THEME

Camryn has been talking about her Minnie Mouse birthday party since Christmas, so we have had tons of time to plan. She told me a few things she had to have such as pink and gold cookies, pink balloons, and mouse ears. We decided to have Camryn and her friends decorate their own mouse ears at the party. Camryn picked out each fabric and ribbon herself. I wish you could have seen how proud she was at Hobby Lobby!

If you haven’t noticed from previous parties, I love sticking to a theme. Even down to our outfits. When Camryn asked for a Minnie Mouse birthday party, I immediately started planning what we would wear. Camryn had to dress like Minnie and I wanted a similar look. It took a few tries, but I finally found a pink polka dot dress I loved. The best part was finding pink bow shoes for both me and Camryn! We have both worn them multiple times since the party and Camryn loves matching mommy whenever she can. I didn’t want to put Weston or Collin in pink, so we opted for red and white for them. When I found a mouse head polka dot red shirt for Weston, I clicked add to cart so fast. Collin ended up with a different outfit than what I had planned, but it worked out better.

DECORATIONS

Arches by Annie came to my rescue again and set up a beautiful bow-shaped balloon arch! She inflated the balloons in advance and assembled them exceptionally fast on the day of the party. What a blessing!

One of my favorite decorations from her party is the giant bow and birthday sign. I used tablecloths for both. Are you surprised or could you tell? I hand-painted her birthday sign during one of Collin’s naps a few weeks ago. When I was trying to figure out how to make a giant bow as simply as possible, I had the idea to use tablecloths hoping it would be as easy as tying a ribbon. My mom helped me figure out to put balloons inside so that it would look three-dimensional. With a little tape, fishing line, and a lot of patience, we got it set up. The bow above the drinks was made in a similar fashion, but only required two balloons instead of six.

While planning the party, I found some unique decorations that would fit the theme perfectly. The bow napkin holder, Mickey shaped bowl, mouse head vase, and bow basket were some of my favorite finds. Plus, they are items we will use multiple times.

We definitely had to include photos of Camryn from the last year in the shape of a 4 – a birthday tradition! This year, I also added a giant photo strip of Camryn in her Minnie Mouse attire doing three different poses. I absolutely love these photos of her!

FOOD

Last year’s strawberry cake was a huge hit, so we ordered the same flavor this year. I wanted something simple that went with the Minnie Mouse theme. Her cake was inspired by my Disney-obsessed couple’s wedding cake and it turned out so cute! A few months ago, Camryn asked about the “sparkly knife” in our China cabinet. I explained that it was the knife we used to cut the cake at our wedding and she asked if she could use it to cut the cake at her birthday party. Absolutely! I thought it was so sweet that she wanted to use it!

We asked Camryn in advance if we could sing Happy Birthday to her. She was adamant that we would not sing to her and she didn’t want us to say, “Happy birthday,” in unison either. Camryn doesn’t like for all the attention to be on her unless it’s her idea, so opening gifts in front of everyone was also out of the question.

Camryn’s favorite food at every party is the themed sugar cookies. She begged to eat one from the moment she saw them until the party started. 

I wasn’t planning to do all mouse-shaped fruit. I got a little carried away. For the record, using a cookie cutter to cut a pineapple is the absolute worst. Never doing that again!

When I saw the Mickey-shaped goldfish at the grocery store, I knew we had to have them at the party!

And if all the mouse-shaped food wasn’t enough, I had to go a step further and make mouse-shaped ice. It took a few weeks of filling and emptying ice molds, but it was worth it. Before you think I’m super crazy when you see how big the ice bucket is, I filled the bottom part with regular ice and topped it with the mouse-shaped ice 🙂

Finally, I had the last minute idea to have “Minnie” muffins. I’m not much of a cook, so my plan was to buy them already made. Winn Dixie didn’t have any and I made the dreaded trip to Walmart, which also didn’t have any. I bought the ingredients and my mom spent a few hours making mini muffins for the party. 

The Creative Team:

Cake: Phyllis Davis

Cake Topper: AV Designs

Cookies: Summer Brown

Balloons: Arches by Annie