If your home has a kid or two, you will most likely have been indoctrinated with all things that are "Frozen" related. Well, I'm glad to say, Sandy's Sweets has been affected by the Frozen Bug....Elsa and Anna have been in the studio lately!
Showing posts with label birthday party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday party. Show all posts
Monday, June 2, 2014
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Move away Cake Pops....Peek-a-boo Cakes are here!!!!!!!
What is the latest at Sandy's Sweets???? I'm now doing what I call Peek-a-Boo Cakes!!! Or as my brother would describe it - Cake INTERIOR Design...Quite literally.
It was a lot of fun doing this one for my daughter Sarah's birthday. She only wanted a Dora topper (boring! :D) so the designer in me HAD to design something.... how about INSIDe the cake???
The possibilities are endless, don't you think???
It was a lot of fun doing this one for my daughter Sarah's birthday. She only wanted a Dora topper (boring! :D) so the designer in me HAD to design something.... how about INSIDe the cake???
The possibilities are endless, don't you think???
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Easter Celebrations
We have taken our kids to easter egg hunts in the city before but to be honest, each experience left us disappointed. The worst has to be last year's, when we witnessed the organizers' carelessness in passing around chocolates with traces of nuts and tree nuts while kids were waiting for the egg hunt.
So this year, armed with Sandy's Sweets resources, we planned one at home.
We sent out invitations to some of our neighbours and some of my kids friends. There are so many resources on the net these days I just printed out one of the many free printables out there.
Thanks to:
- WanessaCarolinaCreations. I used most of her Easter Printable Set.
- Fab N Free for the "You've been Egged" Poster
- Dollarama for the $1 green grass I got a couple of years ago.
- Target USA for some of the specialty Jelly Beans and Marshmallows - all nut and dairy free!
Once I had a confirmation (9 kids 7 adults), it was a matter of organizing and planning.
Dessert:
- Dairy free Carrot Cupcakes: I used my regular recipe which asked for buttermilk. If you didn't know, you can replace buttermilk with this: Place 1 tbps of vinegar in a 1 cup, then fill the rest of the cup with milk. So I figured I would experiment and use Rice Milk instead. I also added a little bit of apple to substitute the ginger (as it would be for kids). To turn them into 'cupcakes' instead of 'muffins' I whipped some vegan buttercream, smashed Oreo cookies in a Ziploc bag and place them on top. For the 'carrots' I used some orange fondant and piped the greens with icing.
- Chocolate Egg Pops: I had an order for a LV bag this same weekend and because it was a carved cake I had some left over scraps. Why not turn them into Egg Shaped pops for the adults to enjoy!? Basically, to make these you get a large bowl and break apart the cake, add some buttercream on it, and start rolling to shape. Then cover and freeze them to let them set. Then take some chocolate chips and microwave them as instructed, and cover the frozen cakes in chocolate. Use the left over chocolate to drizzle on the pops!
- I was in Buffalo last week and Target had 3 entire rolls dedicated for Easter Sweets. I got some Bunny Shaped Marshmallows and Starburst Jelly Beans:
Activities:
I have learned not to overcomplicate things So these are the things we had:
- Upon arrival I had a table set up with crayons and colouring pages for the kids to work on.
- There was one 'craft' on the table for those not keen on colouring. A simple sheep, glue, and cotton balls. You get the idea?
- After all our guests arrived we headed to the deck (we were very thankful it was the ONLY sunny day of the week!) to play games:
1) Egg Race #1: 2 teams, 2 bunny 'markers' on the other side, 4 spoons (if you have small kids use tablespoons, otherwise teaspoons), 2 eggs (I just used a plastic egg). Kids take turn, place egg on spoon, and race back and forth.
2) Egg Race #2: Now, you need to give spoons for everyone. they are to pass the egg to the back of their rows, then the last person walks with the egg to the front of the row and does the same thing again...Eventually the line will get to the bunny markers
3) Hop like a Bunny: Relay race basically. Instead of running they can only hop.
- After the games we went inside and had a Story. By then the kids would have quieted down, which meant time for lunch.
