Minnie Mouse-Themed Birthday Party

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Just as our son loves all things Mickey Mouse, our daughter loves Minnie Mouse so it only seemed natural to host a Minnie Mouse-Themed Birthday Party for her as she turned three. Fortunately, we were able to reuse a lot of the items from our son's birthday party.

Food

This year we didn't have as many themed food items as we picked things that our children would enjoy eating – their preferred veggies and snack items.

Veggie Tray & Fruit Tray

Cheese & Quackers 

Everyone in our family enjoys the cheese and cracker trays...so we went with different brands and flavors to provide variety.

Bow-tie Pasta Salad

My in-laws provided a yummy salad using bow-tie shaped pasta.

Pizza Rolls 

We made mini-pizza rolls from crescent rolls, pepperoni, cheese, and oregano seasoning. These were a great hit!

Sweets 

I hand dipped pretzel rods and wafer cookies in melted chocolate and sprinkled them with different toppings. Of course, I used white, pink, and red to fit the Minnie Mouse theme.

Cake and Cupcakes 

Minnie Mouse Dress made of cupcakes!

Decorations

Games

Pin the Bow

I created a Pin the Bow on Minnie game for the kids to play.

Looking for more party ideas? 

A Gift Guide When Shopping for Teenage Boys

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Shopping for others can be somewhat daunting and challenging. As our own children get older – or those in our family grow up, it can be difficult to pick out the perfect gift they will love and use – especially if they are a teenage boy.

What is your go-to gift for a teen boy? Do you ask the teen? Sometimes it might be easy because the parents will tell us they are saving up for something – a new gaming platform, sporting equipment, or a concert or trip. Other times they might even have an online wishlist. But what if they don't make it easy?

For the Gamer

The one thing our teen seems to go through is Xbox controllers. Perhaps you know of a young man who is also hard on their gaming controller? If it is within your budget you could purchase a new controller or a gift card to go towards a new one. They even make custom ones.

Headsets are a great option for teens who are allowed to play online games with their friends and family. And just like controllers, they often break and need to be replaced.

If the teenage boy has a favorite video game series, you can bet there are product tie-ins. For example, our son has a Destiny watch and socks. Other gaming series that sell merchandise include Fallout, Minecraft, and Bioshock.

For the Reader

Depending on whether or not your teen enjoys reading, you may or may not find our suggestions helpful. We have struggled for many years trying to find books that our teen enjoys to read for fun. While he liked the Harry Potter series, he wasn't reading them nonstop to find out what happened to Harry and his friends. However, he does enjoy Star Wars comics and reading books about World War II. This recommended reading list has been my husband's go-to list since he was a teen himself. We have provided several suggestions from it for our teen son.

Comics are also a great choice – I recommend finding your local comic book store and supporting them. We are fortunate enough to have one in our town.

 

 For the Sports Enthusiast

To go along with the gaming theme, you could get a custom Xbox controller if your teen is into the NFL. And of course clothing is always a great idea when it comes to buying gifts for growing teens. From t-shirts and hoodies to jerseys and hats, there is such a variety of items available for any sports fan to wear to show their team pride. There are also fun items like Fathead decals or a tabletop foosball table.

Other Fun Ideas

One thing our teen can't seem to get enough of is candy. We don't buy it for him often – usually just the holidays – so candy would be a great gift idea. Even snacks you ordinarily wouldn't buy make for a great gift (and are perfect for snacking during the winter break!).

For the artist, new sketchpads, art pencils and pens, or other drawing materials is a great idea. For the musician, maybe a new case for their instrument or music by their favorite band.

Do your teens have a favorite gift they have received?

Minecraft Birthday: Punch Trees and Party!

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Everyone in our family enjoys Minecraft (okay, maybe Dad doesn't enjoy it as much as the rest of us but he will still play the video game with us if we ask). When we asked our soon-to-be five-year-old what theme he wanted for his birthday party, Minecraft was a top choice.

Food

As our teen had a Minecraft-themed birthday party a few years ago, we wanted to try to serve some different foods this time. Plus – with our 5-year-old's birthday being in June, we were able to grill food outdoors rather than just rely upon indoor cooking like we usually do for our teen's birthday in September.  

We prepared hamburgers and hot dogs for the beef and pork of Minecraft. The other foods in the Minecraft world consist of bread (hamburger and hot-dog rolls), fish (Swedish fish), baked potatoes (potato salad), carrots, and melon (gummy melon candy).

We also had lots of different types of snacks and candies to represent the different ores and other items from the Minecraft game. 

