Today’s Real Party feature has got to be one of the cutest and most creative ideas I’ve stumbled upon in a while!  This adorable “Mr. Man” Theme was created by Christina Brian of the Full House blog in order to celebrate the birthdays of her (super-cute) TRIPLET boys AND her brother! (Side note Christina has twin girls too!)

From a garland of ties to hilarious chocolate mustaches, this party is full of great inspiration for both birthday parties of all ages and boy baby showers…

Check out these fun pics – such a great idea for photo opps!

Read on for lots more pics & all the details, as told by Christina…

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“So the Mr. Man party was so much fun. The welcome sign read, “Come One, Come All or just COMB over (get it!)…..MR. MAN PARTY “featuring” ANDREW & The BOYS“.

Yes my brother was so kind to share his birthday with my boys in which I am very grateful for….like he really had a choice in the matter! =)

This birthday meant that my boys were kind of a coming of age. When you hit 2 years old you’re kind of not a baby anymore so I had been a little sad to see this day come. That’s where the whole idea started unfolding in my head for a “Mr. Man Party”. If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em.

Seriously it won’t be to long before they are wearing ties and carrying briefcases but hopefully not mustaches (unless they are chocolate ones on a stick). I promise to savor every last minute of these little tikes.

The cookies, especially the tie ones were so cute & tasty. Michelle makes very cute cakes as well…check her out.

The cupcakes were awesome because one of my favorite people came over and made them for me the day before the party. My Dad loved them so much that he even asked for the recipe. Perhaps I’ll post the recipe because they are sure to trick the pickiest of eaters. On second thought, I don’t know if I should because then my Dad would find out they were actually healthy & wouldn’t eat them again. They were made with agave nectar, whole grain spelt flour, coconut oil, pineapple and carrots.

The chocolate mustaches were a hit!

My Mom made the shirts (pictured below). The front had old ties sewed on with the back having their initial embroidered on it. Thank you Momma, they were perfect.

Don’t worry my brother got one too, except his said “The original Mr. Man” on the back. We really did call him Mr. Man when he was a little boy so it was very fitting!”

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So cute, Christina – thanks again for sharing!

Today’s Real Party feature looks like so much fun! It’s a “Wild Rumpus” Birthday that Kristen Gau created to celebrate the milestone first birthday of her (super adorable!) son Henry.

Inspired by the colors of autumn and the Where the Wild Things Are book & movie, this party is packed with creative ideas! Read on for lots more pics & all the details, as told by Kristen…

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“My husband and I love reading Where the Wild Things Are to our son Henry and are have been a bit overly excited about the movie. Months ago when we learned the movie would be released one week before Henry’s first birthday, we decided a Wild Rumpus would be the perfect party theme!

My first inclination was to do a jungle atmosphere incorporating Max and the Wild Things, but the beautiful autumn colors here in the Midwest and close proximity to Halloween inspired me to give the “jungle” an autumn twist.

I designed the invitations in an orange, yellow and black, then made a pennant banner and door sign to match.

I coordinated the orange color in the printed elements to Paper Source’s papaya envelopes and used a roll of papaya wrapping paper as a table runner for the food table.

I also used my large collection of Paper Source die cut leaves to decorate the “trees“, which were fallen limbs that I spray painted black.

To bring in more elements of the book I found Where The Wild Things Are plush dolls from Crocodile Creek and boxed puzzles for the kiddies at Mudpuppy.

Food:
We had fruit cups and cheese sticks for the little ones and “grown up” kid food for the adults such as mac and cheese, gourmet grilled cheeses and pb&j sandwiches, tomato soup, apple slices and popcorn balls.

For the table I found some cute, colorful first birthday plates at Target and ordered the BEAUTIFUL mini cake and cupcakes from a local shop, The Cakery.

Henry loved his cupcake and got icing all over himself as every one year old should.

Party Favors: Oh Henry Bars, orange fangs, and crowns!

Henry’s Wild Thing onesie and Max costume were handmade by sellers on Etsy and I sewed the crown and bib.

My husband designed and built “Max’s private boat” that fits over the top of Henry’s new red wagon. We plan to pull our little Wild Thing around in the boat for trick or treating.

We had a perfect day for the party and enjoyed celebrating our little man’s first birthday with our family and friends. Even though Henry will likely not remember his first birthday, I wanted to make it special and it will be a memory I will always treasure.”

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Everything turned out SO CUTE, Kristen! Thanks for the party inspiration!

We’ve covered a ton of Halloween dessert & treat recipes this month, but not a lot of ideas for when you (or your kids) need to eat something other than sugar! So here are 10 creative ideas for Halloween-themed meals that loved ones & party guests are sure to get a kick out of…

1. First up is this super-cute “Boo Spaghetti” idea from Jeanne Benedict. Gotta love it when something is this simple & cool! Dish up individual servings of pasta for your family or dinner party guests so that each person guests their own (pre-baked) “boo“.

