Bubby's Big Day

Our little man turned 5 last month. To celebrate we threw a little surprise party for him. It's his favorite kind. Whenever I would ask what kind of party he wanted, "A surprise party mom!" would be his answer. The surprise here is that we actually pulled it off. You should have seen the joy on his face when everyone jumped out. Since he is crazy about Disney's Jake and the Never Land Pirates, we went with it for the theme. Ahoy thar matey! The cake turned out so well. Best part, IT WAS SUPER EASY! Simply bake a box mix cake. Flip it out of the pan, frost with a fluffy frosting of your liking (using blue food coloring for the water side). For the sand we used crushed vanilla wafers. Add a few gummy fish and a Playmobil Pirate Set, and voila! You have yourself a stinkin' cute pirate cake. (If I do say so myself. ;)Notice Bubby's pants. By the end of the party he had slipped into his comfies. I cannot keep regular clothes on that boy. The second he walks in the door, he sprints to his room to change into jammy pants.

**A couple of money & sanity saver tips:

1) Go with what you already have. We already had the pirate costumes for our family. All I had to buy for an all out theme were a few party streamers and eye patches for the other kiddos.

2) Be creative and make your own cake. It doesn't have to be rolled fondant to be beautiful. Our best luck has been finding small toys, not cake toppers, more like action figures to arrange on top of the cake. This makes for a really cute cake, and part of the gift for the birthday boy. Other years we've used the action figures on the cake for party favors.

3) Keep it simple with food and drink. This year I baked up Tombstone pizzas. I was going to get all gourmet, and my wise husband pointed out that kids really don't care. He was right. They loved my cheap pizza and grapes.

4) Have fun and don't fret. Although I had the ideas for this party bouncing around my head for awhile, I only spent one morning grabbing the things I needed to pull it together for that evening. Children don't need perfect. A few friends, some cake and candles and they are over the moon. Sometimes it is us adults who let things get out of perspective.

Enjoy, I know Bubby sure did on his big day.

Gratitude moment: Thank you God for the resources to bless my children with fun parties. Thank you for the convenience of stopping at a few stores that carry everything I needed. I am blessed.