Lola's 3rd Rudolph Birthday Party!

Yesterday we celebrated Lola's 3rd birthday party! When we were talking about themes for her party she brought up that she'd like a Rudolph party almost a year ago, and has stuck with wanting that theme so that's what we went with! I was a little worried that I would have a hard time finding things but thanks to Hobby Lobby having their Christmas things out crazy early, I was able to find everything I needed when combined with my Christmas Decor I grabbed out!

First I'll start with the most important part of any party - the food! Being 8 1/2 months pregnant I opted for a little simpler spread this year. We usually do a lunch but we decided to move the party to later in the afternoon and just have some snacks. It worked out perfectly and the kids loved all the snacks.

Donner's Donuts were some fun donut holes! It wasn't easy getting them to stay in a nice pile (especially when people pulled from the bottom) but they were all gobbled up. Donuts are an easy treat to serve , especially when I am craving them - yum!

Last year we opted to go with cookies instead of a cake since I think people like eating them more and they are little less messy. See link to Lola's Frozen party here. This year we had Purdy Cookies make cookies to match our theme (follow her on Facebook for her amazing designs!) I was blown away by how detailed these ended up. They not only looked fabulous, but they seriously tasted just as good. We will definitely be ordering from her again. We had a few left over and I jokingly told Tyler we should freeze them for Christmas to enjoy again! 

Yukon's Silver and Gold were some chocolate wrapped gold and silver coins! I used to love getting these under the tree at Christmas so they were a fun thing to add. 

One of Lola's favorite candy is Rock Candy, so we had to add in some Rudolph rock candy to the spread. This was a bit hit with the kids. I used a few old Rudolph books on the table as well to jazz it up!

Here is the spread of everything put together! I used my Cricut machine and some pre-cut Rudolph heads from Hobby Lobby to create the banner. I found a free Rudolph printable here that I used as well. I borrowed some evergreen trees to help make it seem extra Christmas-like. We also sprayed the other windows with Ice Crystals so it seemed like it was a frosty day outside.

 My talented sister made a cake for Lola so she could have some candles to blow out when we sang to her. I love how it turned out - she is amazingly creative! Lola licked up the nose right after blowing out her candles!

Other things I had on the table were:

• Cookies and Cream Puppy Chow (store bought)
• Chips and Dip
• Pretzels and mustard dip
• Festive Fruit (I forgot to take a close up as it was still in the fridge before our guest arrived!) All i did was buy a tree shaped pan and filled it with green grapes, honeydew melon, kiwi and then topped it with raspberries as 'garland' Super easy and fun! I got that inspiration from a party I saw here.

The birthday girl couldn't help sneak a few goodies while waiting for her guest to arrive. 

I found fabric for her skirt on clearance at JoAnn's and my Mother-in-Law sewed it for her. I love how it turned out and bonus is that she will be able to wear it for Christmas again! Score! Her Rudolph bow was ordered online here. 

I also set up a little photo booth for our guests to take pictures at! I just used red table clothes (for $1 from Wal-Mart) and the extra pinwheel decorations that matched the decorations upstairs. We added our front door Christmas JOY sign and a tree! I picked up the photo booth props at Hobby Lobby

We were also lucky enough to have some friends that own a bouncy house we borrowed! The weather was perfect for jumping around outside. I think all the kids slept good that night after a day of bouncing!

We also rented a snow cone machine from our local True Value. This was the hit of the party! Kids LOVED having snow cones!! I'm pretty sure each kid had at least two. I bought the syrup from Walmart in different flavors. Can't beat a $40 rental!

Also not shown were some craft tables I had set up in the basement. Kids could create their own Rudolph Christmas Ornament to take home or a stick puppet of Christmas characters.

We also sent home treat bags that had a light up red Rudolph right, Christmas chapstick and a snowman marker. We also displayed pictures of Lola throughout the year in the shape of a number 3 in our entry way.

I had a blast planning her theme this year, even being super pregnant it was a fun and unforgettable year.

Happy 3rd Birthday my sweet Lola.