Because All Anyone Needs is Another Frozen Party . . .

Theme
I have lost count of the number of Frozen parties we have been fortunate to attend.  So when my daughter insisted on a Frozen party for her third birthday, you can imagine my excitement.  While doing a popular theme has its upsides - there are lots of Pinterest ideas out there (as evidenced by my Pinterest board) and there is a lot of merchandise available.  It also is a big challenge.  Like I struggled with my son's Star Wars theme, I also struggled with the Frozen theme - how do I create a Frozen party that I haven't already been too?

Decor

The entrance of the party is always important to me because I think it sets the tone.  Before a kids party a lot of families are scrambling to get out the door, and schlepping kids from event to event can be draining.  My hope is that a fun entrance helps get you a first smile, even if your guest was having a rough morning.

For the Frozen theme I couldn't resist - I got a snow machine on Amazon, and had it snow up the front walkway to our house.  On the door I had a sign that said "Love is an open door, come on in!"

I am a sucker for a good ceiling decoration.  I hung snowflakes on the ceiling in our front entryway and on the ceiling of our front hallway.  I also hung them over the food buffet.  I also covered some counter tops and ledges with fake snow (on sale after Christmas!).  In one of the ledges in the front hallway, I had a little Elsa figure walking through the snow storm right before she sings "Let it Go!"  My kids helped me make all the snow, and we had a great time crafting together!

For the tables, I kept it simple.  I had turquoise tablecloths.  I made small centerpieces with mason jars, silver burlap, and white hydrangeas.

Food

My original plan was to do sandwiches (because Hans and Anna finish each other's sandwiches) and pizza (for the kids who won't eat sandwiches).  Then I saw the weather forecast, and there was a chance of rain and it was going to be cold.  I decided I wanted to serve something warm and comforting instead.  I figured a chile bar would be a perfect fit!

First, guests chose the "base" of their chile dish:  bowl, hot dog, french fries, Tater Troll Tots, or pasta (gluten free).  I figured if kids didn't want chile they could just get a hot dog and french fries or pasta.

Then they chose their chile:  turkey or vegetarian (both very mild so kids would be OK eating them).  I also included a marina sauce option instead of chile in case any kids just wanted plain pasta with sauce.  I kept both chiles and the marina sauce in crockpots to keep them warm the whole time.  I also  borrowed some crockpots from friends and I had a backup batch of each warming up in two other crockpots so they could easily be switched out.

Finally, they chose their toppings: sour cream, shredded cheese, onions, olives, avocado, fritto corn chips.

I made Olaf's Summer Corn Bread (regular and gluten free, both from boxes from Trader Joes).

I also had a salad, carrots, edamame, and fruit - to balance out the heaviness of the meal.

I made name tags for most of the food to tie in the Frozen theme using corner tiles I bought from Home Depot.  I have gotten so much use out of them!


















For drinks, I knew I wanted to incorporate Kristof in some way with the ice.

And have I mentioned how much I love using stickers for cups instead of Sharpies when the party is for young kids (who might write on my walls or themselves with a Sharpie).

For dessert we had a lot of different Frozen themed treats, including Frozen Hearts (chocolate covered strawberries).  Instead of having a cake, we made mini cupcakes using my favorite doctored cupcake recipe (which you can find here).   I knew I wouldn't have time to make the frosting, so I got premade frosting, which meant we could frost them the night before and not have to rush to finish them the day of the party.

These cupcakes are easy to make, inexpensive, and the kids had so much fun making them with me!  While I do love a beautiful cake, this is one place I feel like I can save on budget.  Many adults refuse to eat the cake, or will only take a small bite.  Most kids just lick the frosting off.  By making cupcakes, my kids get to help make something for the party, and I save a lot of money.  I always get compliments when I make this cupcake recipe, so the flavor isn't sacrificed.

We decided to arrange the cupcakes on three different cupcake stands.  One decorated like Elsa's dress, one like Anna's, and one for Olaf.  I try to avoid using food coloring in frosting for kid's birthday parties, so I got cupcake liners the colors of Anna's dress and Elsa's dress and I decorated the cupcake stands with ribbons.

I like displaying cupcakes on a higher surface so kids cannot reach them without asking an adult (although I learned the hard way that this only works until they are about 6 years old, then they could reach them).

We also had a hot chocolate bar to help melt a frozen heart.  Again, I incorporated frozen toys my daughter already had (and I bought some extra ones for the party, that were my gift to my daughter for her birthday).

Entertainment

I got a Frozen bounce house, but there was a chance of rain, and so I decided to also add some extra crafts at the last minute in case we had to move inside.

The first craft was "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?"  I got white magic model dough (which is much less of a pain then regular play dough!) for the snowman body, black small pom moms for the buttons, googley eyes for the eyes, and orange ear plugs for the noses.  This was a huge hit!  The kids loved making these!

I also had extra foam snowflakes that the kids could decorate with stickers.  Very easy set up, and the kids had fun doing it.

