DIY kids party

Fabulous Fish Party

Dear Sis,

It’s hard to believe that Evelyn is three already! She looks amazing in her Fabulous Fish Party Dress. It was nice that we had a half dozen kids to craft, snack, and play together. A proper big girl birthday party!

Crafts

Paper Plate Fish Bowl Craft

We started with teal colored paper plates. I squeezed out a bit of white school glue on the bottom of each plate and the kids arranged dry beans in it. Then we taped, pipe cleaner, seaweed down with scotch tape. Finally, the kids added foam stickers. I found these particular stickers at Michaels. 

Painted Wooden Whale

I found these wooden whale cutouts in the dollar bins at Michaels. I gave each kiddo a squirt of gray and blue acrylic paint and a sponge brush. When they were finished painting, I let them dust it with silver glitter. Here is a picture of our little artists at work:

Sand Art

I purchased kits to make this craft at our local Dollar Tree. 

Menu

Fish Sticks

Seashell Mac n Cheese (recipe below)

Cracker Barrel Carrots

Cake and Ice Cream

Cake inspired by Fish Cake Tutorial on My Cake School

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

b
Creamy dreamy homemade macaroni and cheese to bake, slow cook, or freeze for later.
Print Recipe
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound medium shell pasta cooked al dente
  • 3 c medium cheddar shredded
  • 1 c gouda shredded
  • 1 (10.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup
  • 3/4 c mayonnaise
  • 3/4 c sour cream
  • 1 t onion powder
  • 1/2 t dry mustard
  • 1/2 t ground pepper

Instructions
 

  • Rinse cooked pasta in cold water. Combine all ingredients.
  • To bake: place in a large casserole dish, cover with foil, bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 minutes more.
  • To slow cook: place in the crock of a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1.5-2 hours. Stirring as needed.
  • To freeze for later: portion in foil pans, cover with wax paper, wrap in foil, and seal in a ziplock bag. Thaw and bake when needed.

I got this recipe last fall from my neighbor Nina. It is now a family staple!

 

Happy Birthday to a very special niece!

Love,

b

Out of this World Space Party

Dear Sis,

I can hardly believe William is 4! He has been fascinated by all things space for the better part of six months, so our party theme fell in place very naturally.

We found the solar system banner on Amazon, and plan to put it in William’s room after the party, to go with his new space bedding.

Book

The Story of Space: A first book about our universe by Catherine Barr and Steve Williams William wanted his party to be like book club:)




Cake

I baked the cake in a bowl to get the half sphere shape. I used a heating core to create a more even baking atmosphere. We tinted the tinted the frosting with black Wilton food coloring paste to make it gray and pressed black candy melts into it to create the look of craters. We topped it off with an astronaut figurine and 4 sparkler candles. It was one of the easiest themed cakes I’ve ever made!

We served it with cookies and cream ice cream and vanilla astronaut ice cream. The kids enjoyed trying it, but preferred the real ice cream:)

Crafts

We painted rocket ship picture frames. Before party day, I asked all the moms for photos of their kids, so I could have them ready to go.

I found these cute guys at Michaels and got one for each kid.




Favor

Free Printable: Over the Moon Party Favor Tags

Lunch

Cheese, Sausage, and Veggie Platter

Green Beans (for Charlotte, who is obsessed with canned green beans)

 Mini Chocolate Doughnuts (Black Holes)

Lemonade & Water

Sloppy Joe Sliders (Planets)

Tater Tots (Asteroids)

Montessori Birthday Celebration

  1. Ask kids to sit in a circle.
  2. Place a candle in the center and explain that it represents the sun.
  3. Give the child you are celebrating a ball that looks like earth.
  4. Explain that each time the child circles the sun a year passes. 
  5. Light the candle, and count each circle the celebrated child makes until you reach their new age.
  6. Allow them to blow out the candle. 

This concept is described more thoroughly in How to Raise and Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin, the president of the Montessori Foundation. This is more favorite application book for practicing Montessori at home with my kids! I’m reading some books on theory too, but we’ll get into that another day:)




Song

Zoom, zoom, zoom

We’re going to the moon

Zoom, zoom, zoom

We’re going to the moon

If you want to take a trip

Climb aboard my rocket ship

Zoom, zoom, zoom

We’re going to the moon

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF! 

We learned this song at library story time last year with, Miss Sarah.

I wish I had more pictures of the occasion, but Josh was working, so I was too busy hosting, to have more “mom” time at the party.

Love,

b

 

William’s 2nd Birthday

Dear Sis,

William had a wonderful birthday party! Our guests included a handful of family members, a few neighbors, and his friend Carter’s family. We were a chatting, eating, playing, painting merry bunch.

Lunch Menu

Spaghettios (Train Wheels) & Bread Sticks (Rail Road Ties)

Cheese & Cracker, Fruit, & Vegetable Trays

Bottled Water & Chocolate Milk

Cake & Ice Cream

Cupcake Train

We painted a wooden train engine red and put a number “2” on the side. We baked cupcakes and frosted them with Swiss Buttercream. We sprayed the frosting with edible color. Last we added “Happy Birthday” candles.

Ice Cream Bar

Our ice cream bar consisted of a vanilla party tub of ice cream, chocolate and caramel syrups, gummy worms, homemade strawberry sauce, maraschino cherries, mini honey graham cookies, mini oreo cookies, mini peanut butter cups, peanuts, sprinkles, and a can of whipped cream.

Activities

Train Conductor Hats and Bandanas

Train Toys, Books, & Puzzles

Painting Plaster Trains

Favors

Train Shaped Butter Cookies

It took a lot of tries before his little mouth was well enough aligned to blow out his two candles.

William opened one gift at a time over the course of three hours. We unpackaged each thing and played with it before moving on to the next gift, giving him time to focus on each item before moving on. No mad dash, no tears! But many Hugs and “thank you-s” all around.

Gran recorded what items each guest brought inside the cards, so we would remember who gave each gift when writing our thank you notes.

Gran and her parents concluded day three of their visit, just a few hours after the party. 

Thanks to all the family and friends who helped make William’s 2nd Birthday such a special time! Special thanks to Aunt Angel for taking lots of great photos:)

Love,

b