- After lunch and some free play we headed out again to do the egg hunt. The basic rules given were:
a) no pushing or running
b) be nice to everyone
c) after you find 5 eggs pause and make sure everyone especially the little ones have 5 too
d) after everyone finds 5 you can go find more, if not, the older ones have to help the little ones
Instead of baskets I gave each child a loot bag I had gotten at Dollarama several Easters ago (3 for $1). I had prefilled them with some gummies, balls, pencils and stickers.
Overall we had a blast. It was much nicer to celebrate knowing my kids would be eating foods they can eat and not having to guard them from crowds.
Here are some additional pics of other Easter treats I made this year:
- Peeps Vegan Vanilla Cake and Cupcakes: SUPER EASY.... Peeps are less than $1 for a box. Just place them on top and crush Oreos (the original brand does not have dairy)
Monday, September 17, 2012
Under the Sea Birthday Party!!!
It's that time of the year again when most of my family's birthdays are celebrated. To begin with, our princess who is turning 4. When I asked her what kind of birthday she wanted (a dangerous question!) she thought and said "Ariel". Me being the stubborn mom who does not want to give her a full blown princess party, thought about it and then talked with my daughter and decided it'd be much more fun if we had sea creatures (after all that is where mermaids live right?) at the party.
Invitations:
I simply used evites and found a "Under the Sea" Party invite.
Theme:
I basically combined different shows: "The Little Mermaid", "Finding Nemo", "The Octonauts", and "Bubble Guppies"
Guests:
We limited it to no more than 5 families. It was not an issue for my daughter since she was very specific about who she wanted to celebrate her birthday
Wall Decorations:
This is where I overdo it sometimes. I love doing these crafty things. Aside from the theme I nailed the key theme colours to Purple and Blues. That helped decide anything from decor to cake!
I had a baby blue plastic table cover from Dollarama from before. My cousin really helped me with this one -- (Thanks Kat!) -- I had gotten a round one (I don't have any round tables) so she cut it to square and used the borders to make the waves. Used crepe and tissue paper we had to make the jellyfish, fish, seahorse, sea shells and algae. I printed out the Bubble Guppies and Happy Birthday Signs from the NickJr. page - timesaver! The kids helped me cut them all out (Craft time!) - and then they helped stick them on the backdrop
Pom Poms - My cousin did these. Here is a sample of the instructions - there are tons online. Basically, just get the tissue paper from the dollar store and start folding and cutting!
Games:
Treasure Hunt - what would be an under the sea party without treasures! The kids were very young and knowing my own kids I knew they would enjoy structured and group activities a lot more than races and relays (where kids could be left behind). So I structured the treasure hunt in a way where we did all the activities together. Keep on reading...
Clues: - I incorporated several games into the clues. That is, they got the clue, had to complete the task/game together, and then get their next clue.
Fonts: I downloaded a pirate font free online and used it. I had some foam stars already at home so I simply had the kids cut the clues out, glue them onto the stars, and then I drew them a face to make them look like sea stars
The Treasure is missing! If you want to find it, follow the clues; they'll lead you to more. To find your next clue, look by the front door.
It's a clue that you want, a clue you expect,so look by the steps that lead to the deck.
Go as fast as you can; there's no time to slouch!You'll find your next clue by the living room couch.
It's a clue that you want, a clue that you seek;take a picture with the Bubble Guppies and take a peek. Seek and search; peek and snoop. Throw 3 balls through the fishketball hoop.
The next clue is simple; it's not hard at all. Look near the bench in the front hall.
A clue, a clue, now where can one be? I think there's one hidden near the TV.
You've found lots of clues; now find some more. Start by looking by the washroom door.
When you're in the deck, it's water you'll see, and that's where the next
little fishing clue will be!
It's in the kitchen; you use it to chat; Look on the counter; it's as easy as that!
You've reached the last clue; it's the treasure you deserve. You'll find the box where little ones are served!
Fishketball - Bubble Guppies version of Basketball. I went to my basement and looked for cardboard to use. Lo and behold I found a box where pots and pans were held, all the wholes already cut out. All I had to do is bring out the paint and get my kids to paint!!!
I printed fish from the Nick Jr site and glued them around the circles.