Of course, the heart of the entertainment was Anna and Elsa.  They were amazing!  I am still in awe of how they captured the attention of the 3 year olds for so long.  They told the story of Frozen and performed all the songs.  It was very interactive, and the kids had a blast.  Then they did face painting.  I have mixed feelings about face painting - I know some parents hate it, but it brings a huge smile to my kids' faces, so I decided to go for it.  Anna and Elsa's face painting talents were just as impressive as their singing voices and acting!  My daughter was in heaven!

Finally, they did a special "coronation" ceremony for my daughter before we sang happy birthday.  After we got some pics of the birthday girl with Anna and Elsa, they were ready to go.  They played in the snow with the kids on their way out, and the kids had a blast!  (This was my favorite part of the party, and it was such a great way to end the day!) 

Favors

This was one of the hardest aspects of the party for me.  I have admitted before, and I will do it again, that I am not a big fan of favors.  To alleviate my ill will towards favors, I try to think of favors as an extension of the party (a piece of the memory or party to take home), but I also like to pick something useful.  My go-to favor is a CD mix of kids music that kids and parents will enjoy.  (I mix classic songs with current songs and songs from Disney movies or children's shows).

I initially planned to do just a CD, as the "Soundtrack" of the Frozen party.  Then I came across these amazing glove and hat sets on Pinterest (here), and I also saw a cute idea for Frozen chapstick.  My daughter is obsessed with chapstick!  In trying to put all these ideas together, I thought it would be fun to do a "winter survival" kit, with chapstick, a hat, gloves, a Frozen gummy snack, and a CD of my daughter's favorite songs.

My kids helped me make a sign for Wandering Oaken's Trading Post so it was like the favors were being sold at the store.   I used a light brown foam core board to make the sign.  I cut the letters out on my silhouette machine.  My kids glued the cotton balls on the sign for the snow, and then we painted dark brown lines on the sign to make it look like it was made of wood.  I attached the small "and Sauna" sign with 2 loose-leaf rings, and I hid the rings with the cotton ball snow.

Star Wars Episode V Party

Theme

My son had his heart set on a Star Wars party for his 5th birthday.  Because he was turning 5, we decided on Star Wars Episode V.  There were only two issues with the theme:
1. We had been to a lot of other Star Wars parties, and I wanted his to be unique; and
2. I haven't seen any of the Star Wars movies.

Luckily, it turned out to be a blessing that so many of our friends had thrown Star Wars parties (because my friends rock, and they graciously let me borrow a lot of things for the party).  I was also lucky to have Pinterest, Google, and Youtube to help me adequately research Star Wars so that it looked like I saw the movies.  You can check out my pinspiration here. 

One of the best things about my son's party was that it really did take a village to throw it.  I couldn't have made all the robes and lightsabers without help from my friends.  I also really appreciated all of the items that were lent to us to make the party even more special.

Invitation

I made a video invitation on imovie based on the opening credits of Star Wars (like this one).  I have no experience with imovie (or editing any type of movie), so I watched a lot of youtube videos that walked me through how to use imovie and how to make the video invitation.  It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, and the invitation was a big hit!

Once I figured out how to make the video, I had to figure out how to send it.  I contemplated sending the video directly in an email, but I eventually decided it would be better to use Paperless Post (so that I could track the RSVPs easily and so that I didn't have to worry about whether everyone could view the video).

I created a movie poster from the Star Wars Episode V poster to use as the main image on Paperless Post.  I uploaded the video invite to youtube (and used the privacy settings so it was only visible to those who had a direct link), and then I included a note in the Paperless Post invitation to click on the link to check out the preview.

Decorations

We had been to some amazing Star Wars themed parties, and while imitation is the highest form of flattery, I didn't want my party to feel like a carbon copy of the other parties.  I wanted to make the day special for my son.

I ended up sticking to the Star Wars Episode V theme.  I tried to use things from Episode V only (or things that existed in the Star Wars universe during the timeframe of Episode V).  I also had a theme of light side vs. dark side, as Episode V is the episode with the epic battle between Luke and Darth Vader (or, so I've been told).  I figured this would help make this party a little different than the others.

I used Star Wars action figures and toys (I even incorporated my son's Yoda lunchbox) as decorations.  My son now plays with all the toys.  We also had good friends who threw an amazing Star Wars party and who were kind enough to loan us some key items (including a giant Darth Vader!).

I like to do something fun in the entrance because it sets the mood for the party.  I saw so many great ideas on Pinterest, and initially thought I would get white balloons and add stormtrooper faces to them.  Then I realized how much work that would be, so I just decided to go simple with lightsabers.

For the tables, I got black tablecloths.  I was planning on making an ambitious centerpiece with two lightsabers crossed against each other, but I decided to simplify.  Luckily, I found Yoda easter baskets at Target, and I used those as the centerpieces.   (Have I mentioned how much I love the easter basket aisle at Target?  I also found the train centerpieces for my son's 2nd birthday party there).  I filled them with napkins, because when you have kids, it's always nice when there are extra napkins on the table and you don't have to get up!

