Abby's 5th birthday party was so much fun to plan! Who doesn't love the game Candyland, a bunch of sweet treats and a house full of excited kids? hehe!
Let's start with decor and games and then we can talk food and my dream Candyland party later this week. To see all the Candyland posts, just click here.
I always want my front door to match the theme of the party and this year I used a cadny decoration from Hobby Lobby's Christmas section. I simply painted a #5 purple and glued it in the middle. In past years, I've had a big Abby Cadabby door, a ribbon colored wreath, and a burlap doughnut.
You can't have Candyland without oversized lollipops! There are tons of different ways to make these on Pinterest- using pool noodles, cellophane on balls, and many more. I opted for simple and very inexpensive. I made these four lollipops for under $10! It was a windy day, so they ended up inside and on the front porch instead of my sidewalk, but still were super cute!
To make the lollipops, I covered the long cardboard tube found inside wrapping paper (perfect since her party was just after Christmas) with colored masking tape. Much easier than painting it!
Then I stapled two paper plates (bottoms out) to the top of one end of the tube. I then hot glued the top of the plates together. It created a tight little "sandwich" with about 4" of wrapping paper tube inside. To cover my staples, I hot glued a simple tulle and ribbon bow at the base of the plates.
The remainder of the plates were glued together, wrapped in cellophane and tied up with ribbons. I then used tulle and tape to hang the candy from the curtain rods in my dining and livings rooms. I had five total pieces of candy for the five windows in that space.
Another big part of Candyland is the brightly colored squares that make the path through the game. I bought a multi colored pack of 12x12 paper and cut it into 4x4 squares. These were used in great detail on the food tables and the leftovers were taped in random patterns along the entryway walls. I just used painters tape for easy removal later.
I will share the food table in great detail in another post (it was almost to pretty to eat!)! The front of the table included a banner made from cut out letters, glittery ice cream cones, and aqua chevron cardstock candy wrappers. The letters were printed out using Candytime font in hot pink and cut out. The ice cream cones were Hobby Lobby Christmas decorations and the chevron wrappers were purchased on a Jane.com flash sale. I connected them all with a little hole punch and pink yarn.
I always believe that a party should have crafts and games for the kids. I fear them being bored! In the past we have made felt cookies, cereal necklaces and personalized pillowcases, eaten doughnuts without our hands, and created snow globes and ornaments. This year was no different!
I asked all of the guests to sign the Candyland board for Abby's game. I thought it would be fun for her later and I love anything with little kids handwriting on it!
Using Skittles as dabbers, the kids played Bingo together! We had a game going almost the whole time. It gave my 12 year old niece a fun job at the party and the kids had fun!
Using skittles to cover the numbers that had been called out connected the game with the party theme. We own a Bingo set complete with cage ball for holding the number similar to this one. They are inexpensive on Amazon and fun to have when kids come over. The winners of the games won a small gumball machine I bought at Dollar Tree filled with gum purchased in bulk on Amazon.
I also had a craft for the kids- they made felt lollipops to take home. Using simple glue with colored Popsicle sticks, pre-cut felt circles, and a lot of sequins, they had fun gluing and crafting at the kitchen table. I bought everything at Hobby Lobby. There were enough felt circles for 30 lollipops and I spent $12 on everything. Easy and inexpensive!
I would have loved to have given everyone a board game, but that wasn't in the budget! Instead, we filled treat bags (from Jane.com) with candy and included little tags on them. The Candytime font came in so handy!
As a funny touch, I also handed out toothbrushes to all the guests. They had after all eaten a lot of candy! These were free thanks to my smart husband- he recommended I call my daughter's dentist and ask her to donate 30 toothbrushes. She did without hesitation!
I am a professional event planner for a living, but I do professional events with little room to be creative. So, you can imagine, Abby's party is lots of fun for me!
Her and I settle on a theme in the Spring and then I buy little things over the next 6-10 months to space out the cost and not feel overwhelmed. It is supposed to be fun, after all!
To see her past parties... check out:
1st birthday- Abby Cadabby
2nd birthday- Milk and Cookies
3rd birthday- Dolls and Doughnuts pajama/breakfast party
4th birthday- Merry and Bright Christmas party
More Candyland details to come!
