My oldest son (2nd child) is turning 6 on Sunday! I was going to throw the big robot birthday for him on Monday, but too many of the potential party guests are leaving town for the weekend, so I have postponed the party for a couple of weeks. This is probably very providential, because I have no idea how I was going to get his party ready with the week I have been having (as evidenced by the lack of blogging). So I am grateful for a little extra time, but I am still headed into his classroom tomorrow with some goodies I am in the middle of working on tonight. They are a little out of the ordinary, so I will be sure and share them with you tomorrow or next week, but in the meantime, I thought it might be fun to take a trip down amnesia lane at the birthday parties he has had in years past.
I know a lot of us girly-girls get excited about throwing girl parties for our little princesses, but I actually quite enjoy planning (I almost said throwing–but high energy boys can be tough to have in your home in large quantities) boy parties. They are so excited about so many things, and really get into the parties, if they are planned around things that interest them.
So here is a little party parade for my oldest son:
1st Birthday–Rubber Ducky
This party was from the pre-blogging era, and I never blogged about it, before now, because it was a small family gathering, but it still involved a bit of insanity. Like the hours it took to pipe icing on the entire cake with a star tip:
(See how I smeared frosting on the bottom of the plate and sprayed it with spray food coloring to look like water?)
This picture isn’t super important, except to show you how cute father and son are in their matching shirts. They got these for my sister’s fun blue and green wedding, and used them again here, since it kind of fit the theme.
The best part were the invitations, that I don’t have a picture of (and they were probably totally unnecessary because only family were invited). I painted blue paint on transparency sheets to look like puddles, and then ran the transparencies through the printer when they were dry. The wording printed on top was something like this:
Sung to the tune of Rubber Ducky:
Trenton William’s turning One
Won’t you please join in the fun.
Trenton William is awfully fond of YOU!
I had more verses, about him being cute and clever and chubby and included all of the party information.
The main activity, aside from eating cake, was swimming in his great-grandparents’ pool (you know, kind of like a giant bathtub). In my imagination, I was going to have bubble machines going everywhere around the pool to make it feel like you were in a bathtub and a giant pool toy that looked like a rubber duck, but it just wasn’t the kind of a party where I could justify that expense.
I did have lots of blue balloons around, though, to represent the bubbles, and make it more of a festive atmosphere. And I’m pretty sure he had a great time, either way!
(I can see that his baby brother is looking a lot like him in these photos…)
2nd Birthday – Things that make you go “vroom” (a.k.a. Cars)
Again, this was just family, so I didn’t go all-out. I think I have learned that 2nd birthdays don’t need to be too big or overwhelming. At Kira’s big fish party, she was far more interested in playing with her friend’s toys than she was all of the amazing party activities we had planned. My Tessa, was just so excited to have cake for her 2nd birthday, and a lot of my grandiose plans got put on the back-burner, but she got a fluffy pink cake and was happy!
This cake was my main masterpiece for the event, and I thought it turned out quite well, except I think while making it, I had one of those moments where I was getting frustrated with my children and banishing them from the kitchen, and I wondered if throwing the child a birthday party is worth it, if I can’t be nice to him in the process. (Still a question I often have to ask before a big party).
I used the 3D car cake pan and buttercream frosting as the base. I made the lights, windshield, bumpers, and racing circles out of fondant, and the wheels and the #2 out of melted chocolate.
Sometimes I like to pick the party theme based on what the main present will be, and his big present this year, was this car town that my mom and I made for him, along with several matchbox cars to drive on it. This was a combination of sewing, painting, computer-designed iron on fabric, and other techniques. My mom normally makes these on green fabric, but since we live in the desert, I opted for canvas, and painted on a bit of green (and a river), leaving lots of dirt on the map. These are a lot of work, but they are so fun to play on.
I had lots more car party ideas I blogged about here, and one of my friends threw a great cars-themed birthday that I blogged about here.
Well since this trip down amnesia lane is taking a long and winding road, I will show you years 3, 4, and 5 tomorrow (you may have seen these ones before). Right now, I’ve got to go and build some robots!
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I love how you tied in the gift with the theme! It might be harder as he get's older and requests specific designs. Love that duck cake!
I do try and steer his themes a little. For example, a while back he kept talking about Power Rangers. I don't know anything about PRs, so if I hadn't been able to remind him of other things he loved that I was excited about, I would have suggested a more general Super Hero theme. Truth is he wants most every toy he sees, so he's been pretty excited about most of his birthdays and gifts (except when he thought Grandma only got him clothes). 🙂
darling. the cake and the car mat!! thank you for linking to it. i found you via design mom! xo. marta
I love this one. It's one of the best at Zen Road Rugs.
I want one.
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