“Where the Wild Things Are” 3 year old Birthday Party

Would you believe that a “Where the Wild Things Are” birthday party would be so much fun for adults and children? Well, it’s true AND it was so fun to plan. My almost 5 year old (the birthday boy’s older brother) is already asking for his “wolf suit.” Although, we may think of another theme by March. If you are interested in “how to,” here are the details:
I drew the invitation with map pencils and based it on the book illustrations. I just changed the words to read:
“The day Maddux wore his wolf suit
and played one game and another
his mother called him “WILD THING”
and said “Let’s have a party!”
“And now,” cried Maddux, “let the wild rumpus start!”
The king of all wild things- Maddux is turning three!
Where the wild things are- (our address here)
Wild rumpus- 11am-12:30pm, Saturday, December 5, 2009
Hope you can celebrate with us…
we’ll eat you up, we love you so!
I’m going to get the invitation scanned in at some point and I’ll add it here.
I made a “Where the Wild Things Are” costume for the birthday boy. I watched the following video and with the exception of a few things that didn’t work- followed the directions to make the suit. I even used my Nannie’s very handy sewing machine!
Next up, the cakes. This was really really fun to do.
I found this website and loved the “wild thing” cake. Our invitation had the boat on it, so I decided to make both! I used homemade almond flavored fondant to make all of the flat decorations and to cover both of the cakes. The fondant is easiest to work with when it is cold. For the “wild thing” hair, I used a buttercream icing. That was my favorite tasting cake, because it had two kinds of icing. Gotta love a girl with a sweet tooth!
Maddux’s costume- included a homemade fleece wolf suit with claws, an attached hoodie with ears and whiskers, a fur tail, a ruling stick and a furry gold crown. Our son happily wore his costume for the entire party and beyond.
This was a wonderful party for all of our children and guests. Outside, we had a bouncy castle and a cotton candy machine. All of the guests decorated and made their own crowns. And, I found “where the wild things are” rings on ebay that we gave everyone in their gift bag. Also, one of my best friends from LA sent us hats from the movie for the gifts bags as well.  Those were a big hit- especially with the parents.
Hope you enjoyed reading about it as much as we enjoyed doing it. This is a really fun party!

Ladybug cake with homemade fondant icing

“Our little ladybug is turning one. Flutter on by to have some fun.” That is how the invitation began. And so, we had a bug party to celebrate T’s first birthday. What’s a bug party without a ladybug cake AND ladybug cupcakes??? Well, we’re not going to find out this year, because we had both. And the boys were very helpful in all of our preparations. Luckily, they took shifts. One would be napping and the other would be busily helping me in the kitchen. Or, one would be at school and the other would be assisting me and licking the bowl.

Our “egg” pan. This is what we used to make the body of the ladybug. We used one half of the pan from the baseball cake (which I made for the boys’ first birthdays) for the ladybug head.

Mixing the buttercream icing to put on the cake before the fondant.

Making fondant. This was a little tricky, but it tasted 100 times better than the store bought kind. The key to making it smooth for me was refrigerating it. Some internet sites recommended putting it in the microwave to make it more pliable, but mine worked much better when it was cold and less sticky.

Stirring the powdered sugar into the fondant.

powdered sugar on the working surface to add to the fondant.

Cake is done! Now, we are going to put it together and ice it.

I tried to work with the fondant immediately when I made it. This was mainly because the birthday girl started crying in her crib. I didn’t go get her instantly, with the hope that she would settle herself down. She did not. So, here is the result. But, the great thing is- the spots on the ladybug will cover the imperfections. Gotta love that!

Yeah! The ladybug with spots. She just needs legs (pipe cleaner,) two antennae (pipe cleaner and two painted styrofoam balls,) and two eyes.

Our big ladybug cake and mini-ladybug cupcakes!