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 lunch, cookie 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!

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our drink menu

ice water

Pineapple sherbet punch

Cotton Candy Shirley Temples

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~ hand-made fancy paper straws ~

  

~ Cotton Candy Shirley Temple ~

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! 

See what's inside here!

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

Happy birthday, my sweet girl!

I love you infinite,

mommy

LET'S STAY in touch!

Simply Suzannes at Home 

on Facebook

Sharing with . . .

Suburbs Mama, Carrie This Home, Twelve O Eight, Everyday Home Blog, The Tablescaper, Between Naps on the Front Porch, The Dedicated House, A Bright & Beautiful Life, Finding Silver Pennies, Rain on a Tin Roof, A Stroll Thru Life, CedarHill Ranch, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, Savvy Southern Style, City Farm House, Elizabeth and Co, Chef in Training, Upcycled Treasures, Our Home Away From Home, Finding Fabulous, The Blissful Bee, The Style Sisters, Fluster Buster, Lamberts Lately, StoneGable, Katherine's Corner, Live Laugh Rowe, Jann Olson, From My Front Porch to Yours, The Newleywed Pilgrimage,  Becoming Martha, The Cottage Market, 504 Main, Tater Tots and Jello, Designs by Gollum, Brambleberry Cottage, Nancherro, A Delightsome Life, Jennifer Rizzo, Cooking with Curls, Your Homebased Mom, A Little Claireification, What's Cooking With Ruthie, Lady Behind the Curtain,  Sunflower Supper Club, Living Better Together, Simply Dream and Create, Tumbleweed Contessa, Made from Pinterest, Too Much Time, Simply Gloria, Common Ground

cotton candy shirley temple

Legend has it that the Shirley Temple beverage was created in the late 1930s at Hollywood's Chasen's Restaurant to celebrate the child star's 10th birthday, who often visited the restaurant.  

Since Shirley Temple was too young to drink alcoholic cocktails like the adult movie stars when she attended parties or visited with them, a drink concocted of the original 7-Up (or club soda), grenadine, and a maraschino cherry was created so that she, too, could enjoy parties and celebrations with a special drink.

The Classic Shirley Temple has grown in popularity over the years . . . and ~ to date
~ is the most popular "mocktail" (non-alcoholic beverage) among children and adults alike!

They are just so pretty . . . and taste so delightful. It's hard not to fall in love with it's beautiful pink-ish, red hue amidst a flurry of bubbles. And who doesn't get giddy over the prized treasure found at the bottom of the glass . . . a maraschino cherry!  

As a child, I remember asking sweetly "May I please have a Shirley Temple?" . . . and then offering a big, warm smile when ordering - with hopes that it would win over my waiter/waitress so that he/she might drop an extra cherry in my glass. It worked almost every time (big smile)! 

I think we all might share a similar story (wink)! 

My sweet Charley's 5th birthday is fast-approaching, and I thought it would be fun to serve Shirley Temple's at her party, but with a special twist!

Here's the funny thing . . . There's a restaurant on the east coast called O'Charley's (how ironic is that) who is known for their Cotton Candy Shirley Temples!  

Yes, you read right . . . Cotton Candy Shirley Temples!

What a fun twist on this "mocktail!" 

My Charley LOVES cotton candy and Shirley Temples separately, and to have them together in this edible mash-up... YUM! She is going to squeal in delight when I serve them to her and her friends! 

                             

Allow me to paint you a picture . . .  A glass of lemon-lime soda with a puff of pink cotton candy resting on top of the rim . . . gently push it down with your straw and watch it fizzle and dissolve into the drink. It makes the sweetest, girliest refreshment ever! 

I embellished already adorable paper straws with ribbon, stickers, and rosettes . . . so that after the cotton candy fizzles . . . the girls will still have something pretty to admire while sipping their mocktails. 

~ sweet endings ~

LET'S STAY in touch!

Simply Suzannes at Home 

on Facebook

Sharing with . . .

Suburbs Mama, Carrie This Home, Twelve O Eight, The Tablescaper, Between Naps on the Front Porch, The Dedicated House, A Bright & Beautiful Life, Finding Silver Pennies, Rain on a Tin Roof, A Stroll Thru Life, CedarHill Ranch, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Mod Vintage Life, Savvy Southern Style, City Farm House, Elizabeth and Co, Chef in Training, Our Home Away From Home, Finding Fabulous, The Blissful Bee, The Style Sisters, Fluster Buster, Lamberts Lately, StoneGable, Katherine's Corner, Live Laugh Rowe, Jann Olson, From My Front Porch to Yours, The Newleywed Pilgrimage,  Becoming Martha, The Cottage Market, 504 Main, Tater Tots and Jello, Designs by Gollum, Brambleberry Cottage, Nancherro, A Delightsome Life, Jennifer Rizzo, Cooking with Curls, Your Homebased Mom, A Little Claireification, What's Cooking With Ruthie, Lady Behind the Curtain,  Sunflower Supper Club, Living Better Together, Simply Dream and Create, Tumbleweed Contessa, Made from Pinterest, Too Much Time, Simply Gloria, Common Ground