COLTON'S MICKEY MOUSE PARTY!

It may sound cliché but it really does seem like just yesterday that I was sitting down to blog about Colton's 2nd birthday party. And now here it is....a year later and I can honestly say that this slippery slope that we are on taking him from baby to teenager needs to slow down! It seems like my little guy was just barely making sense with his 2 year old chatter....and now here he is talking non-stop about everything under the sun! And it's leaving this mommy with a serious case of "where did my little tiny baby go?!"


Colton and his cousins. He didn't want to stand still
long enough to let us get a good picture!



This year planning Colton's birthday party was a little different. I was able to ask him what kind of party he wanted and while he didn't really understand at first what I was asking, when I gave him the option of Mickey Mouse, Dinosaur Train, Jake the Neverland Pirates, and Cat in the Hat, he immediately chose Mickey! I can't say that I was surprised, lately we've been watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse marathons (thanks to our DVR)! If I have to dance to the Hot Dog Dance one more time I think I'll scream! But nevertheless, I knew the next few weeks would be Mickey overload.  But I was ready for it!

Just like the last two years, I was determined not to succumb to the urge of just heading off to Party City and buying up everything they had that was Mickey Mouse related.  Instead I kept with my usual desire to make a lot of my decorations, adding a personal feel to his party.  Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with all the store bought party supplies.  I just love the idea of having guests say "ooh that's so cute, where did you get that?" and being able to say that I made it!

This year unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures myself, and had to rely on compiling ones from several of our guests. Many of my cute decorations never got photographed, which I'm just sick over. But luckily, some were captured and I am excited to share!

Keeping with the same idea as the last two years, I chose solid color tablecloths for guest tables and character ones for the present and cake tables.  This makes those tables (cake/presents) the focal point of the party.  I placed all the balloons there as well, as a way to draw eyes to that area. With a focal point, everything looks more organized and put together.

I tried to keep the color scheme of the party to red and black (with some yellow thrown in); red and black balloons and tablecloths for guest tables. On each of the guest tables as well as near the cake, I had these centerpieces (below).

The centerpieces I made from simple balloon table weights from Party City.  I purchased them in red, black, and gold.  All I did was attach the Mickey (and friends) faces and the number "3" to some of the branches with hot glue.  For the faces and the numbers, I just printed out the images on cardstock, mounted them on another color cardstock and laminated them.  They were incredibly simple to make and turned out super cute.  (The picture doesn't do them justice). Also in the picture, is a MICKEY MOUSE SUBWAY ART, that I created specifically for my son's party.  I created this in Microsoft Word using multiple fonts and images.  It took a little time to create, but looked so adorable next to the cake, which I was somewhat disappointed in.

When I initially ordered my son's birthday cake, the design looked really cute and bright in the book.  The day of the party however, I went to pick it up and have to admit that I was not excited about how it turned out.  Unfortunately, the party was starting in less than two hours and I had lots of other stops to make.  The best part about the cake is that my son thought it was cute and enjoys playing with the toy car that was on top.

Next to the cake I placed the children's favor bags as well as some other treats that went with the Mickey Mouse party theme. 

I made these MICKEY MOUSE HEAD CUPCAKES for the kids, or whoever wanted one, because lets be honest.....who doesn't love chocolate on top of chocolate, on top of chocolate!! To find out how I made these super cute cupcakes, click HERE.





There were also two candy treats made by an Aunt of mine who is super creative. CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY MICE and CANDY BAR BEAR CARS. They were almost too cute to eat! To find out how to make these treats, click HERE.

And finally, the project I was most proud of.....my homemade MICKEY MOUSE PINATA!  I searched for Mickey piñatas in the store and could not find one that I really liked. So I thought to myself that if I can make most of the other decorations, then I could positively make a piñata.  I can't tell you how many compliments I got on this!



To see my tutorial on how I made the MICKEY MOUSE PINATA click HERE!  It turned out so nice that I almost didn't want to let the kids destroy it. And I have to admit that I felt a bit nauseous with that first hit! But all the kids loved it and of course they loved what fell out of it! 

Colton getting ready to take his first swing!

Some of the kid's diving into all the goodies!

I was so happy that Colton's party turned out so nice, and the best part was that he had a blast. He talked about it for days afterwards.  There is nothing I like more than to see the look of excitement on my son's face. It makes all the hard work incredibly worth it! Now I just have to try and slow time down a bit so that I don't blink and it's his 4th birthday!

COLTON'S WINNIE THE POOH PARTY!

Whoever said that kids grow up before you can blink an eye was so right! It seems like just yesterday I was holding that little 7 lb. 15 oz baby boy. And now here I am posting about his SECOND BIRTHDAY party.  My little baby is two, I just can't believe it.

