Dream Entertainers provides princesses and other characters who will delight guests of any age with activities including singing, dancing, ceremonies, dress ups, face painting, and more!

Win a free basic party package for the character of your choice! The Princess, Pirate, or Spidey will come and keep your guests loving the event for 45 minutes -1 hour with activities like singing, dancing, character-specific lessons, posing for pictures, and helping serve the cake!

 
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Booking date subject to availability

Photo: Allison Shumate

Birthdays are special.  In fact, for kids, birthdays are almost magical.
But having a birthday bash can be pretty expensive and difficult for many families in Richmond.

celebrate!RVA’s mission is simple: to give disadvantaged children a memorable birthday celebration in a safe and fun environment.

The brainchild of local Richmonder, Julia Warren, who has been dedicated to service and volunteer work since she was in Middle School when she began volunteering at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond.  While many people see birthday parties as a given, Julia sees them as a calling:

I was always asked what I wanted to do for my birthday, and never told I just wouldn’t be able to have one. When I saw that children were not being celebrated and weren’t feeling the joy and celebration and love that every child should feel on their special day, it broke my heart. I knew what I needed to do.

celebrate! RVA wish list

Photo: Allison Shumate

We’ve gathered together a bunch of gender neutral birthday party ideas for the under 3 crowd.
Don’t forget, we have this AMAZING list of Richmond birthday locations and attractions!

Sock Monkey Theme
Celebrations at Home

Go vintage with this sock monkey theme! Celebrations at Home throws an adorable party for one lucky monkey. A build-your-own cupcake bar is one of the highlights complete with banana crème whipped frosting! Yum!

Worm (or Spring) Theme
Young House Love

Of course, we love local RVA bloggers John & Sherry  and think they can do no wrong… they can even make an adorable birthday party made from…WORMS!
These parents got creative when their daughter picks her own theme.  Our favorite: worm dogs! (cut up hotdogs)

You Are My Sunshine Party
Frog Prince Paperie
I love how incredibly simple and sweet this little party is.
Easy paper chains add a beautiful backdrop in yellows and greys.

Red Balloon Birthday Party
Lavender’s Blue Designs 

Based on an invite, the Paris background is made from black tape and the  clouds are paper!
This super simple design packs a punch and the photos are absolutely adorable!

World Travel Theme
Paging Supermom

Oh the places you’ll go! Use globes, maps and suitcases as decor.  Instead of goodie bags, guests were sent home with an inflatable globe.

Cheerios Theme
Kara’s Party Ideas

Throw a party with one of the classic first finger foods.
Save boxes to create a unique themed bunting, I also love the Cheerio garland!

Sesame Street
GuyerFamilyBlog.com

One of the great things about a Sesame Street theme (aside from the obvious excuse for copious amounts of chocolate chip cookies) is the bright and bold colors.
This mom makes great use of them at this fun party.

Did you throw a great birthday party? Share your ideas with us!
Email Sarah@richmondmom.com and we may share your birthday party on our site!

One thing I love about this season is how often I get to see my family and friends.  Actually, after not having been able to get together with my friends in a long time, I now have at least 5 gatherings in the next 6 weeks, half of which I’ll either be hosting or helping to host… and that does not even count Christmas.  I’ve pinned thousands of great things to do but realistically, I’m not going to have time to them all with three kids, two jobs and everything else that comes with the holiday season.

Enter: the newly expanded MARTIN’S Simply Enjoy line.  Yup, straight from the grocery store around the corner.  It’s the deus ex machina of my holiday season.  I would love to make caramelized onion and gorgonzola tartlets from scratch, but let’s get real.

I tested out a couple of goodies when I brought them to my parent’s house for Thanksgiving… there is always that awkward time several hours after an early Thanksgiving meal where nobody wants to even think about a meal but everyone is getting a little peckish, so I thought it would be the perfect solution to satisfy.

A little of the Simply Enjoy Red Pepper Jelly went perfectly on top of the brand’s water crackers which we snacked on with brie (also a part of the Simply Enjoy line) and wine.

I slid a few Raspberry Powdered Shortbread Cookies on to our dessert table to see how they would stand up among Thanksgiving favorites like pumpkin, apple, and pecan pie and was happy to see that it found it’s way onto plates and paired nicely with the Simply Enjoy Colombian Coffee.

