Aubrey's Birthday...Month?!!!!!

This has definitely been the season of cupcakes and parties!  Aubrey's birthday is December 15th; this falls right in the middle of the Christmas craziness.  To try and avoid a little bit of the crazy and conflicting schedules of Jeff's work we had her family birthday party earlier this month.  Just so everyone is aware...it was still crazy busy!  I think next year we will celebrate her birthday in November!  As far as a birthday cake went; her request was chocolate cupcakes with colourful sprinkles.  I had been thinking of a theme for her parties and decided on Minnie Mouse; as this is her current love.

Of course she had to help; this actually made it even more special!

We used my no fail chocolate cupcake recipe and used my pipeable cream cheese icing,  To make a Minnie Mouse-esque feel I used two large Oreo cookies to mimic ears and topped the whole cupcake with colourful sprinkles.  This was very simple to put together but had a great affect.

For her party where she invited 4 friends to come over for a Minnie Mouse inspired tea party; I decided Mini-Minnie Mouse cupcakes would be best.  Aubrey usually just eats the icing off of the large cupcakes but when they are mini she tends to eat the entire thing!

 

Since I made them mini; I used mini oreos.  This worked great as well!

 My wonderful neighbour Susie wanted to make something special for Aubrey so she made these Minnie Mouse inspired canvas banners that read "Happy Birthday Aubrey".  I plan on keeping these; we may even put them up every birthday. 

 Susie also helped me design and put together these loot bags and cupcake toppers.  She was definitely the master mind behind the design and showed me step by step how to put this all together. 

I purchased Minnie Mouse disposable plates, napkins and cups from Dollarama  which added a nice touch to the themed table settings.  My smartest purchase was a purple disposable table clothe.  I will definitely do this again; after the party was over I removed all of items I wanted to keep and the rest got rolled up in the table clothe and put in a trash bag.  This was very reminiscent of being at a Chinese restaurant; that was where my inspiration came from.

We did a few Minnie Mouse inspired crafts geared towards 3 year olds (with the help of their moms); decorate a bow for your party hat and decorate your Minnnie Mouse cookie to take home (thank you Heidi for the use of your cookie cutter!).  These crafts were quick, easy and kept the kids entertained.  I made cheese and ham stuffed crescent rolls and served this with apple and pear wedges, pickles, and crackers.  Simple was the name of the game.  The wonderful thing was that Aubrey actually enjoyed herself.  She loves pretty things so this was totally for her!  When everyone had left she looked at me and said, "Mom that was a great party!"....I'm so glad I can pass along my love for entertaining to my sweet girl!  

 This picture is of Aubrey the day after her real actual birthday; having a tea party with her left over birthday cupcakes.  Her birthday has been like a month long event.  I informed her after she ate this cupcake that her birthday was now in fact over!  "It's Jesus' birthday now", I said... we both agreed!