The Journey at Platform 9 3/4

The journey to this magical birthday celebration began at Platform 9 3/4.

Upon entering the space, twenty little boys discovered a new world many had never experienced. A world that included a sorting hat that sang a silly poem and organized the children into "houses." 

House members were identified by colored scarves and rings. Upon house selection, each child was given an acceptance letter from Dumbledore himself. 

All of Harry's favorite foods were served for lunch (ham sandwiches, a herbology tray, cupcakes, butterbeer and berry ocky rot). 

After lunch, boys lined up to take their turn in the "chair of doom" while they each tasted a jelly bean from Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans. Some boys didn't mind the flavors of pineapple, blueberry or the non-tasting beans. Others, however, caused the audience to shriek with laughter when they discovered flavors such as onions and dirt!

The favorite station was the candy shop which we blogged about last week. The kids were digging in feverishly and filling their bags to the brim with as much candy as they could. Not a surprise but slightly funny to watch. 

After the candy shop raid, kids found themselves at the Wand Shop. Each boy created his very own magical wand using a pretzel rod, chocolate and candy sprinkles. 

The amazement of this birthday celebration really came when the guests arrived to potions class. Children were told to create their own concoction from ingredients such as excitability solution, knotgrass, armadillo bile, dragon tears, sleeping powder and acromantula venom. It's amazing what excitement a little dry ice can bring to a party!

Everything Potter Candy Shoppe

Treacle Fudge, Acid Suckers, Chocolate Frogs, Jam Donuts...maybe not food fit for a king but perfect for a Harry Potter Candy Shoppe! I am in love with this candy table featuring Hedwig himself presiding over all the treats! Special thanks to Megan at The Ink Market for the candy tags.

A Muggle, A Birthday and A New Love for Wizards

I recall when the Harry Potter series first became a phenomenon. I was in my early twenties working as a nanny and the girls were addicted to the book series. Though I initially thought I was beyond the age limit of this fantasy world, I decided to begin reading the first book so I could keep up with the girls conversations. That is when I fell in love with Harry Potter and his story. Nearly ten years later, I just completed my first Harry Potter birthday party for a 7 year old client (who is also a friend and classmate of my son). I understand his love for Harry, Hermione and Ron and hope he can see the "love" in the details. 

Check out the invitation from Megan at The Ink Market below. We'll try to get the party pic's blogged soon!

I've got the Blue's..(Clues that is)

Cartoon themed parties have never been my thing (with the exception of some superhero parties I've seen in the blog world). So, it will seem odd to you when I say how much I'm looking forward to an upcoming Blue's Clues 2nd birthday party for a sweet client. I think this party is a good reminder to parents that you can choose a cartoon theme but you don't have to take the theme to the limit. Other than the invitation and some larger than life paw prints, there will be no other mention of a particular cartoon. Instead, the palette of shades of blue will be the focus. And I cannot wait to share with you the favor table! Probably one of my all-time-favorites! In the meantime, here is a sneak peek of the invite.

Invites by tinyprints.com

Ahoy Matey's!

Hello, my name is Tina and I am a birthday party addict. I love everything about them. As a child, I guess I would have to say I didn't have grand birthday parties. A casual sleepover or "dance" in my living room was as elaborate as they got.  Now that I have children of my own (and clients with wee ones) I think I might have the greatest job ever as I get to plan all these fun events! Now if only I was a great photographer so you could see all the fun they had!

Drew's 7th birthday party was an incredible time. Once the guests arrived, I (and my wonderful mom-helpers) directed the kids to the makeup station to transform those adorable faces into pirates complete with beards, mustaches and bushy eyebrows! Most of the girls skipped this station, but a few brave ones looked over-the-top hysterically funny with their new beards. Check out a couple of the girls in this pic. Aren't they cute? I love the "mean face!"




Then we headed into the park for a treasure hunt. Along the way, they found treasure boxes filled with accessories to become a pirate; earrings, eye patches, compass necklaces, headbands and skull rings completed their looks. Then they dived into the treasure chest and found necklaces, ring pops, pirate tattoo's, telescopes and other pirate loot. Afterwards, the kids played "find the gold" relay and "cannon ball pop." At our kid parties, everyone wins! A treasure bag filled with skull lollipops, skull candy and more pirate loot was a huge hit with the munchkins.

Treasure Hunt

Results of the Pirate Loot

Cannon Ball Pop

I think the cake is my favorite part of any party. To me, it's the party centerpiece. Our local bakery made this cake based on a photo I found online. The pirate hook captivated the kids' attention and tasted as scrumptious as it looked!

Captain Andrew's Birthday Cake

Happy Birthday, Drew!

I don't think any party is complete without a dessert station of some sort. Since there was so much loot from the treasure chest and games, I was afraid a full dessert station would be too much. I tried my hand at making chocolate with molds and I have to say they turned out better than I expected. The kids thought the skeleton pretzels were pretty neat and I resisted the urge to say, "eat them slowly-they took hours to make!"   

Homemade Chocolate Goodies

Skeleton Pretzels

Chocolate Ships & Treasure Chests

Skull & Bones Cookies

Chocolate Covered Oreo's with Skulls

It always warms my heart each year when Drew exclaims, "This is the best birthday EVER!" He never seems to fail to appreciate the effort that I put forth and his smiles never disappoint me. I guess that means next year will have to be even better. :)

In lieu of gifts, Drew chose to donate funds to our local zoo. 

 One of my favorite cards Drew received was from a little girl that used part of his invitation to create a personalized card. Who knew a skull could be so precious!