It's Coming!! (Toy Story Party Part 1)

It's almost here....my baby is turning 4!  I can't believe it.  It also means by father-in-law is turning 64! Yes Brandon shares a birthday with his Grandpa Nowak :)

I have eluded to Brandon's birthday party theme in recent posts.  My little guy is obsessed with Toy Story, thus we are having a full blown Toy Story party.  I will do a post with specifics on the food recipes, but for now here are a few of the decoration and party ideas.

First, Brandon really wanted Toy Story party hats.  I looked in every party store, online retailer, and nada.  I only found a alien party hat that was $3.49 each.  Sorry Charlie, this mama is on a budget.  So I visited our local dollar store and purchased 8 regular party hats for $1.00 and Toy Story stickers for $1.00.  Brandon helped me decorate the hats, and they only cost $0.25 each.

Next part of the festivities is the pinata.  I found a Toy Story pull string pinata.  I liked the pull string one because the party guests who will be partaking in this activity are 4 years old.  While I let my 6 year old and his friends swing a bat at a regular one, I thought the younger crowd would have more success with the pull string.  I also filled the pinata with goldfish cracker packages, Toy Story fruit snacks, and little plastic army guys (which Brandon calls hut hut guys).



I always like to give party favors to the children who come.  I knew Brandon's party theme earlier this year, so when I saw things on sale I bought them and put them in my party box (a plastic storage bin in my basement).  I found really cute Toy Story travel coloring pads, Toy Story socks, and plastic cups.  I wrapped them together in cellophane with a few other trinkets and voila!!!  Party favors, check!

Last but not least, we need a Toy Story cake.  Brandon again was very detailed in his request.  He wanted a round cake, stacked, chocolate, that looked like sky with all the characters.  Oh boy this one was going to be the end of me.  I made a 3 tiered cake,  the bottom tier vanilla, and the next two chocolate.  Then I tinted the icing blue and piped white clouds.  I bought little figures from the movie and just arranged them around the cake.  Now I am the first to admit, it was not my best frosting job on the cake.  I was tired, the frosting was too soft and I couldn't get it as smooth as I would've liked.  However, when Brandon saw the cake this morning, his face was priceless.  He yelled, "Mama, that's what I wanted!"  Okay mission accomplished :)

Now that I gave you a glimpse into some of the party ideas, stayed tuned for the menu.  I am serving Beef on Weck, a Buffalo classic.  Yes, I found Weck rolls in the Oneonta area :)  I will also post after party pictures this weekend. Happy Thursday!

Abracadabra: A Simple Guide To A Kids Magic Party

The party day came and went, and in my opinion was just perfect.  My little boy enjoyed an afternoon with friends and family, and thanks to video will have this memory forever.

The planning part was actually quite simple.  In years past when throwing a party, I always wanted to cram too much into an event.  As all experiences provide a lesson, I learned that a few simple, heartfelt ideas can go a long way.

Adam requested a magic party.  I went to my favorite party supply website, Oriental Trading, and started to scope things out.  To my surprise, I found plates, napkins, party favor ideas, and decorations.

I wanted a few simple activities for the kids to do as they arrived.  I decided on "magic" bookmarks, that when the kids draw on a their design it is revealed in rainbow colors.  The kids also decorated their own magician hats with stickers.

The food was also kept simple.  I ordered pizza, and provided fruit skewers and a vegetable platter.

After the meal was complete we enjoyed a rainbow cake, which I will give step by step instructions to in tomorrow's post.

To round out the activities we had a pinata and a magic show.  The price of magicians for a children's party can be very expensive, so I enlisted my husband to provide the entertainment.  The guests and myself were pleasantly surprised as how good he actually was.  He learned tricks the month prior from a magic book.

Finally as the kids were heading home we offered them a few party favors. Included in the bag were magic tattoos, stickers, their own box of tricks, and a magic wand.  I made the magic wands from doweling and then painted them with sparkle paint.

My best advice for giving a party, is keep it simple and stick to one theme.  My next project: Brandon's Toy Story birthday in November!

Cupcake Party

Thursday was a day of celebration.  What better way to celebrate a 3 year old's birthday than with cupcakes. We had a complete birthday bash with cupcake tableware, decorations, and a giant cupcake birthday cake!

The cake was simple. I used the Wilton cupcake pan, just the bottom portion for the cake.  Then I piped the wrapper with a large round tip, and decorated the top with a large shell tip.  I used blue and yellow frosting together in a piping bag, to give an ombre look to the top.

For the table, I ordered a simple cupcake theme tablecloth, plates, and napkins.  As for the decorations, I found a coordinating cupcake birthday banner, cupcake hanging swirls, and cupcake die cuts for the windows.  Everything coordinated in blue, lime green and yellow. 

Overall I say we had a very happy birthday boy. He received a Melissa and Doug cupcake decorating set, remote control car, a pillow pet, and clothes.  He really loves the shirt his big brother got him, Cookie Monster :o)