Thursday, February 16, 2012

(the secret to a simple) Strawberry Shortcake birthday Party



Friend, I have the secret to making your children's birthday parties extremely quick and easy.  Are you ready for the inside scoop?  Here it is:  run out of time. It's true. I've never had a simpler party to prepare for that my daughter's Strawberry Shortcake birthday party simply because I didn't have much time.  It's funny, but true.   I admit to getting carried away when it comes to party planning. The longer I have to prepare, the more complicated the project becomes.  I pinned lots of birthday party inspiration on Pinterest. I had loads of intricate plans and then life happened. Having a short amount of time forced me to keep it simple.  

I made a quick trip to Zurcher's for all of the licensed Strawberry Shortcake party supplies.  I also found the polka dot balloons there. You can purchase just about any theme or licensed-character party supplies from Zurchers.com if you don't have a store near you. 


I used the same DIY cupcake stand I used for my son's birthday party. The cupcakes were pretty atrocious-looking (another side-effect of running out of time) BUT they tasted great- and really, that is all the kids cared about.

I found the polka-dot napkins at Dollar Tree and tucked them in glittered party boxes also from Dollar Tree.

 I shopped my daughter's bedroom for a few little details: the vase full of pink carnations, a pink and green storage basket to hold party favors.





 My daughter came up with this  party game idea all on her own and it was a hit: Pin the Seed on the Strawberry.  It follows the same format as Pin the Tail on the Donkey.  I printed a BIG strawberry shape from Photoshop .  We cut out seeds from basic card stock, blindfolded each kid and sent them on their way with a seed.  Obviously, this was a big target, and better geared toward younger children.  I think this idea could be adapted to almost any party theme.
 I designed cupcake flags in Photoshop, printed them on card stock and stuck them on toothpicks.
 

The Strawberry-shaped marshmallows are one of my favorite elements of the party! Pretty candies are always my go-to cake decorations to camouflage my complete lack of cake-decorating skills.  The marshmallows made a perfect and SIMPLE decoration for my otherwise pathetic cupcakes. The strawberry marshmallows are available at WalMart in the baking aisle with the regular marshmallows.  They come in a package of 12-15 for about $2.00 per package.  Did I mention they have a chocolate filling?! Pretty amazing find!

 I propped the cute paper plates  from Zurchers in a clear napkin holder- making them a decorative element. I did something similar at my son's party.

Pressed for time or not, my daughter loved it, so I am calling it a success....even if there were no decorative cupcake liners ;)

11 comments:

  1. Well it turned out pretty cute!! Great tip for topping cupcakes!!

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  2. Great job!! :) thanks for the marsh mallow tip! Yumm

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  3. Great job!! :) thanks for the marsh mallow tip! Yumm

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  4. cute and simple i like it! how do you do the toppers in Photoshop, i have it, i occasionally edit photos using actions and that's my limit hahaha but any direction on getting creative in there would be greatly appreciated planning a SSC party for my DD in 24 days and im like you have all these ideas but with a new bub and life im afraid im not going to pull it off to the extent i would like but thats ok she will love it either way huh thanks for the post

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  5. Generally I don't learn blog post regarding articles, however, I would prefer to express that write-up pretty pressured me to be able to have a look at and do them! Your penning fashion have been surprised me. Appreciate it.
    unique gift ideas

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  6. Hey I'm wondering where you got the banner? I'm having a Strawberry shortcake party for my daughter and I am currently looking for one. Please let me know where or how I can get this. Thank you

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  7. Hey I'm very interested the backdrop banner. Can u pleaseeeeeee (begging) let me know where or how I can get this???? Thank you!

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    1. Hi. Sorry for the delayed response. I tried to email you, but Google doesn't have your contact info, so i couldn't reply to your message from my email.

      I designed the Strawberry banner in Photoshop myself. I have access, through work, to a BIG printer so I can print it at cost. I know that doesn't help you much, darn it! I would suggest going to Staples, or Kinkos or a local print shop in your area and ask what it costs to print a banner in color. They may even design it for you for a small fee?

      I can make you a custom banner, for a small fee, with strawberries on it, similar to the one in the photos above, but I can't sell it to you with the actual image of Strawberry Shortcake due to the copyright. If you are interested, email me at tatumcbaker@gmail.com and I will get back to you ASAP
      Good luck with your party!

      Tatum from Keep it Simple Sister

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    2. Thank you so much for replying! I will definitely check with a print shop! If I dont get through though I will be more than happy to have you design one for me and pay your fee. I will get back to you asap. thanks again.

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