Mickey Mouse 3rd Birthday

My little man turned 3 this past weekend and we partied M-I-C-K-E-Y style!  He is obessessed with all things Mickey right now so we went all out... We started out with a lunch party with his playgroup buddies.  The following day, we had another set of friends and their kiddos over. 

Here's a party throwing tip...when you've gone to the trouble of crafting, baking, cleaning, and decorating, throw as many parties as you can in 48 hours!! 

 

We got this airwalker balloon for FREE because it had a tiny hole in it and they didn't have another one.  Score!  It lasted just long enough to get us through both parties.

Guests were greeted with this fun birthday balloon wreath.  You can see how I made it here.  It really wasn't too hard and we can pull it out every year!

 

We had a candy buffet and the cupcakes displayed in the dining room.  I really just worked with what I had.  The glass candy jars and round glass pieces are all from Walmart.  The birthday subway art was a free printable I found on Pinterest.  How much do we love Pinterest!?!

I'm a BIG baker, so I had to create something magical for my favorite 3-year old!  Cookies and Cream Cupcakes with buttercream frosting and Oreo Mickey's on top.  These were out. of. this. world.  Seriously. One of my party guests even hired me to bake them for her son's upcoming party!  Talk about feeling honored.  Thanks Rach!

Let's not talk about how many I ate for "testing purposes"...

In lieu of the standard party hat, I added some giant mouse ears to my little guy's hat.  It was a little big, but we got a few pics!

The kids had a blast running around and playing while the Mommies and Daddies chatted.  I think I have about 1 year left before I actually have to start planning real activities for the kids to do!  Good thing I was a teacher, right?!


We thanked our guests with homemade bags of "Mouse Munch".  You can see how I put those together here.  It was a cute way to carry the theme home.

Mommy and Daddy love you Japhet!  We can't believe you are already 3.  It has been so fun watching you learn and grow.  Keep being sweet, curious, and full of life.  We can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Mickey Munch Party Favors

I love a good theme and boy, is Mickey a good one!  There is no end to the cute things you can do with a couple of mouse ears and some red, white, and black.  In preparation for the upcoming party, my little man and I threw together these cute little "Mickey Munch" bags for all of his buddies.

 

 

I just used classic clear treat bags and filled them with caramel popcorn, pretzel twists (which look a lot like Mickey!), mini marshmallows, and red, yellow, and brown M&M's. 

I used black paper to make the ears and created/printed the bag messages in Word. 

I folded the message over the top of the bag and stapled on each side.  Then, I stapled an ear on each side of the tag.  To pretty it up, I used a single hole-punch to make a hole in the middle of the label and threaded some red and yellow curling ribbon through.

 

 

 

 

The basket I used to contain all the fun is the Pottery Barn treat basket and Valentine's Day liner.  Underneath those Mickeys are really white felt hearts.  Nothing a little tape and black paper can't fix!

Hope the kiddos like them because we sure had fun making them!

A Birthday Wreath

In honor of my little man's impending 3rd birthday, I've been hitting up Pinterest hard.  Who hasn't seen the cute birthday balloon wreath?  Well, you should.  It is adorable, pretty easy to make, and reusable.  Three of my favorite project qualities!

To do this project you will need:
   About 300 balloons
   1 package of pipe cleaners
   1 package of dress pins or floral pins
   A wreath mold (I used straw)
   A bow or ribbon
   A computer and printer to make the label

 

 

Now friends, this took WAY more balloons than I thought.  I went to the dollar store and snagged a few bags.  I knew I wanted a very full looking wreath with lots of color.

I also did not want to spend the extra money floral pins cost, so I chose to use dress pins.  They worked well, however, you have to twist the balloons a little bit so the pin is going through the meat of the balloon.  Does that make sense?

You simply take a balloon, smoosh it into place and pin it into the wreath.  Continue this process until all of the wreath mold is covered.  Your thumb will get tired!  Carry on party warrior!

When the wreath is covered, add the pipe cleaners.  I wrapped mine around a writing pen to get the twisty look I was going for.

In order to pin the pipe cleaner in, I wrapped a balloon around it and put the pin through the balloon.  It seemed to work pretty well.

After all the fun pinning, I fashioned a bow out of some ribbon I had on hand.  I then made the circle "Happy Birthday" label in Word.  I saved it so I can just change the year next go around.


Voila!