Very Hungry Caterpillar Party

I'm going to go over the various birthday parties we've done for our kids.  I'm going to start with the first one although I didn't use pinterest to find stuff for it I did look around online.  And it seems weird not to include it. 

 

We used this recipe for gluten-free carrot cake, which we did as cupcakes instead of a cake.  We were trying to create this but decided to try to do it just with cupcakes.  The brown ones are supposed to be dirt that he's crawling on top of since we did some chocolate cupcakes along with the carrot ones.  My MIL helped us with assembling this especially the swirling of the frosting on the cupcakes to create the not a solid color look to them. 

Here is our table spread for "appetizers" and the cupcakes.  We did all the five foods that the caterpillar eats during his day for the "appetizers".  Probably would have been better to have them sliced to make them easier to eat.  These weren't that huge of a hit with our guests but I think they look cute.  The little circles have what he ate each day.  We used a themed table cloth, napkins and plates from Target.  For dinner we had baked ziti and sausages. 

I am so glad I found you!

I thought I would start by mentioning some pins that I am so happy to have found.  These truly have been awesome and even if I'd never pinned anything else would somewhat justify the amount of time I've spent on pinterest.

 

Personalized Water Bottles-I felt these gave a little extra cuteness to my daughter's first birthday party.  We were having it at a park and doing almost exclusively things in bottles (water and OJ since it was an early in the day party).  Bringing in huge things of water to be served in cups wouldn't have been difficult but water bottles were simple.  Adding special labels to the water bottles made them feel like they belonged at a party not just we were being lazy.  Also I know they sell these but they are insanely expensive.  Glad I could save the money.

Smore dip-This super easy dessert also gets bonus points for being gluten free since we have some family members with celiac disease.  I love how quick and easy it is to make and it is amazingly yummy.  Just like it sounds it tastes like a smore in dip form.  And even with my horrible cooking skills I can make it.

Doll Bread-I used this for my American Girl Doll program at the library.  Very easy to make in advance and was a hit with the girls (aged 5-10) to create various types of bread during the program.  I didn't stick to soda bread but did St. Lucia's buns and Challah to help it fit better with the books. 

Puzzle Organization-The puzzles were driving be crazy.  We got Trofast from Ikea for storing toys but when you put the puzzles into them all the pieces fall out.  I was amazing at the genius of using a laundry bag to store them.  The kids could see them but they contained all the pieces.  Pure genius.