It's Party Time- Pinterest Style

Some of my favorite bloggers over at YHL and BowerPower are hosting a little Pinterest Challenge today, so I wanted to join in on the fun and give you the low down on the Pinterest inspired birthday party we hosted for our little man this weekend!

We have a ton of projects left to do in the house, and truth be told I would have loved to have gotten more done before we had a bunch of family and friends over, but the bottom line is that this party was about our amazing little Super Ry, and celebrating his 3 super powered years on this planet.  So I took my mind off building furniture for the bedroom or bathroom tile swatches, and spent my time planning a party that he would love and remember.  We were on track and our priorities were in order, up until the Dining Room sprung a leak and looked like this just 18 hours before the party.  Luckily our Bath Crashers contractor made quick work of the clean up, and you’d never know the room was a lake just the day before.

Yes, there is a man in there.  A contractor-tastic man.

  For the party theme,  Ryder had originally requested either a Spider Man party or a Thomas the Train party.  Even though I should have just kept it simple and given the little dude exactly what he wanted, I can’t lie, I vomited a little at the thought of a commercialized birthday celebrating television characters.  I mean sure, it would have been easy to find plates and décor, but where’s the imagination in that?  Then Pinterest came to my rescue with lots of great ideas on how to take Spider Man to a more generic, and much cooler Super Hero theme.  This vintage pop art superhero birthday party from Hostess with the Mostess took the cake so to speak, and my head was spinning with ideas.

My favorite part of the party was the super hero capes I made for Ryder and his friends.  I spent less than $10 on 11 capes, thanks to some cheap fabric deals and a lot of left over fabric scraps.  I originally planned to make Ryder’s with an R like the Pinterest inspiration I tagged, but Ry told me, “I want a 3 on my cape, not an R because I am turning 3 not R.”  Which is good logic actually, can’t disagree with a guy on that one. Watching Ry race through the house, followed by his cape wearing, super hero buddies is now one of my top 10 favorite lifetime memories.  He was so incredibly happy, which is what it’s all about as a Mom.  Isn’t it?

My cousin Morgan, Ryder’s Godmother, photographer, baker and crafter extraordinare, (with a new fancy website to boot!) made Ryder these shoe wings for his chucks.  (Another Pinterest find.)  Aren’t they amazing?   Ryder loved them, and has insisted on wearing them every day since.  Plus- she sewed them with glow in the dark thread so they glow at night.  No joke.  In the words of super blogger Perez Hilton- they’re Amazeballs.

 

 

The goal with the food was to try to make it easy for us, so that we could spend the day doing what really mattered, hanging with the Lil’ Man.  So we whipped up a bunch of food that could be made in advance and didn’t need to stay warm.  Ry’d favorite food is popcorn, so that had to be included, along with some fruit (with a fun twist thanks to Pinterest) for a healthy option. The food must have been good because we ran out fast and we had to order a bunch of pizzas, (which I’m pretty sure is a sign of a good party).

Even though I did go a bit overboard (which is to say I went Erin), I did give myself a little break when it came to the cake.  In the past I’ve sort of gone all out with his cakes:

Ryder's 1st Birthday Cake

Ryder's 1st Birthday Smash Cake- made by Super Morgan.  (Are you guys catching a theme here?)

Ryder's 2nd Birthday Cake

This year for time sake, I thought that cupcakes would not only be easier to create, but easier for people to grab and enjoy at their leisure. (Which is to say, I was lazy.)  I didn’t completely slack though, and made these fun cup cake toppers to bring the super hero theme together.   

 

Unfortunately, it turned out to be the one bummer of the party, since Ry kept asking me where his big cake was (tear).  I’ve learned my lesson and will create a masterpiece next year.  At least the spoiled little monkey enjoyed his cupcakes.  

Plus, Super Morgan also made cake pops, which were a huge hit!

In the end it was an amazing day, thanks to our party animal family and friends.  It was obvious that Ry was having the time of his little life.  And that's what it's all about. 

 

 

Photography copyright One Project at a Time, Morgan Klinnert Photography and Dave Swartz Photography.