RachelP, Author at Rachel Pitzel

The end of Summer is always a little sad for me, as I am such a warm weather, hang out by the pool kind of girl. I mean, who doesn't love sunshine, beach days and blue skies? Luckily the Fall holds so many treats, my sadness quickly retreats into excitement for Halloween. You see, Halloween is "my holiday." We all have our holiday, the one yearly event we go all out decorating, planning, and enjoying to the fullest. For me, it is Halloween because well, Harper and I just love to dress up and throw a good party. Plus we love pumpkin everything (it was one of her first foods!) so naturally Halloween holds a special place in our hearts. This year we are partnering with Nickelodeon to share how to Shimmer and Shine On this Halloween season. Shimmer and Shine is Harper's favorite show. She loves both Shimmer and Shine equally, especially their gorgeous clothing that truly shimmers and shines. She also loves Tala, Shimmer’s silly monkey, and Nahal, Shine’s feisty pet Bengal Tiger Cub. She loves watching all of their magical adventures from dance parties to getting away from the evil sorceress named Zeta, who Harper does not like. Does your little one watch the show? If not, you have to check it out, it's really adorable. We are sharing with you the latest party decorating trends, party-planning tips, dessert ideas, costumes, crafts (click here for the Shimmer and Shine Crafts Blog!) and other fun ways to really create a Shimmer and Shine Halloween in your own home! Cutest Halloween Costumes Cutest Halloween Costumes Harper invited her best friend Willow over for a Shimmer and Shine dress up party. (Willow is the daughter of one of my best friends Abby from The Chic Mamas). They were so excited to see open their Shimmer and Shine costumes and dolls! Harper dressed as Shimmer, which fits her perfectly since she is always having fun and is a lovable ball of energy. Willow dressed as Shine, which also fits her perfectly as she is sassy, bold, courageous, confident and witty (this girl is going to be an actress one day!). Both costumes are under $30 from Target! I love that these costumes are made with light materials, so they can run and jump, and be their silly selves. So many Halloween costumes are really warm! Each costume comes with the Genie jumpsuit, two arm bracelets, and colored hair extensions designed to easily be placed over a ponytail. The girls LOVE their costumes! Shimmer and Shine Party Decor / Photo Background Shimmer and Shine features bright and vibrant colors which I incorporated into this Halloween Party. To achieve this fun and playful look, we mixed paper fans, honeycomb balls and shapes, metallic tassels and garlands. What I love about this decor is that it folds completely flat so it can be used again and again for future parties. Ombre is a huge part of this paper party decor trend, and here we featured ombre honeycomb paper diamonds that cost only $6 each. To create your own Shimmer and Shine party decor, open the fans and honeycomb (either with a paper clip or tape), and stagger the colors and shapes. Add a few clusters of decor, and remember the rules of 3s - in decor and styling, an odd number grouping of three items is most visually appealing. Add tassels hanging from some of the fans / honeycomb. Shimmer and Shine Table Set Up The center of a party is the table, so we created a stunning table straight from Zahramay Falls! The tablescape incorporated the colors from Shimmer and Shine with fun pops of color, flowers and personalized name cards made from tile. Yes you read that correctly, tiles! To really elevate your table, be sure to stack a smaller, more vibrant plate on top of another larger plate. Bonus if the shapes are different! Add a fun napkin in a bright pop of color (and maybe with a cute saying), a cup and straw for a perfectly dressed table. Jolie from Wild Child Party custom-made the name cards from tile she picked up at a nearby hardware store, then painted and added the names using a Silhouette Cameo. If you don't have one (like me!) just use those same sticker letters that I used on the hashtag pumpkins. To make the table fun for the kids, we added Teenie Genies to each place setting for a fun surprise. These little genie bottles each hold a different Shimmer and Shine character for your child to collect. As a fun party activity, the kids can find their genie on the character chart and even trade! We also added some dolls and presents for each kids like DVDs, books and coloring books. Dessert Time! Shimmer and Shine Table Setting Ideas For dessert we used Shimmer and Shine plates and napkins to add a fun and playful element to the party. Each of these are under $2 at Target, an incredible find! And the Best Part of the Party....The Dessert Table, Shimmer and Shine Style! For the dessert table, we had custom Halloween donuts from my favorite place (linked below). Shimmer and Shine Gem Cake Every party needs a cake, and we created an amazing one for this Shimmer and Shine party! We created a large round cake with flat gems covering the side and sparkly gems on top. The girls LOVED THIS CAKE! We added the Shimmer and Shine dolls to the top of the cake to make it really pop. Here Harper is wearing Shine slippers and gem bracelets from the Shimmer and Shine Dress Up Trunk Set. And the best part is that the gems come off and can be swapped out by your child! And that's our Shimmer and Shine On Halloween Party; we hope you loved it as much as we did! Check out Target to order Shimmer or Shine costumes or create your own Shimmer and Shine On Halloween party! Here's our shopping list from Target: Shimmer Costume Shine Costume Shimmer and Shine Dress Up Trunk Set $10.39 Disposable Plates $1.77 Plastic Tablecover $2.77 Shimmer and Shine: The Magical Pets of Zahramay Falls DVD Shimmer and Shine All Bottled Up Book All photography by Kate Haus Photography who braved 90 degree heat for this amazing shoot! Party, decor, dessert and flower styling by the amazing Jolie from Wild Child Party Custom donuts by Fantastic Donuts! They’re such a pleasure to work with and they take orders via text! Be sure to reach out early as they do sell out! Party rentals by Teak and Lace. Corrie has the most gorgeous party rentals, so we borrowed poufs, pink chairs and Moroccan tapestries from her shop. And huge thanks to Abby and Willow from The Chic Mamas for joining our Shimmer and Shine party and playing with us! **This post is sponsored by Nick Jr. however all views, opinions and ideas expressed in this post are my own along with my collaborators. As a reminder, I only partner with companies that I truly love and want to share with you!

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