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Next up, some clever ideas from BHG that prove it’s all about presentation…

2. Adam’s Ribs –  A knife stabbed into a sweet red pepper & displayed between 2 racks of spareribs makes for a decidedly Halloween-appropriate Halloween dinner!

3. Slithering Snake Sandwich – This pizza-like hoagie is such a cute idea – kids will eat this one up (both literally and figuratively)!

4. Tipsy Tombstone Sandwiches – Chicken salad takes a Halloween twist when cut into the shape of tombstones and served up in a “creepy cabbage graveyard”.

5. Scary Cerebrum – It’s Halloween… forget that pretty cocktail glass that your shrimp cocktail usually hangs from and try something a little um… gorier instead! Great appetizer idea or side dish for an Evil Scientist themed party.

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And some more fun Halloween meal ideas from Taste of Home:

6. Chilli-filled Coffins – Black food coloring turns cornbread the perfect graveyard hue!

7. Jack-o’-Lantern Sloppy Joe Pie – Finally, a “Jack-o’-Lantern” that’s tasty AND super-easy to carve.

8. Eyeball Taco Salad – Ever get that weird feeling that something is staring at you?

9. Jack-o’-Lantern Burgers – Another cute, super quick idea for guests of all ages!

10. Last but not least is this tasty-looking Ghost of Montecristo recipe from Martha Stewart. Made with country potato bread, melted cheese, turkey, ham, and a dusting of powdered sugar… these sound so good I could go for one right now!

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There’s something so fun & inviting about pinwheels… and I love that Anne from Hot Apple Pie was inspired to create a whole party out of them for her daughter’s first birthday! She also utilized tons of great Etsy shops for the pretty pink & orange celebration. Read on for all the details, as told by Anne…

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“When our darling daughter, Isla, turned one, I knew I wanted to do something special for her first birthday party. Our neighbor has pinwheels in his yard and she loves to watch them spin around, so I decided a pinwheel themed birthday party would be perfect for our little girl!

I found these simply stated and adorable invitations from Jack and Izzy which set the tone of the party.

Guests were greeted by a Happy Birthday banner when they entered the house. Pinwheels were also put on the front door and scattered throughout the house in glass vases filled with orange Jelly Bellys. The banner and pinwheels were created by the amazing Shana from Crossroads Cottage.

The adorable Sweet as a Flower 1st Birthday Hat was created by Kylala Boutique.

Guests sipped peach slush, pink lemonade and soda from pink cups decorated with a pink pinwheel sticker from Jack and Izzy.

As party gifts, guest received small pink bags filled with candy. The bags were adorned with a small “thank you” tag created by fellow Haute Apple Pie blogger, Katie, and fastened with a mini clothes pin.

For dessert we had a 2 tiered pink cake created by Aly from (Milwaukee-based) Sweetness by Alice. It not only looked amazing, but tasted out of this world! The bottom layer was vanilla cake with cookies and cream filling and the top layer was lemon cake with lemon and raspberry filling.

Isla also had her very own cake to dig into! {both cakes pictured at top}

The birthday girl wore a onesie by sticheroos and a pinwheel headband (also from Kylala Boutique).

All in all, Isla’s first birthday party was a success! She played, opened lots of wonderful gifts, ate tons of cake and then took a long nap!”

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Super cute, Anne – thanks again for sharing!

P.S. If you love pinwheels, be sure to check out the adorable Pinwheel Cupcakes featured in the Baby Gender Reveal party from earlier this year!

I’m excited to share some inspiring party pics with you today… Clau! created this wonderfully colorful candy/dessert buffet for her nephew’s M&M-themed birthday. Everything is bright & cheerful, just like a birthday should be!

One of the first things to catch my eye was this awesome Kit Kat / M&M birthday cake, which she found the tutorial for here. This one is definitely getting starred as a “must-try” in the kids party ideas archive!

Another eye-catcher… the florescent orange & yellow Oreos. (To make your own, melt colored chocolate chips or Candy Melts, or tint white chocolate chips with food coloring).

I also loved the yellow ribbon used to accent the candy scoops, tongs, and glass containers. The use of just one color of ribbon on everything helped give all the different types of candies a cohesive look.

The table sign, treat bag stickers, and food tags were inspired by the Dylan’s Candy Bar logo and m&m’s theme.

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Thanks again for all the great eye-candy, Clau!

