Do you know that Lydia’s 6th birthday is in less than 2 months?! What in the world?! Last week, Lydia and I started talking about what kind of party she wants. Here are a few we discussed (and a few other cute ones thrown in)…

TOP TEN CUTE AND FUN GIRL BIRTHDAY PARTY THEMES

1. Camping Party

Source: confessionsofacookbookqueen.com via ohAmanda {impress your kids} on Pinterest

OK, so she’s never actually seen this movie. But I just think it would be a fabulous party–ruby slippers, munchkins, yellow brick road, good witches, apples and melted wicked witches! Maybe for my 35th next year. (AM I GOING TO BE 35 NEXT YEAR??!!)

6. Color Party

Source: thevintageapple.com via ohAmanda {impress your kids} on Pinterest

Lydia’s first birthday was a “Purple Fairy Party”. But my party planning mojo wasn’t as intense as it is now. I’d love to do a color party. And of course, I’d choose PURPLE!

7. Garden Party

Source: weheartit.com via Darlene on Pinterest

Another tough one for January, but man-oh-man, I just love those place settings!

8. Panda Party

Source: hostessblog.com via ohAmanda {impress your kids} on Pinterest

OK. This is another one for me. But how cute would this be?!!

9. All-Of-A-Kind Family Party

We’ve been reading All of a Kind Family for a few months (I think we’re on book 3). I thought a turn-of-the-century party would be fun. I could mix it up with a little Betsy-Tacy, Mary Poppins and American Girl’s Rebecca, too!

10. Little House on the Prairie Party

It was Laura and Mary that finally took the cake! Lydia loves Little House on the Prairie and I’m so excited she chose this theme for her birthday! Let me know if you have any good ideas, I’ve started a Pinterest board (of course!).

Speaking of parties, my good friend Mary from Giving Up Perfect is releasing her ebook entitled, How To Plan a Fabulous Party {without losing your mind} TODAY (that would be Tuesday!). It is FULL of excellent advice (and encouragement) when throwing a party—budgeting, guest lists, decor and more. PLUS, there is a chapter from me (in typical Top Ten style) about how to THEME a party! You know that’s kinda my bag–and I think there’s some pretty good info in there, if I do say so myself!

But the best part is Mary is giving ALL PROCEEDS from today’s sales to Operation Christmas Child! Now THAT is a good party! Please click over and buy! It’s a gift for you AND a needy child!

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Link up your Top Ten list and join in the Top Ten {Tuesday} fun! All you have to do is WRITE a top ten list, PASTE it  below, LINK back to me in your post & then start LOVIN’ on the rest of the participants with facebook likes, stumbles, comments and tweets! For better and more succinct guidelines see my Top Ten {Tuesday} page!

Lydia’s Birthday Party: Top Ten {Tuesday} is a post from: ohamanda.com

An alternate title to this post could be, “How Asa’s Toy Story 3 Birthday Party Turned into a Toy Story Midway Mania Party”. As I was thinking about activities for this party, all I could think of was basic Cowboy games like horseshoes and stick horse races. And none of that excited me.

Then I started thinking about my favorite place on earth: Disney World and it’s awesome Toy Story attraction called Toy Story Mania. It’s like this big 3D adventure where you shoot a gun-thingie while aiming at targets held by your favorite Toy Story characters. And suddenly, that’s what I wanted Asa’s party to be–a Toy Story Midway Mania Party!

Toy Story Midway Mania Wanna Be

So. Look what I made:

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Yup. That’s 2 pieces of chipwood-osb-board for $5 a pop at Home Depot. I painted them with some primer we had downstairs. Then printed off some pictures of Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the alien onto an overhead projector sheet. I used my mom’s overhead projector to get them the right size on my board, traced and painted them!

Woody and Buzz are a little crazy looking because I used a real picture of them—which are so detailed that the silhouette looked off. I finally found a coloring sheet picture of Jessie and hers turned out the best. (Although I did freehand her boots and braid. Also, Woody’s boots!)

The targets are a combination of freehand and overhead projections. No matter how I did it, they were lopsided. But if you don’t look too close, you’ll think you’re at Disney World! Right?!!

And just WHAT did we shoot at these targets with?

Well, the kids made their very own Laser Blasters or Six Shooters out of PVC! Wanna see?

And just what does it shoot? Well, this is the best part: MINI MARSHMALLOWS! You stick a mini-marshmallow inside and then like a blow-gun, blow the marshmallow out!

I had my husband cut all the pieces for the guns (see my tutorial!!) and set them in bowls on the back porch. The kids got to put their guns together and decorate them with colored duct tape or Toy Story stickers.

