Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Noah's Wonder Pets Birthday Party


I am so excited because I am finally ready to share with you the Wonder Pets party we had for our little Noah's 2nd birthday! I have been planning this party for several months & I was very pleased with how everything turned out. We got really nervous because the forecast was calling for rain, but as an answer to prayer, we had beautiful weather...well, all, but one thing ~ STRONG winds! I didn't have to move to Plan B {inside}, but did move to plan B+. Instead of the backyard like I had planned, we moved everything to the top of the driveway next to the garage where the wind wasn't so bad. We still had wind (as you can tell from the hairstyles in the photos ;), but we anchored everything down & had a great time! A friend, Zabrina, of Zabrina Dee Photography, took the awesome pictures of the party as well as some 2 year photos of Noah.

If you are not familiar with "The Wonder Pets," it is an animated show on Nick Jr about 3 classroom pets, a guinea pig named Lenny, a turtle named Tuck, & a duck named Ming Ming (Noah's favorite). They live inside a schoolhouse & save troubled animals by using teamwork. So, I decided to do a school-theme with primary colors. As a Kindergarten teacher, this theme was easy for me :)!

the sign that greeted guests {thank you, Bridget, for the loan!}

I found a table & chairs at Big Lots just like the one I had in the classroom. Then, I borrowed two from my best friends, Jenny & Heather (out of their classrooms). I got fabric in primary colors from Hobby Lobby & tied them to the corners of the tables with polka dot ribbon. I made nameplates & attached them to the backs of the chairs with glue dots.I found the three mini pails at Hobby Lobby & filled them with Wonder Pets fruit snacks for the kiddos.

the kids' tables

For the food, I decided to do a candy buffet to go along with my rainbow cupcakes. I had jellybeans, lollipops, Ming Ming pops (peeps on a stick), bubble gum, gummy bears, candy celery, & smarties. I used a mixture of clear glass containers & my antique white dishes. I wrapped each container with polka dot ribbon and made chalkboard tags. A long time ago, I read somewhere (I can't remember where, but whoever you are, thank you!) that you could spray-paint contact paper with chalkboard paint. So, I tried it. I let it dry, cut out circles, and used chalk pens to write the candy names. I then peeled off the backing and stuck it to the ribbon ~ voila, instant chalkboard!

the candy buffet
I used Noah's lego flyboat as his birthday cupcake plate. I simply glued the plate to the top.

I was inspired by Monica at Lick the Bowl Good to make these Rainbow Cupcakes. My only adaptation was to leave out the red because of so many kids having food allergies.

the inside of the cupcakes
I added the cupcake toppers from my new "Small Wonders" party collection to the tops.

For the drinks, we had water bottles that I prettied up by hot gluing ribbon, Hug juice bottles for the kiddos, and sweet tea. I found the cute tea decanter at Target and added a chalkboard tag to it as well. For the centerpiece, I finally got to make a dum dum topiary. My husband filled a blue plastic planter with cement and I topped it with green Easter grass. I found the cute foam letters to spell Noah at Hobby Lobby.

the drink table
We had 9 kids ranging in age from one to seven, so I decided to have activity stations instead of games. We had four stations: Face Painting, Save the Animal, Flyboat Rides, & Say Cheese.

Thank you, Jenny & Heather, for doing the painting!

For this activity, we hid plastic animals from the $Tree in the yard, and the kids had to find them. Noah found several at once! Thank you, Mama & Memaw, for helping the kiddos with their rescues!

The kids got to take a ride in the "Flyboat" I made out of Noah's wagon, a dowel rod painted blue, and a poster-board flag. I added blue cardstock circles to the wheels. After they rode in the flyboat, they got a customized Flyboat Driver's License. Thank you, Aunt Susie & Uncle "Boom" for being the flyboat guides!
the driver's license

The kids posed in the inflatable flyboat (thanks, Kindall, for the loan!) & could choose props & hats for their picture. Thank you, Sam, for being the photographer!

the esteemed guests
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I ordered gable boxes from Oriental Trading for the families to take home candy. My favorite party favor, however, was the Wonder Pets capes. My husband's grandmother graciously handmade them for us; they were awesome & the kids loved them! Thank you, Grannie Curry! The kids also got to take home a whirly gig, bubbles, the animal they saved, and a Wonder Pets CD.



Having fun with our boy!

me & my girls {Heather, me, & Jenny}

the family

And now for my long list of thank-you's...
For giving me enough strength & being my daily Guide, my Lord Jesus
For EVERYTHING & for keeping me sane through it all, my wonderful Husband & Mom,
For all the "stuff" I borrowed & for all your help, my forever friends, Jenny & Heather,
For traveling near and far & helping with all the festivities, our incredible family
For the amazing capes, Grannie Curry

& thank you especially to my sunshine, Noah Rhett! I created this party to celebrate you, my precious boy, to thank you for your spirit, shining personality, and heart of gold!

We love you, Noah Rhett! We hope you had a "wonder"ful 2nd birthday!

The "Small Wonders" Party Collection is now available in my etsy shop.
SYS Thurs

11 comments:

Sally said...

Daphne, this is one of the cutest boy's birthday parties I've seen! So glad you sent me the link. I featured your party today over at www.polkadotbirthday.com. Thank you!

Sue said...

What a great 2nd birthday party idea! It looks like the kids had a blast. All of the decorations were adorable-especially the dum dum topiary. Great job!

staci @ lizard n ladybug said...

love the whole thing!!!

Jill and Mike said...

What an awesome Mom you are to do all that!!
I was researching a wonderpets cake for my triplets upcoming 2 yr party and found your link on Polka Dot Sally!!
Amazing work!! Thanks for sharing!

Carrie said...

Wow! LOVE this party idea! You did an outstanding job! Beautiful decorations and photos! Great job and Happy Birthday Noah!

Photosnappinmama said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE this theme! Super fun ideas & wishing my son were younger (about to turn 5) and still watching Wonder Pets so we could use this party theme!

Anonymous said...

This is so cute! My son is also turning 2 and LOVES the wonderpets especially Ming Ming too! I wish I would have found this blog before I chose Circus theme for his birthday..anyway just wanted to say great job, very thoughtful with the games and the wagon turned into the flyboat!

Anonymous said...

I was looking for some ideas for my daughter's 3rd birthday party, our theme is also Wonder Pets. You party looked so amazing. I was just wondering if you made the capes or bought them? If you made them yourself I would love to have some pointers. Thanks for sharing all your great ideas!!!

Daphne said...

I would LOVE to give you some help with making the capes, but I cannot sew! :( My husband's grandmother was so sweet to make them for us!

Amy said...

Love this party post! My daughter is turning two in August and while I'd thought we'd go with Elmo, she's turned into a total WP fanatic. She especially loves Ming Ming! My mom made her a cape so I was already thinking of doing those as party favors, but I really love your "Save Noah's Birthday!" sign. Such a cute idea!

I'm a big fan of Polkadots & Pirates too. I got the inspiration for my daughters 1st birthday banner by looking through her work. :)

Tea said...

Fantastic! Love the tables and 'save the animals' idea the most. Great party. My daughter turns two in December, I wasn't sure of what she would be up for (as she is so young) but if this worked well for you it will be awesome! Thank you!!!