleaning the house before and after the party!). I realized this year, for birthday #6, I would not be able to duplicate past efforts, and I might have to go outside my budget comfort zone. Plus, her birthday is in March, which is quite a tricky month…it could be 60 and sunny, or it could snow (as it did on her actual birthday this year!). So I can’t plan on anything outdoors, and indoors can get crazy if you have a ton of kids.

While visiting family at Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law took us to a paint-on-pottery place. Now, her girls are teenagers, and I wasn’t sure how well it would go with kids as young as mine. Wouldn’t you know it was a BLAST! Olivia painted a “cookies for Santa” plate, and yes, it looks like a kid did it and that’s why I love it, and Joyner painted a bowl. They really enjoyed it, and were able to make something and be proud of it.

So I decided to look into that for Olivia’s 6th birthday party. While this party was more expensive than what I have done in the past, it wasn’t outrageous - and the kids get something nice to keep. At the place we selected, we chose to paint dessert plates, which were $9 each, plus $6 each for firing. Because of the higher per-child cost, we allowed Olivia to invite 5 girls, which made for a nice, intimate party. The tables were set up perfectly for 8 kids, and I think more would have been too crowded. It was also helpful that one of the moms stayed, because once the kids start asking for paint colors from the chart, it’s hard to keep up with them!

The girls enjoyed creating their plates; some painted a picture (think sun, clouds, people), some made various designs (heart, polka dots), and some just plastered multiple colors all over. But they were all thrilled with the process and even more so with the result.

You can choose any item to paint, but it helps to have everyone paint the same thing. The items are ready in a week, so the only inconvenience was having to pick up the finished products and deliver them to the guests. What was also nice was the plate was the “take-home”, albeit delayed, so no having to mess with a goody bag (which I’d like to ban, anyway!)

I would definitely recommend a paint-on-pottery place for your child’s next birthday party!

A few Triad locations are:
The Mad Platter – Greensboro
The Mad Platter – Burlington
Originals By You – Winston Salem
Abrakadoodle – can do a variety of art-related birthday parties and offers mobile parties in any location in Central NC. Contact Heather at (336) 270-6307 or through this web site.
Or if you are ready for a challenge, here is a How To of doing this same party in your own home.

What do you think of this idea? Have you been to a paint-your-own-pottery place before? If so, share some Smarty scoop!

Posted by Triad Smarty Pants at 5:00 AM