I started planning his birthday party back in May (yes that's right MAY), and I was sure that it was going to be a Mickey Mouse theme. However, as it got closer and closer to August I noticed that his love for Winnie the Pooh was turning into a toddler obsession. Everyday we would watch one of the Winnie the Pooh movies and read Winnie the Pooh books.  So obviously, I knew that the birthday party theme had to be changed to Pooh.  

I wanted to make sure that Colton's party was as cute as can be with some original decorations instead of just the store bought ones. I found some cute ideas on Pinterest (love that site) and of course came up with some ideas on my own.  

For the present and cake table: I bought Winnie the Pooh tablecloths for the tables where the presents and cake would be. For the tables where people would be sitting, I just purchased solid colored tablecloths in red, blue, and yellow.  On one table i placed his Winnie the Pooh cake and next to it i placed candy jars with gummy bears, honey drops, and bear cookies. This was also the table where i displayed Colton's 2 year pictures in frames.  Next to the cake table was the present table. I decorated the present table with the group of stuffed animals that I purchased for Colt. Note: I purchase stuffed animals of all the characters from the Winnie the Pooh movie, and let me tell you......it was NOT CHEAP.  (But it did look very cute...now my son has a Pooh and Friends army in his crib)  On most of the tables I placed little signs with some very cute Winnie the Pooh quotes. Such as, "If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your hear and I'll stay there forever,"  "Think, Think, Think," "It's not much of a tail, but I'm sort of attached to it," and "Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon." The guests thought the quote cards were a very cute idea.

For the food table: It took me a while to decide on the food for the party, especially since a lot of people offered to bring something (a huge help!) I decided to have a few munchies for guests to snack on throughout the party.  I really wanted to stay within the Winnie the Pooh theme even with the food so for the snacks, I chose items with a bear or honey feel.  I had bowls of honey teddy grahams and honeycomb cereal. For the food that wasn't bear shaped or honey flavored, I figured out a way to connect them to the theme.  I came up with the idea of little signs that identified the food, and each one of Pooh's friends had a food named for them.   

For these adorable signs, I got a big piece of white foam board and using an X-Acto knife (scissors will not work) I cut out mini "wood" sign shapes just like the ones in Rabbit's garden. I painted them brown and then with a white paint pen, wrote a food on each. For the sticks I used wooden chopsticks that I bought at the party store. These signs looked so cute on the food table.  Also, at the beginning of the food table (by the plates and napkins) I had a large cutout of Pooh with the saying "FILL THE RUMBLY IN YOUR TUMBLY" The decorations turned out very cute and I got a lot of compliments. 

When you're throwing a party for a child with child guests, no matter what age, entertaining them throughout the party becomes the number one priority.  I purchased a Winnie the Pooh piñata and filled it with age appropriate candy and toys. Because some parents, me included, that would prefer my son to not eat a ton of sugary candy, I also put packets of fruit snacks into the piñata.  I also had favor bags for each one of the kids. And since I love to sew, I actually handmade my favor bags from Winnie the Pooh material that I had purchased at JoAnn Fabrics. 

They turned out even better than I had expected. The best part, they are reusable!! My nieces carried them like big purses. I filled each of them with a Pooh coloring book (that I got from the dollar store), a box of crayons, a can of yellow play dough (it was an outside party so the parents didn't have to worry about cleaning up a mess), a bottle of bubbles, and some other little toys.  I tried to pick things that would provide enough distraction for the kids so that the parents could actually get to sit and eat.  One of the hardest things about a kid's birthday party is chasing them around. I finished these bags off with a name tag attached with a piece of Winnie the Pooh ribbon. 

It was like 95 degrees and Colt was running around the whole time.
I was so worried because his face was as red as a cherry.

He took his cake into the grass so no one would steal it. LOL

I was very happy with how the party turned out and more than that how much fun Colton and all the guest had. All the hard work paid off. I suggest that if you have the time and patience, add some handmade touches to your party. It really does make it more special.

BIRTHDAY BALLOON WREATH

In my house birthdays are treated the same as holidays...and while I may want to skip my "holiday" this year (when you're in late twenties, birthdays just aren't as fun), my son's birthday is a big celebration! I found this really cute idea for a decoration that I could display for the whole month. 

MATERIALS:
*Straw wreath (leave plastic wrapping on...it saves you from making a mess and helps the pins stay in place)
*Floral pins (several packs...you one for each balloon)
*Latex balloons (1"-2" balloons  You need A LOT. I used around 300)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Take one floral pin and one balloon, place pin across the center of balloon (don't put through balloon). Then stick pin into wreath, push in tight, The pin should make the balloon fold in half. Continue with the rest of the balloons, making sure you place them close together so there are not "bald" spots. 



The finished wreath should look full. I only applied balloons to the front and outer/inner sides of the wreath. The back of the wreath should be bare so it lies flat against the door.

The great thing about this wreath is that it can be made with multi-colored balloons for a birthday wreath. Or you can select just a few colors like powder blue and white for a baby shower. I am in love with this wreath!