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Since I posted about Adam’s smash cake session the other day, I only thought it fitting that the next post should be about his actual party. Now let me explain that while it seems a lot of people like to have a smaller intimate party, we wanted to invite all of our friends and family to be there to celebrate with us. I am the type of person who hates to hurt anyone’s feelings or leave anyone out, so there were a lot of people invited including family, church friends, and military friends.
Again, Jessica was our photographer and she did an awesome job getting some great shots of the decorations and his party. I hope you will check out her blog and also check out a link I forgot to add on to the previous post: Before & After. It shows how she transformed on of the photos into the beautiful family portrait it is now!
Now onto the party! There was a lot of planning put into this. I had several ideas, but most came from other people who helped me out. Including my friend Briana who made the invitations, and also my cousin Beth, who came up with some great snacks and party games! I also used google a lot to look for ideas and anything Veggie Tales themed, and also for some cake ideas.
We decided on Veggie Tales because Adam showed interest in that so much more than anything else. He would get very excited whenever the theme song came on and just loved watching all the episodes! Veggie Tales is not very popular on the party end of things, so there wasn’t many things to find online. I did use the actual Veggie Tales website for some help and also ebay to buy some Veggie Tales Favors.
Invitations:
I knew I didn’t want to buy invitations, that I would rather make them and I knew I wanted it to be a photo card instead of an actual card. My friend Briana made this one, not sure how, but I gave her all the information and this is what she whipped up! I uploaded it to Walmart.com got them printed and sent them out.
Favors:
I was going for cheap, and something that would be good for all ages. Yes, it was a party for a one-year-old, but there were lots of other ages there too! I found these awesome and very cheap stickers on ebay. I got the mini play dough jars at the Dollar Tree, and the dum dums lollipops as well. A little something for everyone! I wanted to get some cute favor bags, but I figured ziploc bags are cheaper, it lets the kids see what’s inside, and it’s spill proof!
Food: Ah food. That is where I was just not sure of what to do. What would be the best for kids and adults? What is the cheap way to go? I almost ordered a few ready-made trays from the commissary, but we figured out that it would be cheaper to make them ourselves. With the help of friends and family, I came up with enough fun food to keep everyone happy!
This awesome watermelon basket was made by a friend!
Bob & Larry (Veggie Tales characters) Sugar Cookies
PB&J Sandwiches. We used a cookie cutter for the shape and then cut in half.
Pinwheel Sandwiches. My personal favorite! One of these days I will post the recipe.
Decorations/Color Theme:
We decided to go with red and green since Bob and Larry are those colors, but then someone suggested adding another color since red and green are also Christmas colors. I added yellow. We didn’t really do much for decorations, we hung up streamers, blew up and hung up balloons, and had a Happy Birthday sign. We also decorated his high chair!
Plush “Bob the Tomato”
Games:
We actually only did one game. It’s hard with little kids, but we also supplied a tv and coloring pages. We borrowed a tv from a friend at Jon’s work and set it up so the kids could watch Veggie Tales. We also brought in a playpen, and a ton of Adam’s toys for the kids to play with. Those were all set up on a big rug. On a table nearby, I set up crayons and printed out Veggie Tales coloring pages for the kids to color. I think the adults colored more than the kids! For the game we played “hot tomato.” I bought a plush “Bob the Tomato” toy from cbd.com, and the kids passed it around in a circle while we played Veggie Tales music. When the music stopped, whoever had it then their hands was out! The last person still there got the prize, which was a few extra favors (dum dums lollipops and play dough).
Tv playing Veggie Tales. As you can see Adam loved it!
Crayons & Veggie Tales Coloring pages.
Some of the Adults coloring pages for Adam!
Adam and some of his friends playing on the floor in front of the tv.
The “Hot Tomato” game.
Adam didn’t really want to play “hot tomato.”
Cake:
I did two cakes. One for the guests, and a smash cake for Adam. I got my ideas online, I just googled Veggie Tales cakes, and printed out the ideas I liked. I actually put two ideas together, and brought them to the commissary and they turned it into a beautiful cake, with a smash cake to match!
Regular cake.
Smash cake. Too cute!
In a corner of the room, I had a small table set up for some pictures of Adam. I thought it would be nice for those who wanted to see pictures of Adam when he was born and such.
