Ella's "Late Over" Birthday Party

Since Lia's play performed the weekend right before Ella's 11th birthday, we had to schedule her friend party for the weekend afterwards.  So, today we hosted 15 of her friends for a "late over" birthday party that went from 5 to 9 p.m.  We used the exact same decorations from Lia's party that I also hosted for her 11th birthday in 5th grade.  This year, Ella narrowed down her invitation list and invited only her school friends and her gymnastics friends, with the exception of her best friend and nextdoor neighbor, Poppy.  We were blessed with an amazing spring day, so the girls had a great time playing outside before dinner, after dinner, and after opening presents.  The girls enjoyed a pizza dinner together, before opening gifts and eating cupcakes and ice cream.  We finished off the evening by watching the movie, Barbie, in the basement.  The girls all had a great time together and Ella felt thoroughly loved and celebrated!

The decorations on the mantle in the family room.

A close-up of the cupcakes on the table.

A shot of one of the two tables I decorated in the kitchen.

Ella dressed up in her pajamas, waiting for the party to start.

All of the girls eating dinner together.

It was so fun to see so many of Ella's gymnast friends doing flips and tricks in the backyard throughout the evening.  Her school friends had fun playing on the sports court and playground.  

Here is the entire gang:

Back row (left to right):

Leah holding Payton, Ainsley, Adelee, Poppy, Ella W, Annabelle, Ella H, Ava M, Shy, Harper P, JoJo, and Victoria

Front row (left to right):

Harper S and Elizabeth

Ella opening her gift with her dear friend, Ainsley, who she has known since preschool.

Ella and her best buddy, Poppy.

Ella and Ava M, one of her good friends from gymnastics, who wore the same pajamas as Ella to the party.

We played two games after gifts.  The first one was trying to figure out what item we put inside a pillow case.  Here is Ella walking around and letting everyone feel the pillow case.  We also played a trivia game that tested the girls knowledge on how well they knew Ella.

Ella getting ready to blow out her candles.

All of the girls bundled up with their blankets and pillows getting ready to watch Barbie at the end of the evening.