Elmo Birthday Party

This year I whipped out the Elmo cake pan.  Ethan and Ellie both had Elmo parties for their second birthday, and I know that Regan will either be grateful or resentful that hers wasn't.  I was Elmo'd out at that point.  I probably could have done any boy theme and Jack would have loved it.  If it moves he likes it!  When they are little I keep it really low key and just family.  It's easier on me and they don't really know anyways.  There were a few things I knew I wanted and I just went from there.

For decorations I wanted things to be simple and easy to clean up.  For the birthday banner I printed off flag templates at Martha Stewart and decorated them like Elmo's World with loops, yellow scribbles and blue letters.  I let go of my perfection and let Ellie color the yellow background and cut them out.  I did the loops at the top and wrote the letters.  We tried having her do the loops, but hers ended up crooked and after 3 or 4 tries and we both wanted them straight across so she let me do that part.  She was really just looking forward to the cutting part.  I used orange curling ribbon to hang it.  I went to the pet store and got a plastic (yay for plastic!) round fish bowl, rocks and "Dorothy" for the table.  I put a glitter covered "2" in her bowl, just like on Elmo's World.  Jack loved Dorothy.  It was less than $15 which is pretty cheap for a center piece!  I printed out Elmo coloring pages and out those out with a jar full of new crayons.  I also had goldfish crackers in a round bowl to snack on.  I found an Elmo shirt on clearance at Wal-Mart (I know I caved) for $5 in the junior section and  used it on the birthday chair.  I had intended to turn it into a pillow but I have been finding it harder to sew lately.  I used a red tablecloth, balloons and cups with orange plates as big "Elmo noses".

Since it was also Father's Day we made a lunch out of it with hot dogs and bratwurst.  I know I won't be able to combine the celebrations forever so I figure I better do it while I can.  Sorry for the poor picture quality, these were not my best!

Dorothy seemed really interested in Elmo.  The 2 candle will float if you try to
just stick it in, so my husband shoved some wire into the bottom of it in the
shape of an "s" so it would stay down and be covered by the rocks.

Printables, crayons and goldfish- the kids loved it!

I watched A LOT of Elmo's World to get those colors right, LOL!

His new Ferrari, here is the tutorial!

Fire Ellie! 

They had to hold him back so he wouldn't blow it out until after the song, he
had already blown it out once!

That's all!  Simple, fun and the kids had so much fun making his day special.  The big kids had made gifts for him and took such pride in giving.  Jack lighted up with his "surprise" face with every gift and each grandparent.  Love my not so little family and watching them grow!


This week:
Cozy Coupe Ferrari Tutorial
Summer Fun and the Outdoor Pirate Ship
Things I learned at The Color Run