Once their gun was complete it was time for the fun! We made a mini gun for the kids. But we knew the dads might like something a little more high tech. So, we made some big guns for them. Here’s my sister-in-law’s husband, my brother and my husband,  having waaaay too much fun with their marshmallow shooters:

{aiming….}

{and laughing when they hit their target—all the girls on the porch!}

The kids had a super fun time shooting the targets (and each other) with their marshmallow guns.  Most of them just stood there and shot the targets over and over again. We just set the marshmallows in the middle of the yard and let them have at it!

Buzz’s Black Light Room

You’d think that would be enough, wouldn’t you? But I really really really wanted a Black Light room. So. We had one:

My mom and I hung up my black puppet stage (what would I do without that puppet stage?!) in the dining room. Then I covered all the windows with black paper, fabric and whatever else I could find. We hung up three Black Lights , turned off the overhead lights and let the fun begin!

I printed off these cute Wanted posters and set out highlighters. The kids got to color and draw their own black light pictures. It was really fun! They had to crawl under the curtain to even get in, so once they were in, they stayed awhile. It went over even better than I thought it would.

I also bought some glow necklaces at the Dollar Tree, cut them open and slung the glowy stuff inside a jar. It looked awesome for awhile. Then the glow-juice slid down to the bottom of the jar. But for awhile? Awesomesauce.

NO TOY LEFT BEHIND diy Scavenger Hunt

Our last and final activity was a do-your-own-scavenger hunt. I got the idea from my very own Snow White party. I found these cute matches/memory game with the Toy Story characters at 1+1+1=1. So, I printed off several copies and hid them in stacks around the room. (Like one stack of Jessie under the chair, one stack of Slinky on top of the table, etc.)

Then the kids had to come to our NO TOY GETS LEFT BEHIND TABLE to pick up a Toy Story paper bag (I really wanted these to be mini cardboard boxes that said Sunnyside Daycare. How great would that have been?) and then look at all the characters I had taped on the table. They were to find the hidden characters and put one each in their bag. When they got them all in their bag they could come back to me for a prize (a sticker or slinkie).

The kids loved this! One of them even asked if he could do it again. I said, “OK, but I think it will be a lot easier this time!”

So, what do you think? Pretty fun, huh? I think I may have to revisit the marshmallow gun party for when Asa’s 8 or 10. Can you imagine a backyard-full of elementary school boys doing that? SO FUN.

Oh, and one more picture of the birthday boy opening presents for you:

Happy Birthday, sweet boy! I can’t believe you’re 3!

{Did you notice a complete absence of Lydia in these pictures? As we were setting up for the party, she was whiny and uncooperative the whole time. Finally, we took her temperature and it was 104! Poor little thing! We had to call my in-laws to take her to their house during the party. We thought she might have strep and didn’t want to give it to the rest of the kids. Poor Lydia sobbed when we told her she wasn’t going to get to stay at the party. It was so sad. And I’ll tell you, it was awfully quiet without her sweet laugh. Asa still says, “I wish Eeeya came to my Woody party.” *sniff*}

Don’t forget to check out my Toy Story *3* Party Food post, my Toy Story *3* Birthday Party Pinterest board and the marshmallow gun tutorial! (Aren’t you excited?!)

Toy Story *3* Birthday Party Games is a post from: ohamanda.com

Asa’s Toy Story 3 birthday Party was the rootin’-est, tootin’-est party in the Wild Wild West or to infinity and beyond!

I really really wanted to do the whole party in one post. But after you see this food you’ll know why I am devoting one whole post to it. The food was quite delicious. Remember, I wanted a Woody and Buzz party. So, half the food was Cowboy and half was Space Ranger. But it was all good!

Here are the…

TOP TEN MOST DELICIOUS FOODS WE HAD AT ASA’S TOY STORY 3 WOODY AND BUZZ BIRTHDAY PARTY

1. Marshmallows on a Stick

These are all the rage, of course. But I’ll have you know that waaaay back in the day of Lydia’s 2nd Birthday–the Snowflake Party, we gave chocolate covered marshmallows on a stick as favors. If only Pinterest had been alive then!

Anyway, these were the Woody marshmallows–that’s right, Campfire S’mores on a Stick. Just poke a lollipop stick in a marshmallow, roll it in melted chocolate and then dip in graham cracker crumbs. I also dusted the whole thing in graham cracker crumbs for a more campfire-y affect. Yee-haw!

2. Aliens on a Stick

And for Buzz’s counterpart? Aliens on a Stick. I had seen this on Pinterest somewhere…but mine didn’t turn out quite as cute. I used dark green candy melts, mini marshmallows cut in half for the eyes, with a dot of green food coloring for the pupil. And well, I dunno. Maybe these are more true to life. You know, like a real alien?