Most of the other decor was done with signs.  I made sign for each food "station" to go with the theme.  I also made some signs to go around the house to go with the theme:

Food

The food was split up into stations, which I viewed as different restaurants or bars in space.

Each station was represented by a sign.  I bought black poster paper, and my son and I added "stars" to the paper by dipping toothbrushes in white paint and moving the bristles with our fingers, so that the paint would spatter (don't worry it was washable paint!).  We then used my silhouette cameo to cut out the letters on the signs.

We had the "Admiral Ackbar Snackbar," where we served "Vader Veggies" (veggie sticks), "Princess Leias" (potato chips), Dagobah Dip (lentil and bruchetta dip) with pita crackers, and other snacks.

We also had "Jabba the Hutt" for the kids, where we served Pizza Hut pizzas, Tauntaun Tenders (dinosaur chicken nuggets from Costco), Carbonite Jello, and Yoda's ears (edamame).

For the adults, we had "Obi-Wan Kabob-ies" which served Persian food (chicken kabobs, stews, rices, and salads)

For the drinks, there was "Yoda Soda Shop"

I decorated my water dispenser with felt, and made a fun sign for the alcohol.  Because R2D2 was the main focal point of this area, I also added a C3PO to the ice bucket.

I had the hot drinks inside, out of the reach of the kids.  I found a great stromtrooper Starbucks sign that was perfect for the coffee!

For dessert, I had two tables one for the light side, and one for the dark side.

The light side table was full of fruit and had a sign that said "Come to the light side, we have wookies."



The dark side had Darth Vader with a sign that said "Come to the dark side we have cookies."  I included a variety of cookies (including gluten free options).  Because I know a lot of parents do not like their children to have a lot of sweets, I try to put any cookie or sweet options up high out of the reach of little kids so they have to ask their parents (and they can't just stuff their faces when their parents aren't looking).

My favorite cookies were the Leia ones I made.  A good friend (who had a Star Wars party for her kids before our party) made the most adorable Princess Leia cake pops for the party.  She took donut holes and dipped them in candy melts and then dipped them in a darker chocolate (for hair) and she added Leia buns and faces to them.  How cute are they: 

She let me have her extra lips (which were heart shaped sprinkles), and I was really tempted to copy her cake pops (they were so cute and so good!), but I didn't realistically have enough time to make them (and I arguably lacked the skill to make them too).  I really wanted to do something similar though, and eventually I found the perfect solution (thanks to Pinterest).  

I bought Vanilla Wafers.  I dipped the tops of them in melted chocolate for the hair and then I put m&ms on the melted chocolate (with the "m" side facing down) to make the buns.  I piped eyes with frosting, and I used frosting to make the heart lips stick to the cookies.  

  

For the cupcakes, I also stuck with the light vs. dark side theme.  The light side were homemade mini vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting.  The dark side were store bought chocolate chip muffins with Trader Joe's cookie butter (cookies 'n cream flavor) as the frosting.  I tried to make it look like a battle, with a center platter that held the candles and had Luke and Darth in their epic battle.   For the backdrop for the cupcakes I put up a birthday sign that I borrowed from another friend who previously had a Star Wars party for her son (her son has the same first name as my son, so it worked out great!).

Entertainment

I hired a Luke, Darth Vader, and Leia to entertain the kids.  They were great!  They introduced themselves, and then trained the kids to be Jedis.  Then, they went on a treasure hunt and the treasure was light sabers.  I made the light sabers with pool noodles and duck tape (luckily a good friend shared her tips from when she made them, and a lot of my friends came over for a craft party and helped me make them all - it was a fun girls night and a huge help!).

The kids also got Jedi robes.  I mentioned to a friend that I wanted to do Jedi robes, and I was trying to find an easy no-sew options.  I never expected for my friend to offer to make the robes, but that is exactly what she did.  I didn't want to take her up on her offer, because I felt like it was too big of a favor to ask someone, but she insisted.  I am glad she insisted because and it was hands down the highlight of the party.  She used this pattern.  I was told they were "easy" to make (but take that with a grain of salt because that is the opinion of someone who knows how to sew and is very talented).  She even made them in three different sizes - a large for kids 5+, a medium for the kids 2-4, and a small for the infants and little ones.  I hid them in different areas in the yard, so that when it was time to pull them out, we knew who was holding each size, and we could pass out the right sizes.  I like to respect the privacy of my friends, so I won't show the pictures I have with the kids faces, but trust me when I say that the sight of a bunch of kids running around our yard dressed as little Jedis was priceless!  And the little infants in their Jedi outfits were pretty priceless too!

We also had a bounce house.  I originally did not want one because we were hiring entertainers, but my the day before the party, my husband voiced that he thought we really needed one, so I got one last minute.  It was nice to have it, but I should have deflated it when the performers were there because some of the kids were slow to join the entertainers because they were bouncing and didn't want to stop.

Favors

The robes and lightsabers were the favors, but I also did a CD.  I always get a lot of complements on these, and so our friends now look forward to getting one.