Rock the Vote

Growing up in Washington, DC, electing a new President was a really big deal.   I’ve been attending Election Night Returns Party since I was about four years old, falling asleep on the sofa, occasionally lifting my head to ask “did someone win yet?”

So I was actually pretty excited at prospect of watching election returns in the daylight hours from Tokyo, and of course had to throw a Brunch for my girlfriends after we sent the kiddos off to school.

I moved my dining room table up against the far wall for the potluck brunch so we could use all the chairs for our television viewing.  That left a very blank wall above the table, so we needed some sort of back drop.  I made some quick and easy card stock medallions with The Cuties, by folding paper fans, snipping my ends and some hidden staples.  I added in some paper punch centers out of leftover papers, and we were good to go!

{runner from Pottery Barn, and loaned from Cute BFF!}

Flowers are both exceptionally seasonal and expensive in Japan, so there were no red, white and blue bouquets to be found nearby.  I improvised with a glass vase, red and blue M&Ms and some American flags.  Little Cutie has been dying to dig in!

One of my favorite things on the buffet were the animal crackers.  The other night I started with an enormous container of assorted cookies, and carefully picked out all the donkeys and elephants {after washing my hands, I promise!}.  I then dipped them in chocolate and added red, white and blue nonpareils while still gooey.

No party is complete without a bar set up.  In addition to coffee, tea, water and soda, we had mimosas out for celebrating/drowning your sorrows.  I found these adorable straws at our local grocery store in their party section and ordered these donkey and elephant stirrers from this Etsy shop.  I love them so much I think I need animal-topped stirrers year ’round, don’t you?

{Can you spy how I put some leftover washi tape to good use after the big washi tape birthday extravaganza?}

But the most important thing I did to get ready for my Election Party?

That only took a few minutes.

But I missed the whole “go into the booth and pull my lever and get my sticker” part of voting in person, so I made these up for all of us wear today.

And in case I wasn’t pleased enough by the day’s events, Little Cutie arrived home just in the nick of time to sit with me and listen to the President’s acceptance speech.  And every now and then stopped to share with me exactly what she’d do if she were President.  I love hearing my kid’s view of the world, and right and wrong.

Little Cutie totally gets my vote in 2040!