Molly's NINTH Neon/Glow in the Dark Dance Birthday Party

It's no secret I love planning parties. This one was especially fun! My mom is just as creative and enthusiastic as me - so once I shared with her the theme Molly had decided on...we both went a little crazy. Molly loves dancing and choreography...so when her sister suggested we make it a Neon/Glow in the Dark DANCE party, she was all for it! Everyday for a couple weeks, my mother was stopping by with something new that was neon or glow in the dark she had found that would make the night that much more awesome.

The party was on a Friday night. Wednesday afternoon, I cleared the dining room of all furniture, hung a disco ball, strung up a thousand neon stars (props to my mother for cutting them all out for me to sew together!), and blacked out the windows. Our family ate in the semi dark, on our laps, Wed and Thurs night. That's how I roll when the party planning crazy train starts on it's tracks! Friday night, we added black lights, strobe lights, and lots of loud music to complete the scene.

I loved how the dinner table came together. Most everything I got for the tablescape came from Michael's dollar bins, WalMart or the 99Cent Store. The doilies and colored vases with glow sticks inside really made the center of the table full and festive. The hula hoop chandelier was an idea I got off of Pinterest...and once I started making it, I got a little obsessive (shocker, I know!) It took me 4 hours to complete - but I LOVE how it turned out and really think it made the room!

When the party girls arrived, we ate dinner first off. Molly isn't much of a pizza fan - so we enjoyed two different kinds of pasta, green salad and garlic bread. To drink we had 7Up or water with lemons slices that had been soaked in neon food coloring. I used milk bottles and wrapped them with neon pink or neon green duct tape and then different neon print washi tape. I think they turned out cute!

After dinner, the girls got "swagged out" for the dance party portion of the evening! I set up a selection of neon accessories for them to put on: 80's neon & glow in the dark sunglasses, mesh fingerless gloves, socks, legwarmers, headbands, glow in the dark face paint and jewels, neon hair spray and clip in hair extensions, plastic bracelets, flashing rings, glow in the dark lip whistles, and glow stick bracelets. Again - neon is popular right now - so most all this stuff was found at WalMart, the 99Cent Store or Oriental Trading Co. in the weeks before the party.

I bought Molly a plain white tank and let all her guests "sign" it with various colored highlighters...I don't know what it is, but kids LOVE to write on their clothes or skin! 

Once everyone was fabulously glowing, it was time to DANCE! Matt asked one of his students, who is on NH's Dance Team, to come teach the girls some moves and she was the most amazing addition to the party. Dani came in with tons of energy and the sweetest of personalities - wanting to get to know each of the girls and really making sure everyone was having fun and staying interested.

After dancing, we sang Happy Birthday, enjoyed cake and ice cream, opened presents, and passed out party favors. When the parents came to pick everyone up - the girls did one final performance for them of the dance they had learned. It was really fun and I'm impressed with how well Dani taught and how quickly the girls memorized the steps (and the words to the song!)

As the girls left, I had party bags ready for them with their names on them by the front door so they could carry all their accessories and treats home in one bag. The party favors were packed in neon polka dot cups I got from our local frozen yogurt place. They included a neon punch balloon, neon hair ties, candy, gum, a jumbo ring eraser, glow in the dark slime, neon nail polish, neon and glow in the dark loom rubber bands and a note pad letter of each girls first initial.

A lot of love and work went into this party - but I think it turned out amazing. I couldn't have done it without the help of my happy to do all the 'honey-dos' husband and my very awesome parents who are always willing to help and support all my crazy ideas. Of all the parties Molly has had, I think this was her favorite yet! She is our colorful, sassy girl - so this party fit her to a T. Everyone had a blast - even the adults, and especially the Birthday Girl. It was definitely a night to remember! 

We love you MollyB! 

NEON GLOW IN THE DARK PARTY DETAILS

I made the invite and party printables (signs and favor tags) using PicMonkey and printed them at FedEx Kinkos. My uber fabulous friend Nancy loaned me her Disco Ball and spotlight - but they are both available on Amazon. 

I got a lot of ideas from this blog (including the chandelier and the invite I mimicked)

Here is my PINBOARD for the party.

The glass milk bottles are old Starbucks Frappucino bottles washed out and labels removed! I've been recycling these forever...as I always seem to find a need for glass milk bottles at every party. 

Michael's - Rainbow Doilies, Initial Letter paper pads, Glow Stick Bracelets, Neon Card Stock, Large Neon Clothes Pins, Black kraft paper in large rolls, Glow in the Dark Stars, Neon Ribbon, Neon Initial Letters to spell MOLLY, Neon Paper Bags, Neon Duct Tape, Neon Washi Tape, Neon Food Coloring, 

WalMart - Neon Birthday Candles, Plastic Table Cloths, Neon Poster Board, Hula Hoops, Neon/Glow in the Dark Craft Paint, Neon Braid hairclips, Neon Punch Balloons, Neon Crepe Streamers, Black Sequin Fabric (used for table cloth), Neon Nailpolish, Neon Pipecleaners, Silly Straws, Black Fondant

99Cent Store - Plastic Table Cloths, Neon Socks, Neon Legwarmers, Neon Headbands, Neon Flower Vases, Jumbo Ring Erasers, Mesh Fingerless Gloves, Neon Hairspray,

Oriental Trading Co. - Glow in the Dark Lip Whistles, Neon Loom Bands, Glow in the Dark Slime, Neon Jelly Bracelets, Neon Glow in the Dark 80's Sunglasses, Blow Up Microphones,

Home Depot - Black Light Bulbs (hint - the singular black light bulbs don't do much in the Glow in the Dark department! To really make your neon and white stand out, buy the long tube black light bulbs. We found them for $15 each at Home Depot. I used 2 in the dance room and 2 in the dinner room.)

Party City - Neon Elastic Hairbands

If you have any questions about the party or supplies that I haven't listed here, please ask!