On Saturday, January 19, our home transformed into Spider-Man headquarters for Lucas' 3rd birthday party with all his friends. I had soooo much fun putting this party together, and I have to give a HUGE shout-out to my mom who helped tirelessly (and long-distance, nonetheless) to help make my visions a reality! It turned out to be such a special day. Lucas was in complete awe over everything which makes all the work completely worth it. I think that once a year on their birthdays, all kids need to be immersed in whatever they are loving at the moment! And Lucas was!!!
So, here are the details...
First up, the decor
setting the stage with a web on the front door
i modified this tutorial from made to personalize it for Lucas
and i'm loving how so many of the decorations for this party can be repurposed for halloween!
spider webs cut out of computer paper, spray painted silver and sprinkled with glitter
i used this tutorial from A Fanciful Twist
loving my little man showing off his own spider webs!
beautiful gerbera daisies poised in bright blue water added cheerfulness
(as if there wasn't enough of that already with a house full of preschoolers at a birthday party! haha!)
my mom covered these paper mache letters from hobby lobby with spiderman comic pages, as inspired by the AMAZING spiderman-themed party of our good friend sohan. (that was for you, mom! haha!)
just paint the edges of the letters red first, then mod-podge the pages on, the seal with mod podge for a durable finish
craft table waiting for kids to come play...
i cut the masks from foam sheets using a template from a mask we already owned. then i hole punched the sides and threaded a length of elastic through, knotting it at the ends. (thanks, mandy, for your help with this!) i thought the foam star stickers were fun--kinda super hero-ish, but not too boyish or girlie. i had plenty of coloring sheets on hand too that i just printed off from the computer.
my sweet hubby brought home this HUGE piece of cardboard which i covered in wrapping paper. then he was kind enough to draw some buildings from poster board which we glued on. our "larger than life" spider man is just a sticker! :)
i decided it would be fun to send our guests home with silly string so they could make their own "webs" at their houses. our kids played with their silly string a few days later, and it lasted all of 5 minutes, but they thought it was the coolest.thing.EVER!!!
the outside of the cans were a little "loud" looking, so my mom helped me cover these with this cool scrapbook paper and some printable tags. now they fit right in with the decor. :)
Next, the food....
here's the dessert table
isn't the pennant banner ADORABLE? My mom made it using seam binding and a roller adhesive--it was a great way to use up the leftover comic book pages!
and the big spider web in the background will definitely make another appearance come October!
the white spider webs on the table were made by squeezing elmer's glue onto wax paper in the shape of a web and sprinkling with glitter while still wet. just peel/pry them off (carefully!) when dry...idea from redbook
LOVE how these cupcakes turned out!
the cake was a labor of love...
my first attempt at making homemade fondant using this recipe
and i combined a few tutorials on how to shape and decorate the cake, but this youtube video proved to be the most helpful. i love how he recommends to paint the fondant with the red food coloring instead of dying the whole thing--much less artificial coloring these kids are ingesting!
many thanks to my twin sis mandy for staying up with me into the wee hours of the morning finishing this! her artistic talents helped me make sure the webs were mostly even as well!
dipped and sugared marshmallows made a pretty addition
(does it bother anyone else that ONE STICK in this photo is leaning sideways?!? that drives me nuts every time i look at it! haha!)
but we did have some food other than sweets, i promise!
we had spidey sandwiches (star shaped), comic book chips, and "pick your super power" fruits, veggies, and cheese
close up of the super power food
Drumroll, please! Let the party begin...
some of the kids (and my sis mandy) at the craft table working on superhero masks
sweet birthday boy busy arranging his stars
i think he's pretty pleased with the end result!
it turned out to be an amazingly beautiful day for mid-January! I was so worried it would be too cold for the kids to enjoy the bounce house!
but as you can see, this is where most of them spent a good bit of their time!!!
birthday boy Lucas (on right) with cousin James, brother Anthony, and cousin Reese in the bounce house (right to left)
they get along so well!
everyone takes a break from playing to fuel up on some superhero food
and then it's time to sing "happy birthday" to my big three year old!
can you tell he's so proud???
he's a pro at blowing out those candles!!!
finally he gets to dig into that cake!
he even ate most of the fondant! i was thoroughly impressed!
time for a few gifts!
friends seth and caleb look on intently
i love audrey's face in this pic!
hmmmm, wonder what this helmet and bell could be for?
wow! a big boy bike!
now he can ride like brother anthony!
thanks, meme and papa!
oh yeah!
this little guy is super proud to be three!
after his guests leave, we take full advantage of the beautiful day by letting lucas take his new bike for a spin
getting the hang of it
great job, lucas! you are a pro already!
Your special day was such a blast! Hope you had as much fun enjoying your party as I had putting it all together! Happy 3rd Birthday, my love!