Ores: Lapis, gold, iron, diamond, redstone, emerald, and coal 

Lava and Water: Jello 

Sticks: Pretzel sticks 

Treats and Sweets

We put together an Enderman Cake and decorated cupcakes like the cake from the game.

Enderman cake

Cupcakes decorated like the cake (It's a lie!) from Minecraft

Decorations

As usual, I like to have the children involved with preparing the decorations for the parties. It provides the perfect opportunity to work on arts and crafts, learn new skills, and cooperate to ensure everyone has a fun time. 

Our teen helped with making a Minecraft Birthday Sign

Minecraft Tools 

Our teen drew the templates for the sword, ax, and shovel and I traced them onto cardboard from boxes and cut them out. Then our two younger children and I painted them along with a few torches to decorate the house. Yes, we could have bought the foam ones but it wouldn't have provided as much fun as painting lots of Minecraft objects on the living room floor! 

Minecraft Creatures 

I had been saving old boxes for quite a while in our basement and now was the time to use them! I painted them white and then used both construction paper and plastic tablecloths to create a pig and enderman.

Nether Portal and Photo Background 

At the entry way to our kitchen, I created a Nether Portal with purple and black crepe paper.

My husband and I used a blue tablecloth, white construction paper, and green construction paper to create a Minecraft backdrop for photos.

Other Decorations 

In a previous post, I shared how we created Minecraft Character faces to decorate. We also used Minecraft toys that our sons have gotten as gifts over the years. Our teen and I also created spawn eggs using permanent markers and old plastic eggs. 

Games

The kids played Creeper Toss with Creeper Spawn Eggs and this giant Creeper Head I made from a cardboard box.

The party was a great hit with our son, family, and friends. I love being able to help our children celebrate with fun parties.

 

Wordless Wednesday: Enderman Cake

My first time using fondant! 

I linked up the following blog(s): 

  

Veggie Tales-Themed Birthday Party

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Over the past year or so, our children have begun watching Veggie Tales. As the series has quickly become a favorite with our son, we celebrated his fourth birthday party with the Veggie Tales.

Food

Cheesy Chicken and Rice 

I based my dish off of Mandy's Recipe Box's Slow Cooker Cheesy Rice and Chicken Casserole.

BBQ Ranch Drumsticks 

I based my recipe off of The Frugal Girls' Crockpot BBQ Ranch Drumsticks Recipe.

Burgers and Hot dogs 

We had to have Mr. Lunt's Cheeseburger at the party for guests.

Crackers and Cheese 

My 4 year son and 2 year old daughter enjoyed the tray so much at her party in April, they requested it at my son's party.

Veggie Tray

Mr. Twisty's Twisted Cheese Curls  

Goliath's Pickled Potato Salad

I usually like making potato salad for our family parties.  This was a perfect chance to make a different version.

Bob the Tomato Cake 

Games and Crafts

"Where is my hairbrush?"  

The fantastic thing about this version of 'pin the tail' is that there really is no wrong place for the children to pin the hairbrush.  (Especially since Larry doesn't have any hair.)

Pin the hairbrush on Larry

Decorations

In the past years our children have helped prepare the house for their parties and this year was no exception! They helped make decorations for the party.

Moe and the Big Exit Coloring Page

Various Coloring Pages 

Coloring Pages of Junior, Larry, and King George and his Ducky

I decorated balloons as characters from the show to decorate both inside and outside the house.

Balloons 

I painted paper towel and toilet paper rolls to create characters from the show to decorate the kitchen.

Veggie Tales Toilet Paper Rolls 

I prepared materials for the guests to make their own Veggie Tales Stained Glass pictures to take home.  Unfortunately, we did not have time to make the craft.

Veggie Tales Stained 'Glass' craft 

Veggie Toss

I recycled the box I painted for my daughter's party as a hay bale and turned it into a basket.  We purchased some cheap, plastic fruits and veggies for the children to toss into the basket. 

I used my teen's Veggie Tales toys to decorate the dining room table and the living room.  (My littles love being able to play with these figures.) 

Pirate Ship

Castle

Resources 

Veggie Toss Idea 
Twintough's Instagram Photo of Larry, Bob, and Peas Desert
My Dirty Apron's Veggie Tales Party 
Mom's Quest to Teach Veggie Tales Balloons
Mom's Quest to Teach Veggie Tales Toilet Paper Rolls
Mom's Quest to Teach Veggie Tales Stained Glass Craft 

Our son received a Larry plush for his birthday.  My daughter promptly decided she wanted it and my 4 year old son gave it to her.  So sweet.  

  

I linked up with the following blog(s):