Atticus is my little monster. There's no other way to describe him. He's a wild, adorable two-year old monster. So, that's what we went with for his second birthday.  

I had big dreams for this party, but when crunch time came, I couldn't get stuff done. I'm just too dang pregnant, and we're not totally "in" this house yet (it's slowly but surely coming together). I was ready to go minimalistic for this party-- because, you know, he's two, and won't remember any of it anyway. But thank the good Lord for family, because my cousin Lena wouldn't have it. She pinned ideas on Pinterest, looked at my own ideas, came over to help me plan and clean, and then made a ton of stuff at her house and brought it to the party.

So, although I'd like to take credit for the following lovely decorations, I cannot. So much of it was Lena. Love you!

But before the pics, my five quick tips for throwing a great party, even if you're pregnant:

1. Get help. Get lots of help.  Don't refuse help.  Ask for help.  Help, help, help. Now is not the time to be too proud and independent for assistance. 
2. Try to keep it simple. In this Pinterest age that can be tough, but try to pare it down. Especially in the early years when kids don't really care about themes, decorations, etc. I did not do this--thus, Tip #1. 
3. Keep the numbers small. We did not do this, by the way. We had about thirty people. It was fun, but it didn't make things any easier. 
4. Easy food. Get stuff that's ready to eat or super simple to make. This isn't the time 
5. Get entertainment appropriate for all ages. My cousin Amy brought her bounce house over because she is awesome. I would gladly pay for a bounce house in the future. 

Also, if you're going to do a monster party, get eyeballs. Multiple eyeballs make anything into a monster. 

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for....

Similar to our invitation. I re-made the monster by hand from a design I found online. Painstaking. Obviously, I've changed the personal information. 



One dollar sticky hands + one dollar eyeballs= monsters in the windows!  






Googly eyeballs, hot glue, pipe cleaners, and shower loofas make great monster ingredients.


Monster toes, anyone?  We should have made more pigs in a blanket-- they were a huge hit!








Favors were cookies and little monsters waiting to be adopted into good homes. Monsters from Oriental Trading Company.

What do you think? Cute theme, right? If you have more time and energy, check out more ideas from my "Monster Party" Pinterest board.  

Have fun with your little monsters!