Get ready for a photo overload! I am so excited to share my uum.. Munchkin's party. All of the hard fun work paid off. The Munchkin had an awesome time. I tried to take pics of everything but that didn't work out. I also plan on doing tutorials for most of the DIY projects I did, so stay tuned. Alright, enough of the chit chat... on to the party!!
The decorations!
I was trying to not go totally commercial with the decor. We did purchase some balloons, a scene setter, and a few other items (like plates for the littles). Mostly though, I attempted to make the decorations, starting with this balloon wreath.
I read some where (forgive me because I don't remember where) that it could be a cute tradition of hanging it on the door of the birthday honoree for the week of their birthday. Munchkin loved it!! Tutorial to come!!
I added traffic lights, and tissue puffs around too. Those puffs are super easy to make and they add fun and color. The Traffic lights are just spray painted orange juice boxes (tip: just wrap in black paper, it took too many coats of paint to cover them). I also shopped around the house for Cars things we already owned (like the mini lunchbox).
What's a Cars party with out Lightning McQueen!?!?! We had Mater too on the other side.
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| Blurry much? |
I tried to tie everything to Disney Cars, We of course dinned at Flo's V8 cafe.
A Champion Chili Bar with Finn's Fixens'
Chili bars are great for parties because you can make the chili ahead (and freeze), keep it warm in a crock pot and people can customize the way they like - Chili dogs, Chili fries etc... I add toppings like chopped onions, bacon, cheddar cheese, and sour cream (I meant to add chives, but totally forgot). Yesterday we had chili mac for dinner with... you guessed it, left over chili.
Guest also got to munch on Cozy Cone Motel Munchies.
I made all of the food labels using MS word since we don't have photoshop. Hind sight... It would have saved tons of time buying everything pre-made and time is money right? (but whats the fun in that?!?).
For the drinks we had Filmore's Organic Fuel (green lemonade), Rusteeze Bumper Oil ( Coke), I also made labels for the water bottles. The little guests (and some of the grown ones) drank from cone cups.
The Sweets!
What's a party without sweets, and boy oh boy did I go crazy with the sweets. It's 4 days later and the Munch is still coming down off his high. There is just so much great inspiration out there, I couldn't help myself. I encourage anyone party planning to do a google images search and just scan. I usually don't even go onto the websites... I just look at pictures and get inspiration.
I didn't get pics of everything, but here's the dessert buffet run-down!!
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| Candy Dipped Marshmallows |
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| White Chocolate Covered Oreo Pops |
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| Traffic Light Rice Krispies and Racing Stix (Chocolate covered pretzels using a race car mold) |
Birthday Cake and Cupcakes of course. I made the everything myself from scratch. I think I've mentioned before that I was not a big fan of cake with icing... until I started making my own. There is such a huge difference in taste when you make things from scratch. (tip: make batches of the dry ingredients before hand, then you just have to add the wet ingredients when your ready). The cake was chocolate with white chocolate buttercream (recipes to come). I colored some of the frosting blue for cupcakes, and green to make grass and bushes. I set the cupcakes up on a Cars Racetrack which doubled as a gift to Munchkin after the party. Sorry I didn't get a great pic of the cupcake set up... but trust me it was cool.
I also had tons of red or blue candy and cars fruit snacks.
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| There were more than one cupcakes with finger swoops through them by the time guests arrived, Munchkin just couldn't help himself. |
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| I tried my hardest to get a good pic of the completed table, but it was a gray day and nothing I tried worked : (. |
Last year I spent a week of late nights and no sleep making this huge cardboard train for
Munchkin's Train Party. I thought for a second of making Cars characters out of cardboard... but decided I'd rather have sleep. Turns out I ended up staying up until at least 2 the week before the party anyway. When they arrived they all got to put on VIP Pit Passes with their names (the adults had pit passes too, but not personalized).
The kids were able to color and get temporary tattoos at Ramone's House of Body Art.
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| My niece posing for a pic... lol! |
I also transformed the reading tent into the cozy cone motel with some orange fabric from Walmart... of course I have no pic!!, and it was so cute... No sewing either!
We also played Tractor Tipping (pics of the tractors taped to empty water bottles) the kids loved it.
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| Of course this pic was taken before little hands got a hold of the bean bags. |
I had a little play area set up, with a Cars rug and all of the Cars toys the boys have.
The Scene setter was 3D, Munchkin tried so hard to get the glasses on himself.
Before leaving the kids took home a goody bag filled with sweets from the dessert buffet, cars crayons, a hot wheels car, stickers, and a cars puzzle, along with their Cone cup. All in all this party was a huge success. The kids (especially Munchkin) had a blast! This is what makes all of the time and effort I put into his parties worth it. Happy 3rd Birthday Little Man, Mommy Loves you!!
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