This is my Elijah boy. He just turned 4 years old and he is all about Toy Story. I wanted to throw him an amazing party, but I had a limited budget. I think having a limited budget forces you to be creative, and I have to say, it was really fun. And the results: A TOTAL HIT!I've recently become a fan of pinterest, an online pinboard community. It's such a great resource for planning events and it was definitely used as inspiration for this party.
I started out with an invitation to set the mood for the event. I happen to know my way around photoshop, and in times of budget crunching, it really comes in handy. I decided to use the backdrop of Andy's room and play on the characteristics of the movie.
Then I found a pizza planet label online, that I put on all the Little Caesar's pizzas we ordered. It's all in the details.
I found some more original drawings by Andy online as well, and printed them out and hung them as the backdrop for our party table. 
I added green army men and a Mr. Potatoe head to dress up the table. Ofcourse, I had to have lots of candy. So I raided the dollar tree and found tons of soft chewable multi-colored candy that I put in jars. Adds color and is so fun to eat. I greeted the children as toys, and the entire time of the party referred to them as such. It's always so fun to tap into their imaginations and make it more real.
I realize not everyone is as fortunate as to have a cake artist as a friend, but I was so thankful that my friend Lauren was able to save the day and give us the MOST AMAZING Toy Story birthday cake creation. Elijah LOVED it!
Ofcourse, we had to have a bounce house. Fortunately, we had a friend who let us borrow theirs. Also, a major hit!
Then there was the birthday pinata. In my family, the pinata experts are Uncle Jason and Aunt Tracy, who outdid themselves this year with a Buzz Lightyear pinata.
Though it's fun to be outside, in August, it's neccessary to take a break inside. I set up a picnic table in the livingroom and played the Toy Story movies. The kids watched them while they ate their pizza and birthday cake.
Then the festivities outside continued with, what else, a giant toy water fight. We used old furniture boxes from the garage and bought water guns and a package of balloons at the dollar tree. Can you tell I like the dollar tree? Then we seperated the kids into two teams: Space Rangers, and Deputies and they battled it out. It was so fun to see them do it, and the daddys participating made it so much more real.
Ofcourse, the thing I am most excited about is the photobackdrop that I made. Lately, all I ever see are the most adorable photo backdrops at parties. It's definitely a must. I had seen a handful of ideas, but nothing tangeable. I decided to do the backdrop outside where the natural lighting was beautiful. I took a blue sheet we had and pinned it to the wall. Then I made little cloud cutouts like Andy's wallpaper. When the kids dressed up as the characters, it made the backdrop come to life, and it was as easy as $1 posterboard and some scissors.
It also made a great backdrop for mommy and daddy to take a picture with the birthday boy (who was being a little shy.)
I love that my boys are best friends. It made total sense to me that Elijah was Woody and Noah was Buzz. These are the kind of pictures you treasure for years to come. I feel like one day when I am old and gray, this picture will be hanging on the wall in my retirement home.
Then there was the birthday pinata. In my family, the pinata experts are Uncle Jason and Aunt Tracy, who outdid themselves this year with a Buzz Lightyear pinata.
Though it's fun to be outside, in August, it's neccessary to take a break inside. I set up a picnic table in the livingroom and played the Toy Story movies. The kids watched them while they ate their pizza and birthday cake.
Then the festivities outside continued with, what else, a giant toy water fight. We used old furniture boxes from the garage and bought water guns and a package of balloons at the dollar tree. Can you tell I like the dollar tree? Then we seperated the kids into two teams: Space Rangers, and Deputies and they battled it out. It was so fun to see them do it, and the daddys participating made it so much more real.Like I've said before, it's the little details that matter. I scooped up every respectable box I had and used the same labels as the movies. A cute touch, and it made it more realistic. Also, it's an excellent place to put babies that can't sit up yet :)
Ofcourse, the thing I am most excited about is the photobackdrop that I made. Lately, all I ever see are the most adorable photo backdrops at parties. It's definitely a must. I had seen a handful of ideas, but nothing tangeable. I decided to do the backdrop outside where the natural lighting was beautiful. I took a blue sheet we had and pinned it to the wall. Then I made little cloud cutouts like Andy's wallpaper. When the kids dressed up as the characters, it made the backdrop come to life, and it was as easy as $1 posterboard and some scissors.
It also made a great backdrop for mommy and daddy to take a picture with the birthday boy (who was being a little shy.)
I love that my boys are best friends. It made total sense to me that Elijah was Woody and Noah was Buzz. These are the kind of pictures you treasure for years to come. I feel like one day when I am old and gray, this picture will be hanging on the wall in my retirement home.
2 comments:
You are SO CREATIVE! The birthday looked like a total hit! Happy Birthday big guy!
I keep looking at your pictures cause I really can't get over how awesome of a job you did. I have no idea how you managed getting all those perfect details in with 3 kids.
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