This sudden warm burst of weather we are having in this part of the country has made me long for spring. Not just wish for it, L-O-N-G for it. Both my kids' birthdays are in the late spring, and last year we did it up for Josie's birthday. It was my first attempt at doing a "theme" for a kids' party, and it was actually really fun!
We chose 'rainbow theme' because at the time, Josie was majorly into rainbows:
The balloon rainbow needed a little tweaking but guests were arriving, so it had to do. You could also skip the helium and hang them from the ceiling in an arc formation. I made the banner from cardstock with 2 holes punched in the top, rainbow themed scrapbook papers, and some twine.
You can kind of see some of the decorations we used on the walls in the background. We got most of our decorations at Birthday Express.
The food was by far the most fun part of the planning! Here are some of the things we made:
Rainbow Chip Cookies, using the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and mini M&Ms instead of chocolate chips. (Yeah, these were gone in no time!)
Rainbow Fruit Skewers (strawberries, mandarin oranges, pineapple, kiwi, blueberries and red grapes).
Rainbow Rice Krispie Treats. For each layer, just melt 1/2 tbsp butter and 3/4 c. mini marshmallows in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. When it's melted together, add drops of food coloring, one at a time, until it is the color you want, then stir in a cup of cereal. Mix until well incorporated, press into a lightly buttered square Pyrex dish using a buttered spatula (or your buttered fingers, which is what I did). Repeat with all colors, spreading each layer as evenly over the last one as you can. Let cool and cut.
Rainbow Tinted Ice Cubes, just a drop or two of food coloring in the water, stirred with a toothpick.
Rainbow Party Gumballs, 99 cents at CVS for a bag.
Rainbow Party Straws. Got these at our grocery store. There was one odd tan straw in there.??
And then, the Piece de la Resistance, THE CAKE. We lit the candle...
... and Josie got nervous and cried. She hates the birthday song.
But she settled down once we switched gears and just wished her a very dry, nonmusical Happy Birthday.
The thing I loved most about this cake is that it looks like a giant, regular old white cake, but the rainbow sprinkles hint at what's inside...
The RAINBOW!!
Between the strawberries, the rainbow surprise and the sheer size of the cake, Josie was in awe!
(If you would like the actual directions, complete with some indispensible tips on getting a perfect rainbow cake, click on How To Make a Rainbow Cake.)
Our rainbow party was a big success, and really not hard to do with a little advance planning. Give it a try!
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