Planning My First Quinceañera

 It has been a dream of mine to finally get to plan my daughter's quinceañera but I never thought I'd have to fight tooth and nail to do so.

The thing is, my daughter hates parties. She doesn't hate going to parties, she just doesn't like parties given in her honor. Something about not wanting to be the center of attention. She is so not like me in that sense. She is shy and not a loud extrovert like her mother. I like attention and if I'm at the center of it, even better. But I digress. 

In order to get her to agree to a party, I had to make a few compromises that actually work out in my favor financially. First off, I had to keep the guest list small. Second, the party had to be as simple and as understated as a quinceañera can be. And third, no fancy extras. So no DJ, no entertainment, nada! 

With those rules in place, I had my work cut out for me. As it turns out, however, planning a smaller, less extravagant party was the smart thing to do. With a budget in mind, I set out to find a caterer, a venue, a bakery, and someone to help with decorations. 

I was able to narrow the guest list down to 50 people total, which means I actually invited only 50 people. So even though I am pretty much outsourcing everything party wise, having a smaller guest list allows us to pay for the convenience of not having to do everything ourselves which equals less stress for me.  

Having a catering service means I won't have to cook or worry about making the food myself.  Hiring decorators and having the cake and favors made, means less work for me so I can just focus on the fun aspects of party planning. And true to my nature, everything is still budget friendly, even the venue. We decided to rent a local community hall instead of a fancy party space.

Adherring to my daughter's wishes has been challenging at times with the back and forth but with a little bribery on my part, I am able to plan the quinceañera of my dreams, ehrm I mean her dreams, kind of.

So, in the end, I get to plan the most epic birthday party I'll ever plan but sans the fuss and frills and without the fancy dress.  I think it's a great balance. Quinceañeras typically are over the top, excessive affairs that rival weddings. With a  budget to match and I didn't want that. No keeping up with the Jones's for us, we're doing it our way, while maintaining all the fun. We'll throw in a few tradional elements but with a spin. I just want my daughter to have the best quinceañera ever.

I finally decided on a caterer who is willing to work with my daughter so also included in this menu list are individual pizzas for all the kids.

Favors for all our guests. Succulents to say thank you. I thought this was a pretty unique idea.

And finally the cake my daugher decided on via google search. I found a bakery that has the most amazing flavors, which is is so exciting.

We're also planning to have a dessert set up with 90 mini dessert shots and I plan to have a balloon arch with a giant number 15 for awesome photo opportunities.  Like I said, the quinceañera of our dreams.