You might be reading the title of this post and thinking, what in the world is Corri talking about now? But hear me out. In the world we live in, especially in the United States, we tend to live life with a lot of structure. We get into our routines and anything outside of that routine is kind of seen as an annoyance or something we “don’t have time for.” I get it – I totally do. But lately, I’m trying to embrace doing things “just because.”

A "just because" party by Glitter and Bubbles.

It’s a concept I’ve really, really had to embrace these last few weeks since Zelda has been out of school and on summer break. I mean, I am with that girl full time, every single day right now. So although routine is great, I knew I had to do something to break up the mundane, kind of repetitiveness of our days. This led me to the decision to make random activities more special, just because!

In the spirit of getting creative and doing things just because, I had the amazing opportunity to partner with one of my favorite craft companies, Oriental Trading. If you’ve been around here for any amount of time, you know I’m a big party thrower and Oriental Trading is where I get basically everything. From Zelchella to Christmas in July to Zelda’s Lisa Frank Extravaganza – you get the picture. Oriental Trading is my jam.

Zelda throws a "just because" party with Oriental Trading.

Anyway, my dreams came true when Oriental Trading came to me and asked if I would want to throw a party. Umm, yes?! I’m always down to throw a good party so naturally, I was all over it. When I was brainstorming what/who the party should be for, that’s when it hit me. I should throw a party JUST BECAUSE! I don’t need a reason to have fun, I just need all the party essentials from Oriental Trading!

The theme of our party morphed into a “Zelda’s Hawaiian Pizza Party” kind of vibe because she has been begging me to go to Hawaii. It’s not quite on our family’s agenda right now though, so since she just graduated pre-school, I thought I’d bring Hawaii to her! I ordered some pepperoni pizza (because when in Hawaii, right?) and told Zelda to go upstairs for a bit while I transformed the deck off our bedroom into a little scene of paradise. She came down and it was like Christmas morning – her eyes lit up and she was so excited to be in “Hawaii!”

A pepperoni pizza for the just because Hawaiian themed party.

Ever since we did this, it got me thinking so much about this whole “just because” thing. Why aren’t we changing up our schedule more for fun times like our little Hawaiian party? Creating more moments like this really isn’t that difficult, either. I mean, all you really need to do is stock up your craft closet and dream up something new and exciting to surprise your family with every now and then.

To give you some inspiration, I have five tips that I know will help you amp up the fun! I especially recommend them for these long summer days when kids are in desperate need of activities that will eat up some time!

Drinks for a Hawaiian just because party.

Stock Up on the Essentials

Stock up on all the items you and your kids love! For us, that’s party goods, art supplies, DIY activities, etc. And make sure to buy them on sale! After big holidays is the best time to scope out whatever you’ve had your eye on. Don’t worry if you’re not going to use them for a while, you’re going to create the perfect place to store everything…

Make Your Crafts and Supplies Accessible

I broke down exactly how I created our craft and party supply closet in this post. You might have to get creative, but try to reimagine any empty corners or extra storage spaces in your house to accommodate an accessible supply closet. Making it accessible is especially key because if things are easy to get to, you’re more likely to use them just because!

A vacation party with Glitter and Bubbles.

Take the Kids on an At-Home Vacation

Pay attention to places your kids are mentioning that they want to go to. For Zelda, lately, it’s been Hawaii and Paris. I know, we’re in trouble. Because neither is happening in real life anytime soon, this is what sparked my idea for our just because Hawaiian pizza party. Zelda LOVED her Hawaiian getaway and it killed like four hours, which is a big win for me!

Go With the Flow

Once you begin allowing yourself to start doing these special things for no reason, just go with it! You can make your own normal, and if, for example, having a Hawaiian pizza party in the middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday is what gets your kids excited, do it!! They only get one childhood, so make it something they’re always, always remember!

Zelda of Glitter and Bubbles plays games with Oriental Trading gear.

HAVE FUN

These activities aren’t about being the perfect Pinterest mom or going over the top to prove something. It’s about going outside the box with your kids and doing something different just because you have the time to do it with them. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy or super time-consuming, either. The Hawaiian pizza party set up took me less time to do than it did for the pizza to be delivered!

OK, I hope you’re feeling inspired! I can’t wait to have more of these moments with Zelda this summer and I hope you create some with your kids too! Happy summer!!

A DIY Oriental Trading party with Zelda of Glitter and Bubbles.

Details for Zelda’s Hawaiian Pizza Party

Of course I ordered everything I needed for this little party from Oriental Trading and could not have been more pleased. You can search by category, so everything I wanted for a tropical-themed party was all grouped together. I added what I wanted to my cart and BOOM, done! The best part is I’ll be able to reuse pretty much everything for future fun!

Ceramic Tiki Tumbler: You get four of these in a set and they’re ceramic, so they’re perfect for reusing whenever Zelda has friends over and I want to do something a little festive for them.

Kids Hula Skirts: I mean, who doesn’t have a good time when hula skirts are in involved?

Tropical Leaves: These could be used for so many different summer tablescapes!

Garland with Flowers (Qty 3): I thought these were so pretty and only $5 for three of them!

Jumbo Palm Decorations (Qty 5): It could be a good time to have Zelda come home to these all over the house – she’d think it’s so fun!

Bright Tablecloth: Perfect for any summer BBQ!

Leaf Placemats: I think I’ll save the extras of these for some fun on a particularly cold winter day.

Pool Float: You can never have too many floaties – especially when they’re giant palm trees!

Palm Tree Food Picks: Use these for daily snacktime to add a dash of extra fun!

Glitter Palm Leaf Cutouts: Zelda loves anything glittery, so these will be nice to have on hand year round.

Leaf Serving Trays: These will be great for any time we have guests this summer and I don’t want to deal with dirty dishes.

Ring Toss: Love that you can play this game inside or out.

Pineapple Sunglasses: I kind of want to add these to my regular sunglasses rotation?

Lots of love to Oriental Trading for sponsoring this post! It is partners like this that make documenting our journey possible.