Thursday, September 26, 2013

Smith's Despicable Me Birthday Party



 

My biggest boy turned two last weekend, and we threw quite the shin dig for out little guy.  As a middle child myself, I have plenty of mom-guilt about Smith getting the short end of the stick, so I really wanted to make his party special.  This was amplified when as we were planning the party, Joey asked "Wait, he's not two yet?!" We laughed about it, but there is some truth to the sentiment - so much has happened in the past few years, that it seems crazy that he's only two years old!  A new house, new car, and two baby brothers - this kid has already had plenty of excitement in his short life!

Smith is absolutely obsessed with the movie Despicable Me, so it was a pretty easy decision to assemble his minion friends and throw him a despicable birthday party!  Joey and I actually really love the movie as well - it is funny, packed with action, and heartwarming (I dare you not to cry at the end). He watches (part of) the movie almost every. single. day, so we had tons and tons of ideas of ways to incorporate the movie into the party - from snacks, to games, to decorations - I had a huge list of ideas, and pared it down into a more manageable and reasonable party for a two year old.


Just as Vector welcomes visitors to the "Fortress of Vectortude," we welcomed guests into the "Fortress of Smithitude."  We also warned party-goers from going upstairs into "Smith's Lab."  Joey made these signs in Microsoft Word, and we had them printed at Staples.



For the food table set-up, Joey put his artistic ability to the test, and drew renderings of Gru's plan to steal the moon.  I also bought some paper lanterns from Party City, and taped on some minion goggles.


Since the party was at 3 pm, I didn't feel like I needed to provide a meal, just some fun snacks:

  • Cookie Robots (chocolate chip cookies)
  • Cheetos That Will Never Be Butterflies (Cheetos/Pirates Booty)
  • mmmm Stuffed Crust (Pizza Bites)
  • Coconutties (Coconut Macaroons)
  • fruit cups (grapes and strawberries)
  • veggie cups (carrots and celery with ranch dressing)
  • Yellow Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream
  • Moon Cupcakes ("Gray Velvet" Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting)
Joey once again proved himself to be quite crafty with the cookie robot.  He bent paper clips into the legs, then hot glued them onto the bottom of mason jar lid.  I cut out the "robot sensor" from construction paper.  All the kids wanted to play with the robot; it was a big hit :)


I served "Antigravity Serum," aka lemonade, out of a big Erlenmeyer flask, and the kids got to drink it out of Vector's Crazy Straws.  Caroline was flummoxed as to why she wasn't floating (she also dressed as Margo for the party).



Perhaps my favorite detail of the party however, was this sign.  This scene from the movie has become a source of constant entertainment in our house, with one of us just randomly saying "I sit on the toilet," and all of us dissolving into laughter.  If I had to choose, I would say this is my favorite scene of the movie.  Once again, Joey was responsible for this decoration.  We actually hung this on the bathroom door, which really upset Caroline - she wanted it in the dining room with the rest of the plans.

For the games and entertainment, we kept in mind that all the kids attending were five and under, so nothing too crazy or complicated (though Caroline did want us to build a "big and fast roller coaster" in the backyard.


The Box of Shame, which was a punishment for the three orphan girls at Miss Hattie's, was by far the easiest party decoration I've ever made.  Cut a big hole from an Amazon box, and write "Box of Shame" in black marker.  Some kids had more fun in here than others (I spy a fluffy unicorn)...


We also spray-painted two liter bottles to look like minions, and glued on goggles and mouths.  We had originally planned for the games to be outdoors, but it rained all day long.  So we improvised, and set this up in the playroom.

We also set up a version of the angry spaceship game, that Gru so infamously "Knocked Ov-ver!"  I got the idea and printable from here, and we used a Nerf dart gun to shoot the space ship.  The kids all really loved shooting the dart gun, and Joey had fun "manning" this game and helping the kids aim.


After some snacks and games, it was cupcake time!  I've seen lots of cute minion cupcakes made out of Twinkies, but to be honest, I didn't have that kind of time, and I didn't want to be TOO over the top!  So I just used some cute blue wrappers and yellow frosting to make the cupcakes "minion inspired."  This was my favorite moment of the party.  Smith was playing and having fun, and of course got really excited when it was time to sing Happy Birthday.  However, he must not have realized that the party was for him, because when we sang "Happy Birthday, Dear Smith," his face absolutely lit up, and he was grinning from ear to ear.  Such a sweet boy.


After cake, I popped popcorn and played the movie.  This was a good chance for the kids to settle down a bit as the party started to wind down.  Of course, no one actually sat there and watched the entire movie, but things did calm down a little for about 20 minutes. :)


As we were setting up the party, Joey and I joked that we were going to have more fun than Smith, but I don't think that happened.  He absolutely loved the party, all the  minions, and all his friends.  Smith is such a sweet and special little boy.  He is a loving and doting big brother to Henry and Tucker, he adores his big sister "Care-hine," and has such a sweet spirit and fun personality.  Happy Birthday, buddy!


13 comments:

Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor said...

Josie, I love this theme, so cute! It looks like everyone had a blast.

goodthymes said...

Happy birthday, Smith! What a great idea for a birthday party!

Joanne (eats well with others) said...

Aww Smith is so adorable!! Happy birthday to him!! You guys threw such a great party for him!

Mimi said...

I love everything about this party! I wish I could have attended! My favorite is the GRU sign lol my nephews re-enact that scene at least twice a day! The sequel is pretty funny too :)

Ali @ Solano's Kitchen said...

What an adorable party!!! You guys did an amazing job!

theniftyfoodie said...

Happy Birthday, Smith! What an adorable party...so creative!

Krystal R. said...

Happy Birthday Smith! And what an AWESOME birthday party for a 2 year old, we love this movie. I think this is one of the few movies that Eric and me have bought for ourselves before we had our kids...I'm on a mission to teach Elena to say "OMG, it's so fluffy!!!" Great job J&J on such a wonderful birthday party for a deserving big brother!

Rachel @thedessertchronicles.c said...

What a cute party! I absolutely love your blog! Thanks for sharing and Happy Birthday Smith!

odalis said...

Happy Birthday Smith!

Love the ideas my son turns 4 next month and he wants a despicable me birthday party i was wondering if you dont mine me asking where did you get the printables for the spaceship and place cards you can email if its ok

odalis said...

sorry my email is odee530@yahoo,com

natalie @ wee eats said...

OMG ADORABLE!!! And I love the 2-liters spray painted as minions!! PERFECT! Is it acceptable for me to request this for my 29th birthday next year? :)

PrintablePartyStudio said...

This is an awesome birthday party!. I love the colors & your creativity with craftiness. Might do something like this for my sons next birthday next month. Thanks for sharing

Josie said...

Free Despicable Me Cupcake Toppers:

http://novelconceptdesigns.com/collections/freebies/products/free-despicable-me-birthday-cupcake-topper-party-favors

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