Her party went off without a hitch, I'm pleased to say. We too had banked on a good afternoon nap and had a later start (4 p.m.) for the party. It worked like a charm - she slept from 1:30-3:30 and was ready to party! We had appetizers when people showed up and served dinner, which we had catered (lasagne - good for kids and adults alike, chicken parm, vegetables and potatoes) at 5 around DD's usual dinner time. We had one big cake, Dora, and it was great seeing DD dip her fingers in there. She did really well throughout the whole thing. We had planned on opening the gifts after the party, but some guests insisted on wanting to see the gift opening (I never got that, but oh well), so we obliged at around 7-ish. I opened one gift and DD was clearly ready to crash, so she went to bed at 7:30, her usual bedtime and slept without a fuss all night through. The gift bags were absolutely worth it and very much appreciated by all. I had a little activity corner for the 5-8 yr old girls, where they did colouring and beading. Punch balloons were great to have around. Even DD got it right away and loved them. Also had a video game 'station' set up for the older kids. Oh, as for invites, we did an email invite, which worked fine, but of course there is no memento to keep. By the way - you can't take too many photos or too much video!!! I thought we did lots, but still would have liked much more!!! Good luck and don't fret too much - have fun!!!