The rest of the party was really nice. We had rented a local Clubhouse in the military community, and it was perfect for everything! Here are a few more pictures from the party.
Adam with Grandma & Auntie Kayla.
Guests
Presents!
Time to smash your cake Adam! He was very tired…
What is this stuff??
My husband and I trying to show him what to do.
He didn’t like his hand being stuck in the cake.
Not happy…
All and all it was a great party! I was exhausted by the end of it. And afterward we all took naps! I’m thinking next year will be a lot smaller and just for the kids this time.
My son will turn 2 in some months and I’m already thinking on his birthday party theme. We love Veggie Tales! Your son party was beautiful. Thank you for also add tips in how keep the party in low budget (specially in these days). Little by little things just adds up, right? Congratulations again.
Hi Melissa,
Congrats to your son! When is his birthday? My son will be 2 in June. Hard to believe! Thanks for the comment I am glad you enjoyed my post. The party was such a blast! Not sure what we are going to do this year yet. Have a blessed day!
His birthday is Aug 6 and we will have two birthday parties this year. One on the month of May, in Brazil (where I’m from) and there, the theme will be safari. A friend of mine is children’s party planner and decorator and she also has her one place for the parties so, I’m not concern about that one 😉 That way my family and friends will be able to celebrate this special day with us.
The one here I’ll be taking care of and I’m not a party planner, lets say. His 1st birthday was at our place and the theme was colors/art. You can see the pictures on my blog (sorry, the words are in Portuguese).
Everything here in the Bay Area (SF) is so expensive and we need to keep within the budget. Today I think that we found the perfect place: a tiny park near by with a safe area for the kids.
Lets see. Tomorrow I’ll call the city to see how everything works.
I’m sure you will find a beautiful theme for your son birthday. Yes, I also cannot believe that Pietro is turning 2!!!!
Have a blessed week.
Very cute party (and adorable guest of honor)! I’m doing a VT theme for my little guy’s 3rd birthday this spring. I was wondering about your cake…I have heard that bakeries and grocery stores won’t put VT characters on a cake because of licensing issues. And I’m not that good at cake decorating so I’m sort of worried about doing it myself :-). Did you run into any problems with getting your cake decorated?
Hi Alison, thank you so much and glad you liked it! I actually got the cake done at the commissary at the base we live on. I had no problems at all, I found the picture online, they copied and pasted it in frosting on the cake. It was a great party! Let me know if you have any more questions about it! 🙂
We are also having VT theme for our son’s 2nd birthday party and what we are thinking to do is bake two rectangule cakes and cover them with home made icing and then little squares of yellow foundant that we can by at Michaels. For the top we found some if the caracters made of plastic and we will put them on the top. We will try to do one sample before the “real one”. 🙂
Thanks, Kathryn! I actually just talked to my local grocery store today and they said they would decorate it for me—yay! 🙂 Such a load off, especially since I’ll be 9 months pregnant by the time the party arrives.
Thanks for the tip, Melissa! I couldn’t find any small plastic VT characters, but I do love that idea! I’m sure it will be amazing. BTW, you might be interested: Today I found Veggie Tales fruit snacks at our local Kroger store. Inexpensive and cute favors. 🙂
Ooh I like the Veggie Tale fruit snack idea! The VT website had it, but they are kinda expensive I think. I might have to stop at Krodger and get some just for fun!
Did you ever post the recipe for the pinwheel sandwiches? They look so yummy and are one of my favorite things to eat, too. I’ve made a few before, but always have the problem of them falling apart when I cut them…
No I didn’t! They are a friend’s recipe, I think it was cold cuts -either turkey or ham, lettuce, cheese and black olives. And cream cheese was on the roll-up. I had a hard time rolling them up too, but she seemed to do it and got them to stay together. I think the cream cheese helps too! 🙂
This is great! I’ve been looking for Veggie Tales themed birthday inspiration everywhere. Thanks for the ideas!! My son is going to have a Veggie Tales themed 2nd birthday party. I was stuck between Mickey and Veggie Tales, because those are his two favorites, but I think Veggie Tales is going to be it because he had Mickey last year. :p
kathryn, oops! i don't think you meant to post your home phone, address, and gate code on the world wide web! remember PERSEC!
