I have a problem. A theme party problem.

Not with going to them, with going bonkers planning them. Ok, I’ll admit it, it even spills over onto the holidays. My entire storage area in the garage is basically 20 different bins of decorations for holidays plus themed toys to match. What? You don’t have a St Patrick’s day parade float with little people that ride on it? The Mayflower along with Pilgrims and Indians and a plastic turkey for dinner? An Easter train, a Santa suit for Mr Potato head? Half of the stuff I had before Carlitos was born.

You’d have to ask my mother when it started, I’m not sure, I think it runs in the family, my sister has it too. She had an awesome spa party for my niece this year, including mani/pedi, facials and foot massages.

 But now that I have a child (who go figure has birthdays every year), it’s getting out of hand. Last year we decided to have a Max and Ruby (his favorite show on tv) party. I think I started planning it even before Christmas (his birthday is in February), because I remember thinking how I needed to get one particular book so I could see some pictures of the cakes they made in it.

From there I was online for weeks, printing out pictures of the characters, looking up recipes for the cakes, crafts, making invitations, etc. Here’s a picture of Ruby’s angel  surprise cake with rasberry fluff icing and silver stars, sugar hearts and buttercream roses. Not to be discounted was Max’s earthworm cake with caterpillar frosting and red-hot marshmallow squirters.

Of course I also had to make mini versions of both kinds in cupcake form for his class in school. Then I put together a craft from that foam paper stuff of the two cakes and spent my evenings watching tv and cutting out little green and purple foam earthworms.

I scoured the stores and the internet  for bunny ears, we did face painting, story telling, we played pin the tail on the bunny and we taught the kids the bunny hop. 

I ran out of time before I was able to print pictures of all the characters and laminate them, then attach velcro so I could use them on a felt storyboard and then share the characters as party favors. Thank God! After the kiddy party in the afternoon we had the family dinner party- Carlito’s Grandma even dressed as Grandma Bunny, maybe that’s where I get it?

Grandma Bunny

So now his birthday is coming up. Uh oh. Last year I swore we were just going to have it at McDonalds. But there’s a new show on nick Jr. called Dino Dan- about a boy who sees dinosaurs and carries a field guide. And they make this really cool paper mache dinosaur skeleton head, and we could search for fossils in the park……or do you think McDonalds would let me hide bones in the restaurant?

What do you think I can make dinosaur bones out of anyway?

I better start saving my craft store coupons, it looks like it’s going to be a long month.