Tuesday, January 15, 2013

alex's 3rd birthday

alex turned 3. in september. so like, 5 years ago in blogging time.
i consulted her on the desired theme for her party & she relied: "cake. & presents."

well kid. thanks for your input. so i decided on an Aloha theme. why? because i like hawaii. because i wish i lived there. because oriental trading was having a super sale on their aloha crap. perfect.

the forecast called for rain so i ordered this tent from Amazon: huge party tent
i was a little skeptical in regards to the quality but i have to say, i was impressed. yeah- it wasn't a wedding quality tent, but it was perfect for backyard parties. it went up easy & didn't bend, rip or break. it handled 2 days of rain (afterwards) & it came down in 1 piece, wrapped up & ready to go for next year.

anyway, it didn't rain. but still. we had sun shelter & somewhere to hang party things.
i made aloha type foods & drinks & instructed people to wear their hawaiian best.

the adults sat on mats/stood & the kids sat at the picnic table/laps. they played with stickers & coloring books & simply ran around. i didn't really attempt any games because we ranged from 1-3 years old & i just didn't see it happening.

it was a great party. plenty of food, friends, family & alex got more princess stuff than anyone could ever want. ever. seriously. make it stop.

picture overload:


food: the husband smoked pork (it's his "thing" & he's quite good at it) & we made BBQ pulled pork. i also made BBQ pulled chicken, homemade BBQ sauce, coconut rice (rice cooker) & pani pop (hawaiian bread).
cheese & crackers  veggies & dip, veggie chips, fresh pineapple, sweet & sour cucumbers, juice, soda, seltzer water & passion ice tea lemonade made up the snacks & drinks.

dessert: i made pineapple angel food cake with German buttercream. the cupcakes were white cupcake with German buttercream. i also made mini crème brûlée's topped with coconut milk whipped cream (aaaamazing). 

favors: i made mini pineapple angel food cake loaves + hawaiian suckers for the adults. the kids got bags filled with fun hawaiian toys, stickers, suckers & other random things.

it was fun, fairly simple & came together really easily. this is her last "big" party (each kid gets 3- then we start the big parties again when they hit grade school) so i wanted it to be special.
she loved it (although she loved her princess stuff more) & it was a fantastic way to ring in her 3rd awesome year of life.

aloha.
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2 comments:

Caroline @ The Feminist Housewife said...

What a fun and cute party! You did a great job. And the tent is a great idea - I always fear rain ruining my outdoor party plans.

Anonymous said...

The party looks amazing!! The tent was brilliant and the kids look over the moon!

Question, did you post your recipes anywhere and also, can you receommend your favorite slow cooker? I don't have one and I really need one, but I have no idea which to buy...