^ to the above commenter, that's not her address (she doesn't live at a community center), and she blacked out the gate code and phone number.
the party looks awesome Kathryn!! 🙂
sara – that's an edit. the gate code and phone number were there earlier.
My son will turn 2 in some months and I’m already thinking on his birthday party theme. We love Veggie Tales! Your son party was beautiful. Thank you for also add tips in how keep the party in low budget (specially in these days). Little by little things just adds up, right? Congratulations again.
Hi Melissa,
Congrats to your son! When is his birthday? My son will be 2 in June. Hard to believe! Thanks for the comment I am glad you enjoyed my post. The party was such a blast! Not sure what we are going to do this year yet. Have a blessed day!
His birthday is Aug 6 and we will have two birthday parties this year. One on the month of May, in Brazil (where I’m from) and there, the theme will be safari. A friend of mine is children’s party planner and decorator and she also has her one place for the parties so, I’m not concern about that one 😉 That way my family and friends will be able to celebrate this special day with us.
The one here I’ll be taking care of and I’m not a party planner, lets say. His 1st birthday was at our place and the theme was colors/art. You can see the pictures on my blog (sorry, the words are in Portuguese).
Everything here in the Bay Area (SF) is so expensive and we need to keep within the budget. Today I think that we found the perfect place: a tiny park near by with a safe area for the kids.
Lets see. Tomorrow I’ll call the city to see how everything works.
I’m sure you will find a beautiful theme for your son birthday. Yes, I also cannot believe that Pietro is turning 2!!!!
Have a blessed week.
That sounds like so much fun! Well good luck and have a wonderful time with family and planning the party! 🙂
Very cute party (and adorable guest of honor)! I’m doing a VT theme for my little guy’s 3rd birthday this spring. I was wondering about your cake…I have heard that bakeries and grocery stores won’t put VT characters on a cake because of licensing issues. And I’m not that good at cake decorating so I’m sort of worried about doing it myself :-). Did you run into any problems with getting your cake decorated?
Hi Alison, thank you so much and glad you liked it! I actually got the cake done at the commissary at the base we live on. I had no problems at all, I found the picture online, they copied and pasted it in frosting on the cake. It was a great party! Let me know if you have any more questions about it! 🙂
We are also having VT theme for our son’s 2nd birthday party and what we are thinking to do is bake two rectangule cakes and cover them with home made icing and then little squares of yellow foundant that we can by at Michaels. For the top we found some if the caracters made of plastic and we will put them on the top. We will try to do one sample before the “real one”. 🙂
Hi Melissa,
Sounds like fun! 🙂 I think doing a sample of it first is a good idea too. Hope it turns out great!!
Thanks, Kathryn! I actually just talked to my local grocery store today and they said they would decorate it for me—yay! 🙂 Such a load off, especially since I’ll be 9 months pregnant by the time the party arrives.
That’s awesome! Oh my… well I hope everything turns out great. 🙂
Thanks for the tip, Melissa! I couldn’t find any small plastic VT characters, but I do love that idea! I’m sure it will be amazing. BTW, you might be interested: Today I found Veggie Tales fruit snacks at our local Kroger store. Inexpensive and cute favors. 🙂
Ooh I like the Veggie Tale fruit snack idea! The VT website had it, but they are kinda expensive I think. I might have to stop at Krodger and get some just for fun!
Did you ever post the recipe for the pinwheel sandwiches? They look so yummy and are one of my favorite things to eat, too. I’ve made a few before, but always have the problem of them falling apart when I cut them…
No I didn’t! They are a friend’s recipe, I think it was cold cuts -either turkey or ham, lettuce, cheese and black olives. And cream cheese was on the roll-up. I had a hard time rolling them up too, but she seemed to do it and got them to stay together. I think the cream cheese helps too! 🙂
This is great! I’ve been looking for Veggie Tales themed birthday inspiration everywhere. Thanks for the ideas!! My son is going to have a Veggie Tales themed 2nd birthday party. I was stuck between Mickey and Veggie Tales, because those are his two favorites, but I think Veggie Tales is going to be it because he had Mickey last year. :p
Thanks again!
Erica @ thebigredpatchhouse.com
Aww so glad to help! Hope he enjoys it, I know my son did! 🙂