Birthdays are a bit of a challenge here as there aren't a lot of bakeries per say (I actually found one after the party), there's no party city for all your party needs, and no Chuck E Cheese in Yanbu to take care of it all for you - so super mom took over (with the help of Pinterest).
Abby is somewhat obsessed with the Disney movie tangled so she chose a Repunzle theme. I spent 3 weeks making lace crowns for all the girls and satchels for the boys. I even tried my hand at drawing for decorations, since there aren't many places, if any, to get themed party supplies here.
I made a three layer cake and even managed to make homemade fondant icing. We had sidewalk painting for the kids with homemade sidewalk chalk, along with our sand pit and swing set, so we were able to keep the kids outside the majority of the time. For food we did a variety of dips with pita bread, homemade tortilla chips and veggies. Drinks were Tang (which is sold in abundance here) with 7-up for a homemade punch.
All in all, I think it went really well and everyone enjoyed themselves. Abby had a blast and the house survived :). She was spoiled beyond belief with tons of presents from toys to books and had a fantastic afternoon being a little princess.
Something that is completely different here than in the US is that families and friends gather at eachtoher's homes to socialize. There are no movie theaters, concert halls or pubilc entertainment as it is not permitted in the Kingdom. When going to a restaurant, families are seated together either behind a wall or a curtain for private dining. This all has to do with the women being covered with the veil, hijab and abaya. So, if you do want to socialize, it is almost always done through dinner parties and gatherings in the home. This has been one of the most difficult things for me to get used to, as we went "out" with friends. Rarely did we go to dinners at others' homes, but met at restaurants and caught a movie or a concert, went bowling (which there is a 1 lane bowling alley here), or just sat at a restaurant and talked. I have had to learn to open my home up more and be the hostess. All part of my adjustment to becoming a stay at home mom and housewife.
All in all, Abby's party was a success. Abby was able to have an outdoor birthday party in January, the weather was wonderful, the kids seemed to have a fantastic time and everyone survived without any trips to the ER. We have since hosted a dinner and will be having a small Easter Egg hunt for some friends, so I am slowly finding my groove here, and I think I'm starting to rock this housewife roll - who would have ever thought?!