Here’s a sneak peek at the invitations for the upcoming Woodland Forest Baby Shower I’m hosting in November. The different elements are from a few illustrations purchased at istockphoto.com (see below), and I plan to create some coordinating signage and favor tags for the actual party. I also like the idea of mailing these out in brown bag kraft envelopes for a woodsy feel…

{pictured above: images 7430589, 5820871, 5295049}

Party Favors
When I posted on the inspiration board for this party theme last week (Part 1 and Part 2), Marian from the RIDICULOUSLY ADORABLE blog, Sweetopia, emailed me a link to a Royal Icing Tutorial post that she created, which features woodland forest-themed cookies as the example! And, as luck would have it, we seem to be inspired by the same things…

Seriously, could these be any more perfect?! Here’s how they look all done up with ribbon & cellophane as party favors…

I wish Marian lived closer so I could attempt to hire her to recreate these for the baby shower (she’s based near Toronto). I’m pretty doubtful that my own attempts to recreate these would look anything like her amazing creations, so I’ll probably be turning to someone local that specializes in this sort of thing. That makes one less thing for my own to-do list anyways, right? =)

Click here to check out more eye candy (and lots of tutorials!) at Sweetopia!

P.S. I’m filing this under “kids party ideas” and “first birthday” too, because I still think this theme would be adorable for occasions beyond baby showers too.  The invite wording could be changed to “Let’s Celebrate!” or “Jake is ONE!” or “Birthday BOY/GIRL”, and you could give the squirrel & owl characters little birthday hats… =)

Attn: Sweet Tooths – Did you know that there’s an entire website dedicated to “crafty recipes” starring m&ms, Snickers, Dove Chocolate, Twix, 3 Musketeers, and MilkyWay?! BrightIdeas.com is exactly that… and there are oodles of fun treats on there for all sorts of occasions.

In honor of the sweet-&-spooky holiday that’s right around the corner, here are some favorites from the Halloween category…

Pictured at top: Midnight Moon Cake, Vampire Bites (New Moon party, anyone?), and bite-size Pirate Brownies. Pictured below: if there ever was a time to describe a spider as “darling”, these Spider Cupcakes are it!

These Night Owl Cookies are pretty darn adorable too…(modify the colors for an Owl Themed Baby Shower!)

Want to go the creepier route? “Bloodshot” Eye Ball Cupcakes should do the trick!

A few more Halloween favs below: 1. Witch Caps; 2. Dancing Bones Brownies; 3. Scary Ghost Cookies (although I’m thinking these are way more cute than scary!); and Scarecrow Cupcakes.

Is this Cookie Monster cupcake by Nick^D & his friend Abby the cutest thing ever, or what?! I’ve been inspired to throw a Cookie Monster themed party every since stumbling upon it earlier this summer. This would be such a fun theme for a kids birthday party – or even a baby shower for a fun-loving mom-to-be!

I hope to have an excuse to host a party like this soon and really go all out with it… but until then here are a few ideas to kick things off:

Pictured above:

• Make cute CM-themed cups using blue paper party cups, “googly eyes” (available at most craft stores), and half of a small chocolate chip cookie or cookie sticker.

• Use fuzzy turquoise blue marabou feather boa to dress up centerpieces, party favors, vases, etc. (For a baby shower or girl’s birthday party  it would even be fun to get blue chandel feather boas for the guest of honor and/or for guest photo opps!

• Place Settings: Go for a fun mix of chocolate brown, blue, and white. Yes, it’s true that zebras have nothing to do with Cookie Monster, but I still thing the Brown Serengeti Plates (zebra-print) look adorable in this setting! Top them with Candy Dots Blue Lunch Napkins, folded in half. Wrap each napkin with a band of fabric ribbon or strip of white card stock + a small chocolate chip cookie to act a the “napkin ring”! (Something like Chips Ahoy would work great.) Turquoise blue or brown plastic cutlery will compliment the look as well.

• Of course Cookie Monster himself definitely needs to make an appearance! This tall “Soft and Shaggy Cookie Monster Doll” by Gund would make for an adorable table centerpiece or dessert table addition!

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• If you’re hosting a baby shower with this theme, try serving up individual servings of ice-cold milk in tall shot glasses for a fun, adult-friendly presentation!

{shot glass image by: Rhee Bevere / via The Flirty Guide}

• Individual milk cartons are a more kid-friendly way to go (several of which are available in bulk on Amazon)…although there are also some great packaging designs available that would work well for all ages, like these stylish Ronnybrook Farms bottles.

{Ronnybrook Farms image via Design Muse}

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More ideas:

• Set up a creative cookie buffet.

• Line the edges of white serving trays or decorative blue charger plates with extra-large chocolate chips or unwrapped Hershey’s Kisses. (Use a tacky craft glue to secure.) Similar to this idea, but with chocolates instead of vase gems:

• Create “cookie vases”. Wrap flower vases (cylinder or rectangular/cube shapes) with blue cardstock or gift wrap paper, then glue store-bought chocolate chip cookies in neat rows all the way around the vase. You could just to one row to create a “banded” look – or cover the entire thing! Fill the vase with pretty white flowers like mums or daisies.