Once dried, turn it around, and use packing tape to tape garbage bags around the hoops so that when the kids throw the balls you won’t have to pick up from everywhere in the room. I used clean garbage bags I had.
For balls, I simply used plastic balls I already had but you could also make bean bags.
I think this was the favorite game of the day!
Picture Frame - I downloaded a picture frame from the nick jr. site, and had the kids line up to take pictures - this way I ensured I had a pic for each kid.
Fishing - I used out sandbox to do this. Since at this point the kids were outside in the deck already for fishketball and pictures, we also did this outside.
I printed pictures of fish, and then used packing tape and taped on top to ‘laminate’ it in case I was going to fill the sand box with water.
Place a paper clip on each.
For the rods, I bought a bag of wood sticks from Dollarama, used cheap purple ribbons to ‘up’ its look and attached magnets.
Sorry I don't have pics of the fish or the sticks!
The treasure was stored in a treasure box I asked a friend to loan. For this party we asked guests not to buy gifts but instead consider contributing in cash moneys to be sent to a vocational school for girls in Niger, Africa. Our church is involved in helping these girls gain an education as well as practical skills like sewing. Since we had a team just go there for a visit, I asked them to purchase kids clothing these girls make (the money they make goes back into the school). That was theire ‘treasure’
Undoubtably when they saw these things instead of toys they asked ‘what is this?’ - which led to a 5 min talk (listening time now!) about where is Niger, where do these clothes come from and why we should share and help these girls. To read more about this part click here!
Here are some songs I did not get to use but researched on. Happy Singing!
SONGS:
Catch a Fish (Tune: Row, Row, Row your boat)
Catch, catch, catch a fish,
Hook it on your line.
Reel it, reel it, reel it, reel it,
This one will be mine!
Silly Sally Sells Seashells (Tune: London Bridge)
Silly Sally sells seashells,
sells seashells, sells seashells.
Silly Sally sells seashells
Down by the old seashore.
Dolphin Dolphin (Tune: Twinkle Star)
Dolphin, Dolphin, in the sea,
Dolphin, Dolphin, wild and free.
Swimming, swimming in the sea.
Just as free as you can be.
Dolphin, Dolphin, in the sea,
Swimming, swimming wild and free.
The Sharks in the sea (Tune: The Wheels on the Bus)
The sharks in the sea go chomp, chomp, chomp!
chomp, chomp, chomp!
chomp, chomp, chomp!
The sharks in the sea go chomp, chomp, chomp!
All through the day!
The fish in the sea go swim, swim, swim...
The lobsters in the sea go pinch, pinch, pinch...
The octopus in the sea go wiggle wiggle wiggle...
The sea horse in the sea rocks back and forth...
The whale in the sea goes quirt squirt squirt...
The clam in the sea goes open and shut...
The crabs in the sea go click click click...
The jellyfish in the sea go "bloop bloop bloop"
I'm A Little Fishy (tune of I'm a little tea pot)
I'm a little fishy watch me swim
Here is my tail Here is my fin
When I want to have fun with my friends
I wiggle my tail an dive right in
Food:
Hubby made most of the things. We had typical party food like chicken wings and fruit salad, but we experimented with octopus-dogs, sea shell pasta, and mini medallion burger-shells. There are tons of ideas on www.pinterest.com. The issue is always whether one has enough time to execute everything! I even had blue gatorate ready but never had time to properly serve them as sea water!
For cake, of course, Sandy’s Sweets came through with a simple Guppies cake. Inside was a delicious black and white cake (chocolate and vanilla)
Crafts:
Because half of the guests came late, we ended up doing this in separate groups. The kids made sea shell and sand pencil holders.
