This post may contain affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My little one turned six last week. She was very set in exactly what she wanted to do to celebrate the monumentous day. She wanted a Knott’s Berry Farm themed party with all of her favorite things from her favorite theme park.

So we planned on Ghost Town activities including a barn animal themed bounce house with a Livery Stable sign. We panned for gold and other treasures. We even had a blacksmith wall with different brands.

To bring in more berry elements, we decorated with grape vines, had pies on display, and a yummy spinach and berry salad with poppyseed dressing.

For the Camp Snoopy elements, we decorated tables with yellow tablecloths and dog bowls filled with some of her favorite snacks. We also made a DIY Psychiatric Help booth. If you’ve seen the Peanuts comics, you know that Lucy often finds herself inside the booth, charging her friends 5 cents.

Making the booth was actually super simple and a fun project to do together!

Supplies Needed:

• Large box
• Box cutter (adults only)
• Yellow paint
• Black paint or paper

How to Make a Peanuts Photobooth Prop

Start with a large box large enough for guests to climb inside.

A responsible adult should use the box cutter to cut out a window from the box.

Paint the entire box yellow. You can apply a base coat of white paint to the box for better coverage.

Add wording. Ours says, “Psychiatric Help 5 c. The Doctor is In.” I used my Cricut to create the Peanuts font. However, you can certainly paint on the words.

Watch How to Make Your Own Psychiatry Booth

The photo prop was a great addition to her Knott’s Berry Farm themed party. It’s easy to make and fun for kids to pretend to be the sassy Lucy from the Peanuts Gang.

Looking for more Peanuts fun?

• Get inspired with 20+ Charlie Brown Inspired Recipes!
• If you’re looking for an easy craft for party guests, pay homage to the smallest member of the Peanuts Gang with a simple DIY Woodstock Bird Feeder.

We had so much fun at her Knott’s Berry Farm party featuring our favorite Peanuts charcters! Do you have a favorite Peanuts character?

That’s right, it’s Halloween here in Clementine County.  And this month, my oldest daughter also turned 10.  I’m only mildly overly-emotional about the whole thing.  We ended up having a multiple-day celebration with one highlight being a Nightmare Before Christmas slumber party for the neighborhood girls.  One of my favorite things was also the fastest to put together–an Easy Nightmare Before Christmas Photo Backdrop.

This post may contain affiliate links.  Please read my disclosure policy for more information.

With a house full of 10-year-old girls, I planned a variety of activities inspired by my 10-year-old’s love for the Halloween classic.  To be honest, decorating was a cinch since my husband is equally obsessed and we have Jack & Sally displayed all year.  I can’t wait to show you all of the party details, but I thought I’d start with a fun Nightmare Before Christmas photo booth since it’s the easiest to create.

Crafting makes me happy; spending a ton of money does not.  I was able to pull together the backdrop for around $10, with supplies planned to be repurposed for other projects.  I’m thrifty and I’m not going to let one thing go to waste!

My inspiration for this backdrop came from this pin.  Super cute, right?

How to Make a Nightmare Before Christmas Photo Backdrop

Supplies Needed

• Purple tablecloth
• Black tablecloth
• White Felt
• Black Felt
• Hot glue gun
• Photo booth props
• Black & white striped straws
• 3M hooks (optional)

How to Make Your Photo Backdrop

I raided my party supplies to see what I had on hand before shopping.  I already had the purple, so I nabbed a black tablecloth from the dollar store.

Leaving a 6-inch margin at the top, I cut the black tablecloth into strips.

To make the skulls, I opted to use black and white felt using this template.  Cardstock would absolutely be acceptable, but I opted to use black and white felt so I could reuse it for a Disney’s Coco/Dia de los Muertos wreath.  After cutting out the white felt, I adhered it to black felt using a hot glue gun.

I have 3M hooks permanently adhered to my front porch wall.  We have a lot of parties, after all.  If you don’t have hooks, use strong tape instead.  I first put up the purple tablecloth and then the black.  To make it look like a curtain, I split the shredded pieces in half and secured to the sides with tape.  Then I stuck the skulls to cover where I had secured the black tablecloth.

The photo booth is almost done!

I nabbed some inexpensive photo booth props from Etsy.  Once I printed them out, I attached them to black & white straws.  That’s it, folks.

I love photo booths for kids’ parties.  It’s an easy way for guests to invest in the party’s theme, and makes for fun memories.  You can grab an instant camera to make the fun extra.

If you’re looking for more Halloween fun, try making a Easy Halloween Bat Wreath inspired by Disney’s California Adventure.

We had such a hauntingly good time celebrating at our Nightmare Before Christmas party.  How will you be celebrating Halloween?

This post may contain affiliate links.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My daughter celebrated her fourth birthday with a Tangled birthday party.  With the popularity of Tangled: The Series in our house, and probably yours, it’s likely to continue to be a popular theme.  And what’s not to love?  Rapunzel has returned to her parents and her kingdom.  With Eugene (aka known as Flynn Rider) at her side, the duo are tackling the challenges of ruling Corona and going on some hair-raising adventures.

