I have a confession. I’m not the most amazing party-thrower. I have phenomenal ideas, I can pin the mess out of some ingenious party favors and food, but carrying those ideas out is another story. I have little to no follow through. I might even go so far as to buy all of the ingredients or craft supplies for a party but nothing gets done with all the crap. NOTHING.
That said, I love throwing parties. I’m an extremely carefree hostess. I like people to mingle and talk, and just do what they do naturally because I think it produces the most authentic and relaxed atmosphere. I consider myself the whip at my parties. I mingle and flit about from person to person; activity to activity, and make sure everything is moving smoothly, without being on a rigid schedule or freaking out about crumbs on the floor. I want to enjoy myself too, and a devil-may-care attitude is what I bring to the table.
I know it bothers some people how laid back I am at my children’s parties, but others often compliment me on my graceful presence and understated parties. I guess my kids having fun means more to me than putting on a show for a bunch of adults, and we all know kids are SO easy to please, so here’s what I did to make Styles’ party a fun one.
I headed to Walmart with this super-cool new app on my phone. It’s called “The Avengers Augmented Reality App“. Once you download it onto your iPhone or Android device, you can search for trigger points inside Walmart and figure out which Avenger you are. You scan these trigger points with your phone and it animates then asks you a series of questions. It’s really flipping cool. Styles found out that he’s Thor. He kinda looks like Thor. OK well, not really. They both have blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. That’s really where the similarities begin. And end.
We also downloaded a game within the app where you get to act as an Avenger within your own surroundings to shoot at objects flying at you. It’s pretty flipping sweet, and Styles played all over Walmart. It was slightly embarrassing, but only because he is majorly animated and really gets into whatever he’s playing. We may or may not have stepped on a few feet that night. He has definitely stepped on a few toes and knocked a few babies out of the way here at home. It’s engrossing, I tell you. And free to boot!
Anyways, I know that boys like pizza so I picked up a couple of Marketside pizzas from Walmart, along with some popcorn, some M&Ms for the popcorn, and some invitations. We couldn’t find any Avengers invites so we bought some stickers to stick all over the envelopes and inside the cards.
Styles got the invites distributed at school and found out that there was a Boy Scout camp out this weekend so several of the boys couldn’t come. One little dude’s dad’s birthday was the same day so he couldn’t come either. We had two confirmations and for this mommy of 3, that was the perfect number.
Friday was the magical day, so after Styles got home from school I started sweeping the floor and putting toys away in baskets. Madilyn and Grady were completely smitten with the gift bags I made up and they just wouldn’t stay away. I get it, they WERE pretty cool.
I may not throw an elaborate party, but I can put together a mean goodie bag. Each bag got an Avengers T-shirt, a Marvel mystery ball, an Avengers Pez dispenser, an Avengers notebook, and an Avengers water bottle. One bag had an Avengers hat in it, and another had an Avengers DVD. They were all nestled in their own Avengers reusable bag, and had about $20 worth of Avengers merchandise in them.
I see your decorations, and I raise you my goodie bags.
A look at what the guys got to take home
Once the guys got here, they played video games for a while while I baked the pizza. Because the pizza wasn’t frozen, it didn’t take long at all to cook. The toppings were abundant and HOLY good. When they were done with pizza, they took some Avengers Popsicles outside and gobbled them up, then played in the line of trees behind our house.
Marketside Pizza in the HOUSE!
Talk about stinky boys coming back into the house! STINKY Boys!
M&Ms separated into each Avengers’ color for the guys to put in their popcorn. Are you drooling yet?
They went to our 3rd floor den and watched Captain America for a while. I overheard someone mention popcorn so I went downstairs and popped some. I had separated out some M&Ms into each Avengers’ colors. Have you ever had M&Ms in hot popcorn? It’s SO, SO good. The chocolate gets all soft and melty and the salty sweet combination is just too much to bear. It’s SO good. It was a fun way to add some Avengers flair to the popcorn.
Tweens having fun with Avengers Pez
Once the movie was over, it was bed time.
Yeah. Right.
They stayed up and played for a while. I’m absolutely certain it was because they are so excited for The Avengers DVD/Blu-Ray to drop into stores!
Walmart is carrying an exclusive Blu-Ray/DVD/Graphic Novel Combo Pack. It will retail for $24.95 and you literally cannot get it ANYWHERE else. I was able to get my hands on a copy of the Graphic Novel before it is available in the stores. I’m not much of a comic-lover but the artistry in this book is amazing. When it arrived in our mailbox, Styles flipped out. We went for frozen custard that night and he stayed in the van to read the novel. That’s no joke. And this kid loves frozen custard. I realize that there are a thousand places you can buy this movie, but seriously? Just go to Walmart. Even if you have to go out of your way to get there. The novel is a brand new and original book, with a limited quantity available. This is going to be a collector’s item, y’all! GO. GET ONE!
But before you go, make sure you download the Avengers Augmented Reality App. It’s a ton of fun to find out which Avenger you are, and to play the really cool game on your phone. It’s like virtual reality without the ridiculously cumbersome helmet.
OK, now get your butt to Walmart. NOW!
I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Marvel. #MarvelAvengersWMT #CBias #SocialFabric
Come to Our Nest 
This post is AMAZING! Seriously! I love the goodie bags and I’m so sad I wasn’t there to claim one! It looks like Styles and his friends had a great time!!!! Can I be your kid, too? lol
Melody recently posted..31 Amazing Fall Recipes!
HAHA! Yes, Melody! Please come be my kid! I could use a little adult interaction
I suck at parties too. This was great! Love the ideas/
Alma recently posted..The Making of a Home
I love theme parties. I go all out for them, too. Only this past year, neither of my kids wanted them. We shall see what happens this next year!
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