3. Space Ranger Dip

Next up was Space Ranger Dip. And honestly, I don’t know why there is a bandana tied around it. Because that totally doesn’t go. Anywhoo. This is Vanderbilt Wife’s Magically Delicious Corn Dip and it basically has to show up at every party and event I’m at.

4. Boiled Peanuts

Boiled Peanuts seemed like perfect cowboy food. Plus, you can make them in a crockpot, so that means I have to do NOTHING. I got these mini plastic Toy Story bags in Target’s Dollar Spot like 5 months ago and they ended up being perfect for boiled peanuts!

{For anyone interested, I used 2 pounds of raw peanuts. I threw them in the crockpot, covered it with water and added about 1/4 cup of salt. And the peanuts floated. I think like 1/2 of them were above the water. I was a little concerned they wouldn’t all cook, but I stuck the top on anyway, put the crockpot on LOW and let them cook overnight. The next morning, I stirred them a little and let them cook another couple of hours. They were completeley fine and cooked all the way through! Easy!}

5. Pizza Planet Pizza Rolls

How perfect is pizza for a Toy Story party? And if you notice there ARE no pizza rolls on this dish because they were still cooking. But the point here is: LOOK HOW CUTE THAT SIGN IS! Did you notice the Cowboy versions in the other pictures?

I made them.

Yes, I did! I bought Britt-ish Design’s Space Ranger and Toy Sheriff digital scrapbooking kits and just whipped it up in Photoshop Elements. How much do you love those?!

6. Round Up/Space Ranger Spin Applesauce

I bought this awesome All About Boys scrapbook paper at JoAnn’s that was full of paper for cowboys, space rangers, robots, dinosaurs and other boy stuff. So, my mom and I traced the applesauce tops on the scrapbook paper, cut out the circles and taped them on. This was super simple and a great kid food.

For some reason we did Outer Space paper with a Cowboy sign. Whatever.

7. Alien Juice

This is a yummy lime punch I found on Pinterest. And apparently I mis-read it because I thought it was supposed to be slushy. It wasn’t. So, if you make it, don’t freeze the limeade (see those icebergs in there?). Just mix it and serve. Oh, and I did add 2 drops of green food coloring.

8. Root Beer

ACK!

NO PICTURE OF THE ROOT BEER?

THE INHUMANITY!

It was just IBC. Cute, but apparently not photo-worthy. Just make sure you put them in the fridge the night before so they are nice and frosty!

9. Cake

Of course, my amazingly talented bff, Staci made the cake. (Speaking of which, she is hosting 31 Days to Become a Better Baker on her blog. And after seeing this cake and cupcakes, you are going to want to read every single post!) She always always outdoes herself. And this year was no exception.

This is Asa’s candle cake. Everyone else got cupcakes, but Asa had his own mini-cake complete with the Toy Story 3 font! Isn’t that awesome?!

10. The Most Amazing and Awesome Toy Story 3 Cupcakes EVER

I told Staci I was doing the whole half Cowboy-half Space Ranger thing and she absolutely NAILED the cupcakes. First of all, she made some fabu Cowboy cupcakes. Let’s inspect them, shall we?

Yellow icing with red sprinkles. Hmmm…where have I seen that before? OH YEAH! Woody’s plaid shirt!

A chocolate boot on top? “There’s a snake in my boot!”

And look at that wood-grain scrapbook paper as a cupcake wrapper.

Perfection.

And now, my fave. The Buzz Lightyear cupcake. First the perfect Buzz Lightyear-Purple frosting on the bottom. With a clear Space Ranger helmet on top! And what was that clear helmet? Some high-priced cupcake topper from Wilton? NOPE. It’s half of a CHRISTMAS BALL ORNAMENT! How clever is she?! That little clear helmet/ball is sealed all around with Buzz Lightyear-green frosting and topped off with 2 purple skittles. If Buzz Lightyear were a cupcake, this would be him. Genius, Staci! You’re like the Disney Bound of cupcakes!

Would someone PLEASE pin those cupcakes so the whole world can see?!

Now, are you excited about the Toy Story *3* Party Games?! I know you are! Go ahead! Click it now!

Also, check out Asa’s Toy Story *3* Pinterest board to see all my inspiration (read: ideas I stole)!

Link up your Top Ten list and join in the Top Ten {Tuesday} fun! All you have to do is WRITE a top ten list, PASTE it  below, LINK back to me in your post & then start LOVIN’ on the rest of the participants with facebook likes, stumbles, pins, comments and tweets (#toptentues)! For better and more succinct guidelines see my Top Ten {Tuesday} page!

Asa’s Toy Story *3* Party: Top Ten {Tuesday} is a post from: ohamanda.com