Need Budget ideas for DDs 1st Birthday

[FirstTimertoDiz]

I would really like to do a Minnie Mouse themed birthday party for my daughter, who will be turning 1 on January 23rd. I am doing a party for about 20-30 people total, with about 10 kids there, ranging in ages from 1-8 years old.

I have rented a cafe where I work for $20 that will be plenty of room for all of us.

What I am hoping for here are some ideas for some snacks / decorations / party favors that I can make- I don't want to go overboard because all of our family is about 3 hours away, so if the weather is bad (a definite possibility in central PA!), no one will be able to make, and I don't want to be stuck with a ton of stuff that will go bad.

If at all possible, keep in the "Minnie" theme- any ideas are welcome!!

Thanks fellow Disers!!!

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Ok, I guess I'll start, lol

I am thinking of making cupcakes- hopefully I can find some red icing, and then use white icing and make polka dots like Minnie's dress. I can then arrange the cupcakes into a hidden Mickey shape.

For snacks, I am thinking about getting circle shaped pretzels..(sort of like a hidden Mickey), and then maybe making a small cheese tray, and cutting it into small circles. I can put circle shaped crackers with it.

If I can find a cheap source for balloons, I will do red, white and black balloons.

I am quickly running out of ideas....especially for party favors.

 

[Shleedogg]

We did DD's 1st birthday as a Minnie theme too!

For her invitations, I folded in half a half sheet of red card stock, then traced and cut out Mickey heads. Then I pasted a quarter sheet of black card stock behind it and tied a piece of red & white dot ribbon on the front so it looked like like a Minnie head with a bow. Super cheap for invitations!

I made DD's birthday cake

It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but pretty close...not too bad for my first time trying to make a real cake!

We did red & black streamers and balloons, but that was the extent of it. We actually didn't even end up using the streamers. We were leaving for Disney 4 hrs after her party so decided the less clean up the better.

We just bought regular party favor bags and bought a pack of 24 bubbles at Target, we did glo-bracelets, bought 2 packs and put a couple in each pack. Bought a pack of temporary tattoos and cut them up and put a bunch in each bag (these were a HUGE hit with the kids and my friends ). We also put some fun size candy bars in.

You could always buy some lunch bags and stamp on Mickey heads. If you cut a regular sponge in a Mickey head shape, dip in black paint, stamp on. Then cut a bow and dip in red paint and stamp on.

As far as food, we just ordered pizza and baked ziti and did pretzles, chips & dip for munchies. You can actually buy Mickey head shaped cheese, although it would probably get a little pricey.

Good luck!

 

[Bastiansmom]

Ok, I guess I'll start, lol

I am thinking of making cupcakes- hopefully I can find some red icing, and then use white icing and make polka dots like Minnie's dress. I can then arrange the cupcakes into a hidden Mickey shape.

For snacks, I am thinking about getting circle shaped pretzels..(sort of like a hidden Mickey), and then maybe making a small cheese tray, and cutting it into small circles. I can put circle shaped crackers with it.

If I can find a cheap source for balloons, I will do red, white and black balloons.

I am quickly running out of ideas....especially for party favors.

Our Wal-Mart will fill ANY balloons with helium for $0.50 each. You could by a few packs balloons from Dollar Tree and have them filled at Wal-Mart. They even tied ribbon to them and had them secured in a plastic bag for easy transport. You might want to look in the "Over the Hill" department for black balloons and other decorations.

 

[Shleedogg]

I was at the dollar store today getting cleaning supplies and wandered down the toy aisle. They have a lot of little Disney toys that are in 2 or 3 packs that could easily be split and put into grab bags.

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Great tips- thank you both!!

I will definitely check out the Dollar Store for balloons and party favors....I went into Michael's tonight to see what I could find to make my own cake- then I got overwhelmed when I looked at all the stuff in the baking aisle, and left without buying anything, lol!

btw Shleedogg.....just wanted to say that the cake you made was beautiful! Great job!!

 

[actnkidz]

I did my DD's 3rd bday with a Minnie theme, first off I made the invitations out of black cardstock that I cut out in the mickey shape, I then add a bow on the bottom with red with white polka dots fabric ribbon, very easy and cheap. I also made headbands for the girls by buying a pack of cheap headbands from the dollar store and wrapping them with thin red ribbon, I then got a sheet of black foam from the craft store and cut out circles for the ears, then finally added the same polka dot ribbon in the middle for minnie ears, I hot glued it all together. For favors I got bottles of bubbles and wrapped them with new labels with my daughters picture on it in her minnie ears. For food I got burgers that were mickey shaped, I know they also have mickey chicken nuggets at Costco. I also made a mickey head with a small watermelon with apple ears.

For entertainment I had the kids make necklaces out of fruit loops and licorice string, I also blew up a picture of my daughter with her minnie mouse costume on it, then I cut out little red bows and had the kids play pin the bow on minnie (my daughter's picture)

Hope that helps, I love to do parties...

 

[happymommy]

We did DD's 1st birthday as a Minnie theme too!

For her invitations, I folded in half a half sheet of red card stock, then traced and cut out Mickey heads. Then I pasted a quarter sheet of black card stock behind it and tied a piece of red & white dot ribbon on the front so it looked like like a Minnie head with a bow. Super cheap for invitations!

I made DD's birthday cake

It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but pretty close...not too bad for my first time trying to make a real cake!

We did red & black streamers and balloons, but that was the extent of it. We actually didn't even end up using the streamers. We were leaving for Disney 4 hrs after her party so decided the less clean up the better.

