Wednesday, February 20, 2013

a hello kitty birthday party

Wow! It's hard to believe that another year has passed, and Charley is now 5 years old! 

It feels like yesterday when I was planning for, and then writing about, Charley's 4th birthday!


We celebrated Charley's 5th birthday with lots of pink (and turquoise), her closest friends (and family too!), Hello Kitty . . . and 160 sugar cookies!


This year's birthday was extra special

Charley's enthusiasm and excitement is always a driving force for me, but she was so eager to help me every step of the way . . . and that's what made this year's celebration so memorable for me.

When I asked her what her favorite part of her birthday was, she excitedly told me "Blowing out the candles on my pretty cake, and baking all those cookies!"  


It was truly a special day! 

We honored this little lady on her birthday with a special lunchcookie decorating, a friendly cookie decorating competition, and dessert!

Here's a peak into our day . . . 


~~~~~~~
Our menu
(inspired by Barefoot Contessa)
Parmesan Crisps
Green Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
Curried Egg Salad with tomato slices on butter lettuce
Chicken Salad with Tarragon on Croissant
Fresh Strawberries
~~~~~~~








~~~~~~~
the Little Ladies Menu
(menu created  by Charley)
Pretzel Twists
Fresh Strawberries
Peanut butter and Strawberry Jam sandwiches
Peanut butter and honey sandwiches
~~~~~~~



With Valentine's Day just a few days away, 
I turned skewers and heart cut-outs into LOVE arrows!

~~~~~~~
our drink menu
ice water
Pineapple sherbet punch
~~~~~~~

 
  


Charley's friends donned their cutest aprons and joined her in decorating sugar cookies! 

I baked 160+ sugar cookies for this party . . . YES, 160+ sugar cookies! 

Eight little ladies sat around a long table filled with cookies, bowls of bright colored cream cheese frostings, and over 15 kinds of sprinkles and edible decorations . . . and we giggled, laughed, and decorated hearts (small & big), tiaras, flowers, and cupcakes.


~ Charley's apron ~

~ so many cute aprons made an appearance! ~
~ Look at this cute one from Italy! ~

 ~ Let the cookie decorating begin! ~

Hello Kitty balloons!

I thought of this idea the night before Charley's party! It's fun to see what you can do with a Mylar balloon and scrapbook paper! I tied them to clear cookie cans filled with white sugar, and then finished them with bows.


I used a roll of thick wrapping paper to cover the top of the table, and it worked great! Such easy clean up too! 


  
I used paper baking cups to hold the sprinkles. They worked great because they're thicker and sturdier than cupcake liners.





~ I wish my camera could have truly captured the bright colors 
of the table cover, frostings, and sprinkles.
It was such a beautiful sight! ~




 


 . . .  and the winners were . . . 


We opened gifts and enjoyed dessert after all that hard work!


________________________________

On to the good stuff . . . DESSERT!

It's tradition in our home for Auntie Alex to make our children's birthday cakes (warm smile) . . . so she made Charley a two tier strawberry cake with vanilla rose water Swiss buttercream (YUM!!!), frosted in white chocolate ganache, and covered in vanilla fondant. 

You can't have a Hello Kitty inspired cake without bows, so Auntie Alex adorned each tier with a big pink bow! She added darling polka dots . . . and pretty ruffled roses . . . 
and well, Miss Hello Kitty found the perfect place to sit at the base, right next to a bow (smile).  I love her glasses . . . aren't they cute!

Isn't the cake beautiful!?! and its flavors tasted wonderful too!






A dessert table for Little Ladies wouldn't be complete without CUPCAKES! 
See how I made them here!



We also enjoyed . . . 


Vanilla meringue cookies
Chocolate French Macarons
Vanilla French Macarons
White Chocolate dipped marshmallows
Strawberry marshmallow kabobs





Charley sent her guests home with pink and turquoise party favors! 


. . . and so ends our Hello Kitty inspired party!

Happy birthday, my sweet girl!
I love you infinite,
mommy








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19 comments:

  1. My goodness is your daughter cute! I loved the photo of her blowing out the candles. You're so creative. I'd have never thought to convert a balloon into a Hello Kitty. I'd have probably assumed the only way to do it was to buy a pre-printed Hello Kitty balloon. This is fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jellie B.,
      Thanks so much for coming by and leaving such a kind comment!
      I had so much fun designing this party! It's so neat having little girls :0)
      Have a great week,
      Suzanne

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  2. This is the prettiest party I have ever seen! What a treat for your darling girl and her friends!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lisa!
      Thanks so much for coming by!
      Please stop by and see the Tea Party I had for my little girls here . . .
      http://simplysuzannes.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-tea-party-with-my-little-girls.html
      It's sure a lot of fun having little girls :0)
      Have a great week,
      Suzanne

      Delete
  3. Anonymous4:40 PM

    I want to rewind time 22 years and have this party! OH ME OH MY! The Hello Kitty balloons are so awesome, that was a brilliant idea! The cake is swoon worthy! All the details are absolutely amazing! Love it!

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  4. What a wonderful party!

    Thanks for being a part of Seasonal Sundays.

    - The Tablescaper

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  5. I don't know where to begin. . .all the details are perfect, and what a gorgeous cake! Oh my gosh, your daughter must have been in heaven. I just loved seeing this.

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  6. Wow! That birthday cake looks beautiful! I'm pinning this to my party board! Charlie is gorgeous--I love her curly blonde hair! I'll be featuring this post at our next Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop party on Sunday night!

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  7. Absolutely darling beautiful birthday party! Your little girl is adorable and so lucky to have you as her mom!

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  8. WOW! What a special day. You thought of everything. I love all of the details that went into this party and I bet the girls had a blast decorating those cookies. Amazing job and one luck little girl. (I love the name Charley :) Thanks for linking up at The Makers. Hope you are having a great week.
    Corey @ TinySidekick.com

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  9. What a beautiful and sweet birthday! The details are all so special and that cake, WOW! Pinned :)

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  10. Oh she's adorable ! As to the food and cake, oh my! Everything looks just perfect and suddenly my appetite for dinner has increased 100% due to looking at all of this good food ! :)

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  11. I need an Auntie Alex in my life to make cakes like that! I love all the polka dots and pretty decorations. And decorating cookies? One of my favorite party games! Thanks for sharing at Fridays Unfolded!

    Alison
    Nancherrow

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  12. Just found you on Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson... gorgeous site! kelly @ cowboys daughter design

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Kelly!
      I hope you come back and visit again soon!
      Keep in touch . . . and have a great week,
      Suzanne

      Delete
  13. Suzanne, you daughter is so darling and I love the photo of her blowing out the candles! The cake is a masterpiece and the entire menu sounds just wonderful! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  14. Oh, this is so cute! ...as is your little girl!
    Those paper straws are great! What a fun party.
    Stopping by from the Will Cook for Smiles Link Party :) Thank for sharing!

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  15. What a great job!! I love birthday parties ;) You're being featured on Give Me The Goods tomorrow and on my FB page.
    Hugs,
    Jamie

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  16. This is absolutely precious! Beautifully done! I will be featuring your post in this week's Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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