Friday, March 22, 2013

Pirate LEGO Party

 When Eli was about to turn 6 he asked me if he could have a Pirate LEGO themed birthday party. He saw some retro Pirate LEGO ships in a LEGO book and fell in love with them. Unfortunately it was bad timing as there were no pirate LEGO sets currently being sold in stores. I found the LEGO minifigure series 9 packs and one of the LEGO men available in those packs was a pirate. After feeling several packs and trying to figure out which ones felt like a pirate (the things we do for our kids!), I bought 3 packs.  It turns out I'm pretty good at that because 2 of the 3 packs were pirates! I used those pirates in the decor for the party. Then I searched Kijiji and found a Pirates of Caribbean set for sale and bought it for the cake topper. I'm not very skilled at making cakes, so using the LEGO set as a topper was a simple way to coordinate the cake with the theme.


THE INVITATION:

On the page with the pirate map I drew in (with dotted lines and a red X) directions to our house. (Link to free invitation printable at the end of this post.)


BIRTHDAY SHIRT:

 I used freezer paper to stencil a pirate onto his shirt. I accidentally bought "velvet" fabric paint. I wouldn't use this type of paint again for large areas such as this one. It turned out more bumpy than velvety and would have looked better with regular fabric paint.


GAMES:

Guess how many LEGO bricks are in the glass container? (99!)

 I meant to draw a hook and peg leg, but was watching TV at the same time and apparently I can't do two things at once!

 Pin the hat on the LEGO Pirate.

Make the most "creative" LEGO masterpiece! They did such a great job and it was so fun to hear their stories about their creations!

*each winner received a LEGO minifigure

FOOD & DECOR:



Many thanks to my husband and my dad who created the LEGO cutlery holder and LEGO name place holders.

 (Link to free printables for the cupcake wrappers and pirate ship flags found at the end of this post!)



 I thought the crackers looked a little like gold and atemped to make the pizza resemble lego bricks.

The mini swards were a hit! No blueberry was left uneaten!

THE LITTLEST PIRATE:



THE CAKE:

The cake was a hit!

We used sparklers instead of candles so we wouldn't melt the LEGO!

LOOT BAGS:




 Loot bags included: coloring book, chocolate money, jewels, and crayon LEGO

 Much thanks to Pinterest and all the amazing blogs it led me to!

- Loot bags: Pure Joy Events
- Invitations and Coloring Books: Cleo Livin Life (This blog gives a printable invitation and coloring book. I used her idea but created my own as I wanted a pirate theme.)
- Flag banner: Not Without Salt (I love her modern blue and yellow LEGO pirate party theme!)
- Ocean Cupcake Wrappers and Pirate Ship Sails and Flags: Cottage Industrialist (I used her free printables.)
- Jelly Boats: Baby Club (recipe found here)

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Peanut-Free Marshmallow Squares


Anja recently ate her first marshmallow square and hasn't stopped talking about it since. I've never made them before. Typically I don't make things with peanut products in because Isla is allergic to peanuts. I hate for her to miss out on all the delicious peanuty foods, so I decided to try making these squares substituting almond butter for the peanut butter. They worked and are delicious! There is nothing healthy about these ...but that's why it's called a treat, right?


Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter (I used just less)
1 11oz package of butterscotch chips
1 cup almond butter
1 small package of rainbow marshmallows (400g)

Melt butter, butterscotch chips, and almond butter on medium/low heat stirring constantly until well blended. Allow almond butter mixture cool slightly. (This prevents the marshmallows to float to the top when setting.)

 Add marshmallows and mix until coated.

Put in 9X9 baking dish. (I lined mine with parchment paper which makes clean up very easy. It's also much easier to get the squares out of the pan.) Allow to cool then cut into squares.

Anja said they were just as delicious as the first one she had.