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If you have any more fun ideas for this theme, please share them with us in the comments!

Kids bored with lunch? Get ready for a serious dose of creative juice that they’re sure to love! Funky Lunch has an entire gallery of artistic sandwich creations – from Hello Kitty to Sponge Bob and everything in between… there’s even a Grand Piano design with the top propped up!

These ideas are super cute for kids parties – or just anytime you want to make the little ones feel special. (I actually love the Flowers design at the top for adult tea parties or baby/bridal showers too!)

A few more favorites pictured below: Lion, Caterpillar, Crocodile, Giraffe, and of course… the Grand Piano (complete with keyboard & all)!

I have to say this is one of my favorite things I’ve stumbled on in a while – many thanks to Lil’ Peanut Patch for the find!

This new Real Party feature actually comes from the winner of our Summer Entertaining Contest – Kara Allen! This is a farm/barnyard themed party she created for her son’s first birthday – and the adorable farm animal cakes caught my eye right away! Read on for all the details, as told by Kara herself…

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“I had a farm barnyard birthday party for my son’s first birthday last year. It was A LOT of fun! I had a blast planning it….I just love details!

I had two different invitations for the party. The first one was made in Photoshop and the barn one was purchased at Pottery Barn Kids….the barn opened to a cow that had all the party info written on it. You could definitely make your own that would be just as cute!

Oh, & I also stuck straw in the envelopes with the invites to add a special ‘farm’ touch.

My friend Julie had the idea to put drinks inside a wheelbarrow filled with ice…so cute! I also bought the plastic barn doors from Oriental Trading. They were a great addition to the decor, and were very simple to hang. (see 2nd image from the top)

One of the kids’ tables consisted of cute cow placemats, cow plates, farm animal soap shapes {that I put on each plate for the kids to keep}, farm cups, and farm animal place cards. (see 2nd image from the top)

The birthday banner was also purchased at pottery barn kids {their 2008 farm collection}. I got the plastic wagon wheels at a local party store and tied them all around the back yard. We borrowed bales of hay from a friend and had them along our 2 side fences…we put blankets and table cloths over some of the bales so our guests could sit on them.

I bought cute overalls for the birthday boy and his brother to match the whole ‘farm’ theme.

Games & Activities:
Everyone got behind a farm friends photo opp {also PBK} as they arrived. I took their picture with our Polaroid camera. Everyone loved having the little keepsake to take home.

I ordered farm themed rubber duckies {Oriental Trading Company} and put them in a red tub filled with water. I wrote a letter P on a few of them {P for prize} and let the kids pick out a duck. If they got the magic ‘P’ they got a farm stamps, or a farm stencil. The kids also played a farm bean bag toss game.

We also rented a pony, which was a huge hit! All the kids LOVED riding her. It was really easy for us…the place we rented her through did all the work {brought her, took the kids around for rides, etc}.

The party favors were cute farm boxes with farm things inside, notebooks, and farm cards. I found everything at Michaels.

Food, food, food!
We had some really good grub. I labeled a lot of it to go along with the whole farm theme. The only thing I regret is that I forgot to take pictures of it all before it was eaten!

Pigs in a blanket were labeled as “little piggies“, pretzels were “hay“, I set out vegetables in organized rows for a “garden“, buffalo wings were labeled as “chicken wings“, and chex mix for “chicken feed“. The cute farm cups and dishes are also from Pottery Barn {most of them, I did find some plates at a craft store}.

I bought a bunch of cow tails to put in some of the cups. I also ordered {EBay} candy bar thank-you wrappers that said thanks for coming to Gavin’s 1st birthday party etc. I wrapped them around some Hershey bars.

The cakes… I had a ton of fun making these animal cakes.

I found a sheep cake online at familyfun.com & fell in love with it. I changed some things & added my own personal touch. I couldn’t stop there though…I decided to try and use the same shape and make a cow and pig as well!

For the sheep I used chocolate and vanilla frosting, marshmallows, coco puffs, junior mints {for the eyes}, a malt ball {nose}, and string licorice for the mouth.

For the pig I used pink frosting, pink malt balls, pink snowballs, pink necco’s, junior mints, & m&m’s. Oh, and she did have a tail {string licorice tied in a not} but some little one got to it before the pic was taken.

For the cow (pictured at top) I used chocolate flavored skittles {they come in cream & browns}, red gummy fruit slices {for the ears}, malt balls, and string licorice. The cute table runner you can see in the background is also PBK. I found black and white cow sprinkles that I threw all over for confetti!

I ordered farm party hats online that I passed out. All the kids looked so cute it ‘em!

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Thanks so much for the creative inspiration, Kara!