Christy said this about planning the party- ”My son Jackson loves the video game Plants VS Zombies, where a colorful army of plants have to protect your home by shooting peas, throwing stumps, exploding, or otherwise stopping an invasion of kitschy zombies from eating your brains! I have to admit I have played it a time or two myself and it is quite fun and addicting. So when he told me he wanted his sixth birthday party to be based on the game I thought it would be a fun challenge! And so our “Plants Fighting Zombies” party theme was born!
I used bright chevron fabric, Washi tape, a tombstone Happy Birthday banner, a monogram “J”fighting plant centerpiece, and other fun zombie inspired printables to decorate the dessert table. Guests each brought home a pack of “Peashooter Peas” (skittles) to fire at Zombies and “Protect their Brainzz!” as favors.
The centerpiece of the party was the dessert table. Sunflowers are some of the most powerful plants in the fight against invading zombies! So potted Sunflowers Cupcakes took centerstage. Linda of Frog Prince Cakes & Cookies created adorable fondant cupcake toppers that look like they’re right out of the game, which cheerfully oppose the tie wearing Zombie Marshmallow Pops I created.
Other sweets served included Zombie Eyes (Chocolate Balls purchased on clearance after Halloween), Brain Juice (Green Hawaiian Punch), and some of the weapons thrown by the plants to stop Zombies in their tracks: “Repeater Peas” & “Snow Pea Peas” (Jelly Belly Jelly Beans), “Stumps” (Chocolate Licorice).
I kept the party low stress by ordering the cupcakes, and making simple marshmallow pops instead of more elaborate desserts. The kids loved it all and enjoyed seeing their favorite video game come to life!”
Party Styling, Printables, Photography & Marshmallow Pops- Itsy Belle
Fondant Sunflower Cupcake Toppers- Frog Prince Cake & Cookie
Handmade Crepe Grass Green Fringe- Tadpoles and Teacups
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Striped Paper Straws Paper Fringe Cupcake Liners Apothecary Jars Washi Tape Ribbon Milk Bottles Decorative Shred
Jason said this about planning the party- “Our party is full of DIY projects, some fabulous recipes including one for Cheddar, Beer & Bacon Cupcakes (we call it The Cupcake for Men), and a great source for giant balloons and balloon tassels.
PRINTABLES:
This party is chock full of Vintage Football Party goodness, including the FOOTBALL PRINTABLE PARTY DECORATIONS. We were inspired by a vintage early 20th century era of football for this design, incorporating aged paper textures and simple stripes along with a collegiate font look and vintage football art. The scoreboard is also reminiscent of a by-gone era, where actual number cards were placed for each point in the game. Pennant banners were big back then and still are to an extent today, so we included a vintage felt texture on our large pennant banner and small pennant flags to give it a true to life feel.
FOOD:
Be sure to include the CUPCAKES FOR MEN on your party table, a moist delicious treat that will please everyone. Ingredients include: BEER, CHEESE & BACON. What more could you want in a cupcake really? If you feel bit nervous about a cupcake that includes beer and cheddar cheese (I was at first) let me put your mind at ease. These are still sweet just like any other cake, and the beer in the buttercream is the perfect touch. Use your favorite beer and get creative with specialty cheeses too, you could make these cupcakes something simple or super gourmet.
Recipes pictured include: Kickin’ Hot BUFFALO CHICKEN Cups and Off-Sides HAM & SWISS SLIDERS. These are both mouth-watering delicious recipes, and we were very pleased with the results! A big thank you to GIMME SOME OVEN and THE GIRL WHO ATE EVERYTHING for providing the perfect recipes.
Store bought treats include: French Fries , Bottle Water (Our Referees), Pork Rinds (Pig Skins), Yogurt Covered Pretzels (Laces), Licorice (Black Eye Paint). You can of course add your favorite party treats to the mix, but these were the ones we felt best represented our creative football themed names!