So, will tasty treats from Simply Enjoy be at my next holiday party/ New Year’s Eve fete /baby shower? You betcha! (wouldn’t the Italian sodas look really cute with colorful paper straws?)  In fact you’ll be likely to find the coffee in my cup each morning and a few treats stashed away for myself for a “midnight” snack after my kids go to bed!

Good news! Some of the delicious treats I tasted are on sale at MARTIN’S.  So stock up on a few for next time a friend comes over for coffee, you need to indulge in a delicious treat, if you don’t want to show up to a party empty handed or if anytime you want to make things extra special.

The animals at Maymont love the treats that come with birthday parties.

The birthday party: it’s the anxiously-awaited and highly-coveted day for the child, the exhausting and detail-oriented job for the parent. Maymont has some great ideas for your Richmond birthday party this year, and they’re taking care of the entertainment and the goody bags so that you don’t have to.

Among one of Richmond’s greatest historical and natural treasures, Maymont offers incredible birthday party experiences starting at $175 (member rate) that will mark this milestone for your kiddo in indelible ink:

Birthday at the Barn:

Hop on the Hay wagon and spend time with the Maymont friendly farm animals, feed them oats and if you’re lucky-get a chance to feed them oats and pet them in your private viewing area before celebrating in the farm party room!

 Nature Center Discovery Party:

If you’ve never gotten to see the Maymont Otters play, you’ve got to take a trip soon.

If your kids haven’t seen the Maymont otters, you gotta take ‘em! At this party, party attendees have access to the Nature Center exhibits and discover lab party room and access to tons of fun creatures from Virginia’s natural landscape.

Fanciful Fairy Party:

If your little one loves make-believe the Fairy Godmother in this party, held on the West Lawn and Porch of theMaymont Mansionincludes magical stories, wings, wands and fairy dust for an afternoon only an imagination could picture better.

Victorian Tea Party:

For the little ladies, an trip back in time with a  Victorian hostess serving afternoon tea and lemonade on the West Porch of  the Maymont Mansion is an elegant way to celebrate a new year in the life. Kids even get to see inside the mansion with a peek at Mrs. Dooley’s swan bedroom!

Need a gift idea? We love that you can Adopt a Living Thing to help Maymont for as low as $25 in the name of the birthday child, and tell them they have a duck, otter, or bear they’ve adopted at Maymont!

Click here for detailed information on Maymont birthday parties and once you call, leave the planning to the experts at Maymont. Of course you can always visit Maymont, it’s one of Richmond’s great free family activities (although donations are appreciated!) Click here for the Maymont Calendar.

Maymont is an advertiser of Richmondmom.com

Sweetly Smitten's smores cupcakes are scrumpdiddylicious!

If you love cupcakes — and who doesn’t — there’s a new cupcakery in town that you will love. Richmond is home to lots of great cupcake bakers, but now Sweetly Smitten has joined the ranks of Richmond’s best!

They offer some of the most delicious treats available for grandchildren or children’s birthday parties and more.

Sweetly Smitten was founded in Mechanicsville, VA by sisters Demi Emmanouil and Litsa Kotsis who have a passion for baking. They pride themselves in only using the freshest ingredients possible to create their delicious creations. Since opening in November 2010, they have enjoyed steady business growth and customer compliments galore.

With flavors like almond raspberry, black forrest, carrot cake, chocolate orange,  grasshopper, sherry, smores, and more, they have something for every sweet tooth.

But they don’t stop at cupcakes.

Greek desserts

Greek desserts are also a specialty with Baklava (layers of flaky pastry, honey and nuts), Koulourakia (butter shortbread cookies), Kourambiethes (almond cookies covered with powdered sugar), Paximadia (Greek biscotti), and Galaktoboureko (custard baked between layers of phyllo and soaked with lemon flavored syrup) are also available. Since they use the freshest ingredients, these Greek desserts are fresh, flaky, and delicious!

You can order your treats online and they also offer catering for weddings, parties and lots of other events.

Check them out and see for yourself and you’re sure to return for more.

Yummo!

You’ll be definitely “sweetly smitten”!