Itsy Bitsy Foodies

It’s hard to believe that my little Cooper is 3!  Three years have sure flown by.  To celebrate his birthday we chose the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme because many cartoons come and go but Mickey has been a constant in our household.

In the past I have typically only focused on the birthday cake/cupcakes but this time I had fun rounding out the party with invitations, party favors and other treats.  During the planning process I quickly realized that making the final decision for the menu and decorations was going to be the hardest part.  Mickey Mouse is such a simple and recognizable icon, making it easy and tempting to turn just about anything and everything into Mickey Mouse.

My background is not in graphic design so for the invites and decorations I went to Michael’s and picked out some card stock, got out my scissors, paper cutter and double-stick tape and got to work. I chose colorful polk-a-dots and a rainbow chevron as the two main patterns, accenting them with solid colors: red, orange, yellow, Goofy green, dark blue and bright blue.

First up: the invites.  I incorporated the colorful patterns, Clubhousecolors and the Mickey Mouse icon in polk-a-dots (think Toodles).  I also incorporated Mickey Mouse sayings into the text to tie it all together.  {For those who don’t watch Mickey Mouse, you say “Super Cheers!” when you’ve used up all of Toodles’ Mouseketools.}

Next up: the party favors.  When brainstorming Mickey Mouse foods for the party I reminisced how my parents would make us chocolate chip Mickey Mouse pancakes as a treat when I was a kid.  As far as shaped pancakes they are about as easy as you can get. I decided to incorporate the pancake idea into the party favors, making Mickey Mouse pancake mix {Chocolate Chip-Banana-Oatmeal Pancakes}.  Thank goodness for family helping out because my mom was actually the one to assemble the party favors on the eve of the party! I found dot and stripe tissue paper at Target in the party colors to line clear plastic cups. The bagged dry pancake mix went inside, along with an ingredient and instruction card. Orange ribbon and a solid Mickey Mouse icon in different colors adorned the outside of the cup.

Next: the kids table. The party was during the middle of the afternoon so I wasn’t sure that kids would actually sit and eat. The table was a station where they could snack on treats, color, and play. My son was introduced to party hats in a Mickey Mouse episode and has loved them ever since so they were a must for the party. These rainbow striped hats from Target were the perfect addition. Each setting had a party hat, a Mickey Mouse plate and party blower, and a white paper bag with the Mickey Mouse icon that kids could color and ultimately fill with piñata candy and treats from the dessert table to take home. Napkins in the rainbow party colors lined the kids table and added color to the dessert and food spread.

And, finally: the treats.  The cookies & cream Mickey Mouse cake and the Clubhouse gang cupcakes {think Roll Call!} were the centerpiece of the dessert table.

Mickey, here!

Minnie, here!

Donald, here!

Daisy, here!

Goofy, here!

Pluto, here!

The rest of the menu consisted of:

Cheesy Mouse-ke-dillas

Hot Dog Hot Dog Hot Diggity Dogs {mini pigs in a blanket} – chicken sausages wrapped in homemade bread dough

Meeska Mooska Mikans – Satsuma oranges are one of my son’s favorite foods this time of year.

Clarabelle’s“Mooo” Milk {in chocolate}

Pluto’s Dog Bones {sugar cookies}

Minnie’s Rainbow Sugar Cookies

Oh, Toodles! Cake Pops

Mouse-ke Marshmallow Treats

A variety of rainbow-colored candies completed the sweet spread.  Coincidentally, Target had a vintage Mickey Mouse Christmas dish display with two sizes of solid red Mickey Mouse serving bowls.  They were the perfect accents to the food tables.  I filled the small one with candies in the rainbow Clubhouse colors and the larger one with the Meeska Mooska Mikans.

The birthday boy chose the Sir-Goofs-A-Lot cupcake!

One of the guests is checking out the Oh, Toodles! Cake Pops.

Happy 3rd birthday, Cooper!