PROPS:
We created a few props for this party that really pulled everything together including a football field table cover, goal posts and bleachers. This really made the look of a football field complete. Step-by-step DIY projects linked: FOOTBALL FIELD TABLE COVER & FOOTBALL PARTY BLEACHERS DISPLAY.
The balloons and tassels were the final addition to our look, representing the cheering crowd waving their poms in a abstract sort of way. The tassels were spot on perfect for this theme and the large balloons were so fun and really stood out nicely against the brick wall background.”
Photography, Food, Design, Printables: Hello My Sweet
Balloons & Tassels: The Flair Exchange
Vintage Football: Happy Blue Moon
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Balloons Cupcake Liners Clear Cellophane Bags White 2-Sided Frame
This clever OM NOM MONSTER 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Laura Harper of My Pookie Designs. Any child who loves the game, ‘Cut the Rope’ would adore this party! So cute!
Laura said this about planning the party- “As I was thinking about what theme to do for my son’s 1st birthday party, I had already been thinking a monster theme. Then I thought of things about my little guy and the fact that he eats a lot came to mind, we call him our little om nom. Instantly I thought of the cute little green monster named Om Nom from the App game “Cut the Rope” and fell in love with the idea!
The color scheme went right along with the game- green, blue, cardboard and peppermint :) Peppermint candies were easy to do around Christmastime! Besides peppermints, the decor consisted of green polkadot background, cardboard boxes as stands, black yarn pompom Spider garland, and of course a cute plush Om Nom monster.
Since om nom refers to eating, we did a dinner and had a Pizza Bar. Simple, quick and delicious! The treats were few including: Om Nom cake, peppermint sugar cookies, peppermint swirl cookies (which were used for one of the games), Peppermint whipped dip with ginger thins, red Squeeze-it drinks and peppermint candies.
For the favors, everyone got a small box with a peppermint sugar cookie with a tag saying, “Thanks for cOMNOMing over!”
For the games we played: Cookie hang (like the donut hang), balloon bottom pop (with a twist-teams had to pop balloons and get 3 stars inside to win), Matching game with my lil guy’s pictures (another twist with a few cards with picture of the Spidey in game- if they turned it over they lost a turn) and a peppermint spin contest.
It’s amazing how much you can do with just a simple idea from a game like Cut the Rope. Very few details, so many possibilities.”
Vendors and Credits:
Cake- The Swirly Girls Bakery
Party Styling, Decorations and Photography- My Pookie Designs
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Balloons Favor Boxes Baker’s Twine Mini Martini Glasses
How amazing is this SUPER MARIO BROS. BIRTHDAY PARTY submitted by Astir Mendes of Pra Voce Festas Especiais from Brazil!
Astir said- “To celebrate John’s 7th birthday, we held a Super Mario Bros. themed party. The party was rich in details: there were carnivorous plants, bombs, coins, and pipes to make a fun gaming universe birthday party!”
This amazing RETRO BOWLING THEMED 4TH BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Maureen Anders of Anders Ruff. Oh my goodness, it doesn’t get much cuter than this! What a darling party and a super fun theme at that!
Party details and vendor credits at the bottom of post…
Super Mario Bros. Themed Birthday Party
Lego Themed 7th Birthday Party
Teddy Bear 1st Birthday Party
Skylanders Birthday Party
Surprise 60th Birthday Football Tailgating Party
Football Birthday Party
Vintage Boxing 84th Birthday Party
Oregon Ducks Themed Birthday Party
Lil’ Monster 1st Birthday Party
Little Monster Birthday Party
Lil’ Monster 2nd Birthday Party
Colorful Monster Bash Party
Mario Bros Themed Birthday Party
Super Mario Brothers Birthday Party!
Mario Time 6th Birthday Party
Mario Kart/Vintage Race Car Party!
Retro 50′s Race Car Themed 1st Birthday Party
Retro Cherry Birthday Party
Retro Surf Birthday Party
Retro Woodland 1st Birthday Party