Materials:
- one empty and cleaned can (make sure the borders are not sharp)
- homemade clay (mix 2 parts flour, 1 part salt and 1 part water. I added some sparkles to the mix for added shine - Store in air sealed ziploc)
- Dollar store sea shells
Instructions:
- Cover the outside of the can with the clay (thick layer)
- press seashells around the can to decorate
- Bake in oven, at 250 Degrees, for about 15 minutes
- Let it air dry till hard
Year long tradition - the slide show
And to finish off the celebrations, as it has become tradition in our family, I made a slide show of the year that was for my birthday girl. I used a water sea theme song as background (in later years looking back it will remind you of the party theme you used). I usually just use my computer’s program to do this so it is super easy - it’s just a matter of narrowing down the key pictures and asking the computer to do the rest!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Mario Brothers Birthday Party
A couple of weeks ago we held my son Samuel’s 5th birthday parties: one for the family and one for his friends. I had been toying with what theme to choose this year since Samuel doesn’t really have one single thing he loves anymore. He loves playing Mario Kart on the DS and Mario Sluggers on the Wii so I thought a Mario themed party would be a fun time for him, his friends and all the grown ups reminiscing the old days.
Here are some of the things we did:
Invitations: I simply googled Mario Brothers and found a jpg file that was nice and encapsulated the theme well. I then used pages (I use a mac) and created just simple cards. Very easy!
Decorations:
Balloons: I got white balloons to make Boo. Super easy. Get a marker and just draw the face!
Cake/Dessert Table: Super easy - just got a light blue table cloth from the dollar store and placed all the Mario themed goodies on top (See below) - I found Mario Gummies, Chocolate Coins and Candies in regular stores. I also made labels for the water bottles :)
Cookie Favours: Sugar cookies by Sandy’s Sweets again. Made them in the shape of stars and trophies.
Cakes: Of course, Sandy’s Sweets had to make cakes! Because we had 2 parties, I made 2 small cakes this time. Nothing big because I didn’t want any leftovers! Samuel asked for a banana cake but I thought perhaps most people would not appreciate a banana cake so we compromised and made a chocolate banana cake with chocolate chips in it - it was delish!!!
Mario Wall: This was the big project. First I collected empty Kleenex boxes a few weeks ahead and then used the kids washable paint. In hindsight I would have invested in a brown acrylic paint because the kids paint was all primary colours. I had to mix them...and it took several coats because they were not thick enough. Anyways, after they dried, I used black paint to draw the lines to make them look like the bricks on the Super Mario Bros. games. I also printed Mario and Luigi, and Princess Peach...and other characters. I also pasted some of the chocolate coins I bought on top of some of the bricks. Finally, I went to the local hardware store and bought plastic pipes and plastic spray paint (green) - I just wanted to play with that (I originally wanted to use them as the ‘vase’ to place cake pops on the dessert table) and they turned out awesome. However, I can see it being way easier to just use construction paper and cutting them into shape. The kids had a blast helping me cut, glue and decorate the wall.
Things to wear:
Mustaches: I made these but the kids never used them as I first intended. They were supposed to be lollipop mustaches. That is, as they suck on the lollipops, the mustache would show...instead, the kids just took the cutout mustaches (construction paper) and just used tape to glue them for pictures. Whatever works, right!?
Mushroom Pouches: these were so cute and easy to make!!! Just make templates and buy felt. Cut to shape, use the glue gun to glue in place and use a ribbon. The kids placed their gold coins in these pouches
Pin Mario’s Mo: I drew a picture of Mario without his mustache on a large piece of paper I had (the kids have rolls I bought from Ikea). Then I found a watercolour paint set Samuel had gotten from his best friends’ loot bag several months ago and just started colouring it with Samuel!!! it was such a good bonding time! I then used construction paper and cut out noses and mustaches for the kids to try to place blindfolded.
Yoshi Egg Hunt: I went to my basement to find Easter supplies - I didn’t find any plastic Easter eggs that were white so I had to settle with green. The kids made sure I knew I had ‘made a mistake’ because Yoshi’s eggs are NOT white (LOL). Anyways, they basically lined up and took turns to walk with Yoshi’s eggs on a spoon. At the end, they were challenged to jump up (like the game) and punch a brick. Of course, everyone’s egg fell but no one really cared! They were just having fun
Yoshi Tongue: I took 6 plastic cups and taped Mario characters I had printed off onto each one. Then I built a pyramid with it and instructed the kids to use the blowers each one had as Yoshi’s tongue. They had to try to blow the pyramid down.
All in all, this was an awesome party (I hope the kids feel the same!) - oh, and I forgot to mention...of course...we had pizza for dinner!!! :) What else!!!
