Toy-Story Themed Fun!

I don't know why I can't take the easy route sometimes, especially when it comes to throwing a birthday party.  I mean, why can't I be one of those moms who just buys a sheet cake and invitations from Wal-Mart and calls it a day?  That's certainly how I was brought up; I don't remember having big elaborate parties.  Maybe I'm missing my calling and shouldn't be in accounting.  And well, sometimes my type A personality takes over and I strive for perfection and great organization. :)  Anyways, let's get to the point of this post.  We hosted Austin's Toy Story-themed 3rd birthday party on Saturday, and it turned out awesome (I'll admit, I'm a bit partial).  I knew I was going to have a super-busy week at work before the party, so I've been working on making everything for nearly the past two months, just a little bit at a time.  Good thing, because I was swamped at work and had very little to do at the last minute.  Okay, here we go.

You already saw the invitation that I created in Photoshop.  Once I figured out what I was doing in the program, it went pretty easy, and I printed all of them for only $2 at Costco.  Bargain!  To greet our guests, I made a wreath for the front door.  When I was standing in the checkout line a few weeks ago, I saw this mini-Etch-a-sketch in the random section that you stare at while you wait patiently.  It was so cute and had to get it, ultimately deciding it would be perfect for a wreath.  Throw on some other stuff, and woolah!

The food went along with the Toy Story character names too, of course.  We had 'Slinky Dog' pasta, 'Lotso' fruit salad, 'Woody's' sheriff cookies, 'Rex's' dino-bites, 'Mr. Potato Head' chips (in a giant potato head!), 'Buzz's' refueling station, 'Bullseye's' cheese puffs, 'Hamm' sandwiches, and 'Alien' dip.  I made cute little labels for all the food with a picture of the character as well. 

And I made personalized labels for some mini-water balls that turned out pretty cute.

When it came time to decided what to do for a cake or cupcakes, I wavered on which way to go.  Ultimately, I decided to build a cupcake tower out of Legos to stack them on.  It turned out great and ended up being pretty sturdy too.  Since the Lego stand was so colorful, I decided to tone-down the cupcakes by just doing plan white frosting and colorful sprinkles.  Then added my custom cupcake pics to top them off (which hubby even helped make!).

To display all of the party favors for Austin's friends, I got an unfinished wooden mini-chest at Michaels for super-cheap, painted it, added Austin's name, and put them in there.  I love how it came out!

For decor, I used alot of the toys that we already had, including a whole family of potato heads, and a homemade banner.

One of my favorite last minute adds (courtesy of my sister) was to do a tattoo station, with Toy Story tattoos.  I printed off a sign on an Etch-a-sketch, and just pinned all of the tattoos to a cork board.  It was a hit with all the kids, and Uncle LoLo did a great job manning the station!

We couldn't have asked for better weather in mid-November for Texas.  Okay, well maybe just a little less wind, but I'll take it.  The kids were able to play outside on the playset and run around in the yard.  And it was perfect for us to be able to hang my pinata (also homemade).  I wasn't sure how the pinata would go over, but the kids loved it.  I think I made it too strong though, using a Pampers box.  Next time I think I will use cereal boxes so it will be thinner and easier for 3-year olds to bust open.

I had made Austin a shirt that said 'Austin is turning 3' in the Toy Story logo theme.  I wasn't totally please with how it came out, but it worked.

We were so thankful for all of our friends and family who were able to come out and celebrate.  Austin had a blast and got alot of cool gifts!  And Chase had a blast too, even though he napped through about half of the party.It was a great party, and didn't end up costing alot of money since I made most everything myself.  Just goes to show that with a little creativity, some late nights, and a computer, you can customize an awesome party for the kiddos. 

And Austin definitely loved his new Jeep from Mommy and Daddy.  He's been driving that thing around the cul-de-sac like crazy!

Now that Austin's big celebration is over with, time to move onto planning for Chase' big FIRST birthday.  It doesn't seem possible that it's that time already, but I have to face the reality.