We just bought regular party favor bags and bought a pack of 24 bubbles at Target, we did glo-bracelets, bought 2 packs and put a couple in each pack. Bought a pack of temporary tattoos and cut them up and put a bunch in each bag (these were a HUGE hit with the kids and my friends ). We also put some fun size candy bars in.

You could always buy some lunch bags and stamp on Mickey heads. If you cut a regular sponge in a Mickey head shape, dip in black paint, stamp on. Then cut a bow and dip in red paint and stamp on.

As far as food, we just ordered pizza and baked ziti and did pretzles, chips & dip for munchies. You can actually buy Mickey head shaped cheese, although it would probably get a little pricey.

Good luck!

I just had to comment: what a beautiful cake! I thought it was from a bakery!!!

 

[FarmDisney]

My youngest son was born on the night of my oldest daughter's birthday party! To celebrate his first birthday, we had a joint party for the youngest turning one and the oldest turning 10. We did a Mickey and Minnie theme. We probably had about 12 kids there ages 1-11. We also asked people to dress up like their favorite Disney character and brought a trunk of Disney costumes we have so that people could slip into one if they wanted.

For the cake, I made mouse-ear hats. I used one-half of my sports ball cake pan for each hat. I used round cookies for the ears. I covered them in black frosting and personalized each of them with yellow frosting. I put a red ribbon on the Minnie hat for my daughter.

I made Pluto Puppy Chow and served it in a dish shaped like a dog bone. Most everything else was served in dishes arranged like "hidden" mickeys. We used red, yellow, white, and a little black to decorate.

For the game, we divided everyone into two teams and did a Socerer Mickey relay. When it was your turn you got to dress up in a blue bathrobe, wear the Mickey Gloves, put on the socerer hat (I made these out of poster board), hold a wand, and a bucket. You had to race to one end and put a balloon in your bucket and race back. It was a lot of fun for the kids and the adults. When people were arriving we took family pictures of each family by the cardboard Cinderella that my other daughter had received for her birthday. We also did karoke of Disney songs while everyone was still coming in. We also divided the kids into teams and played Guess that Disney Character. The kids had a ball playing this! I think maybe we handed out some stickers for prizes - nothing too extravagant.

We just used brown paper sacks for gift bags. I can't remember for sure what all we put in there - playdough, Mickey crayons, just simple things from Dollar Tree. We folded over the tops and closed them with curly ribbon - different colors for boys than for girls. Oh that reminds me that we had gotten one little Disney figurine for each bag from Dollar Tree too.

Have a great time celebrating that 1st birthday!

 

[apnep]

I would really like to do a Minnie Mouse themed birthday party for my daughter, who will be turning 1 on January 23rd. I am doing a party for about 20-30 people total, with about 10 kids there, ranging in ages from 1-8 years old.

I think it is really cute that you want to host such a big party for your baby because she won't even remember it! This just goes to show you that the first bdays are really for the parents. By the time I got to my third baby, we just made him a cake and sang happy birthday to him. Kept it small and had his 3 cousins over and took lots of pictures. Product of 3rd child syndrome...

Have a fun day!

Ang

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Ok, I think I have things narrowed down. There are going to be about 20 people there (all family, all traveling more than 2 hours to be here!)

I am going to make a veggie tray, and make little "hidden Mickey's" on toothpicks with a slice of cucumber for the head, and cherry tomatoes for ears. I will also include broccoli and carrots, and have ranch dip.

I am also going to make a fruit platter with fresh pineapple, and again the "hidden Mickey's" with a slice of kiwi for the head, and grapes for the ears.

I also got 3 cake pans- an 8" round, and 2 6" rounds- to make another Mickey head, lol. I will frost the ears in chocolate frosting, and for the "head" I will frost in pink or red icing, and then use white chocolate chips to represent Minnie's polka dots on her dress. I think I may make a batch of cupcakes, and decorate those somehow too- haven't decided that yet.

I will also get some pretzels and chips to have out to snack on, and probably pick up some juice or soda. I have been trying to come up with a punch recipe that I can somehow tie in to Minnie, but haven't come up with anything yet for that.

I picked up some odds and ends treats to put in bags for the kids, so I just need some balloons to finish it off. I got red and pink paper plate/cups/napkins pretty cheap from Walmart- they are easy to find right now with all the Valentines Day.


Thanks to everyone for their help- I know the first birthday is more for us, but I really think of it as a celebration of her! I am excited for my family to be a part of it. I'll make sure to take some photos.

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Let me see if I can put a photo of the invitations I made for her....don't mind the black space at the bottom; I had to take out all the party info, lol.

 

[mjkacmom]

Ok, I think I have things narrowed down. There are going to be about 20 people there (all family, all traveling more than 2 hours to be here!)
.

I do hope you are going to provide "real" food, since these people will be driving over 4 hours to attend this party! I think people might get pretty hungry, and need more than veggies, fruit, cake and pretzels.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I do hope you are going to provide "real" food, since these people will be driving over 4 hours to attend this party! I think people might get pretty hungry, and need more than veggies, fruit, cake and pretzels.

What I was thinking. I would add at least a sandwich platter or two.

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

I do hope you are going to provide "real" food, since these people will be driving over 4 hours to attend this party! I think people might get pretty hungry, and need more than veggies, fruit, cake and pretzels.

I will probably order pizza that day if everyone is able to make it; we are supposed to get some ice this weekend, so I didn't want to order a sandwich tray and be stuck with it all if people couldn't come.