Activities & Games

The birthday girl is, of course, the star of the party.  But all that hair takes second place! To make the day extra special for all of our princesses, we made tons of homemade hair accessories like these Rolled Roses Hair Ties.  Other ways to tie in Rapunzel’s hair include braiding yarn or strips of plastic tablecloths.  Hang them throughout your party space for an inexpensive project.

With Rapunzel being quite a prolific artist during her time in the tower, a great activity would be to include painting as part of your day.  Make a gigantic mural on butcher paper or provide individual canvases for guests.

Other fun ideas:

Pin the Nose on Flynn Rider // Pipe Cleaner Pascal raft // Wanted Poster Photo Booth Prop //

 Get Tangled in Crepe Paper //  Maximus Apple Toss

Food

The Snuggly Duckling is a great backdrop for Tangled party foods.  Ruffians and thugs can gobble up pub-themed snacks like Chex Mix and pretzels.  Set up a hot dog bar or serve fried chicken on these Frying Pan Plates.

To add to the decor of the Snuggly Duckling, I decorated with printable wanted posters and cardstock rats.  The dollar store happened to have swords and viking hats in stock–a perfect fit!

After lunch foods at The Snuggly Duckling, treats to pay homage to the lost princess took center stage.

Donut Towers

To make Donut Towers, I made small circles (smaller than the donut) from white cardstock & punched a whole in the middle. Thread circle onto a white lollipop stick.  Under the cardstock circle, I tied a bow with purple ribbon.

Place three donuts atop the cardstock circle.

To make the dome tower, cut a larger circle from purple paper.  Cut a slit to the center of the circle.  Fold one end over the over until desired cone shape is formed.  Secure with hot glue to the stick.

Purple cake pops, braided pretzels, and crown-wrapped cupcakes also joined the celebration.  If you’re looking for more food ideas, try these:

The Most Adorable Dessert Options // Donut Tower // Blue Jell-O Boats

Decor

To mimic fair Corona, we decorated with purple bunting with Rapunzel’s signature sunburst design.  If you haven’t met my children, you might not know that they really like glitter.  A lot!  So to add some glittery fun to the party, we glittered baby food jars to serve as votives.  These battery-operated tea lights are perfect for illuminating anything at a kid’s party since there’s no flame.

We also used plastic tablecloths to make DIY banners that mimic the ones we adore on the light poles at Disneyland.  All it took was a few supplies like  dollar store tablecoths and vines cut out with my Cricut.

Looking for more DIY ideas? Try these:

Sunburst PomPom Craft // Free Printable Sun Flags // Sun Straws // Magical Glowing Flower

Party Favors

When you are done having the best day ever, share fun party favors with your guests.  If you’re focusing on Rapunzel’s artistic hobby, send home paint and paintbrushes.  Or if you’re thinking more royal, try hair accessories and a crown.

Other inspiration:

Satchels & Swords Favors // Watercolor Paint Princess Labels // Pascal Party Blowers

My little one had such a great time at her Tangled birthday party.  Hope you found some great inspiration from this throwback party post!

See how to make adorable gift bags for your child’s Trolls-themed birthday party for less than a dollar!

I received to facilitate this post. productsThis post may contain affiliate links.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Dreamworks’ Trolls is the tale of Princess Poppy who is on a mission to save her friends from the Troll-eating Bergens. Her optimistic attitude and awesome scrapbooking are just some of the reasons my family adored the film. Plus, it’s got a seriously amazing soundtrack.

Despite the popularity of the movie, I was shocked at how little themed merchandise there was at my local party store. Not really a problem, I’ll go ahead and make my own. These easy Trolls goodie bags are also inexpensive to make. More room in the budget for cupcakes and rainbows!

What You’ll Need
• Pink paper bags (I got mine at Walmart for 3/$1, but these are similar)
• Green ribbon
• Blue paper flowers

How to Make Them:
Cut ribbon the length of your paper bag and attach with glue. Adhere a paper flower. Fill with fun goodies and you’re all set. Simple!

My daughter turned 3 a few weeks back, and since she shares a name with the titular character Poppy we knew she needed a Trolls party.

We filled her party favor bags with happy, hair-tastic treats for her friends. With Easter around the corner, I found some themed candy. I also added Goody hair products to encourage Poppy’s friends to “Put their hair in the air.”

Suggestions for Trolls Goodie Bags:

Goody Hugtime Elastic Hair Ties

Goody Contoured Hair Clips with Charms

Goody Sparkle Poppy Flower Headwrap

Dreamworks Trolls Hair Brush & Clips

In addition to the themed hair products, I was able to find a bunch of Trolls candy in the Easter section of my store.

More Trolls fun on Clementine County:

DIY Trolls Headband

DIY Trolls Pinata

What do you add to your goodie bags?

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But by the time my kids turned two, they definitely had an opinion about which type of party they would like.  So as we approached Poppy’s second birthday, we started discussing options with her. She was unwavering in her decision, Minnie Mouse.

That, of course, pleased us to no end. Yet there was a sliver of hesitation.  We’d already had a Minnie Mouse party for Harper when she turned two. What would guests think if I hosted two parties with the same, exact theme?  Nobody cared.  And if they happened to notice I recycled some of the same decorations from four years prior, they didn’t mention it.

And recycle decorations I did.  But I still wanted here to be something special just for Poppy’s second birthday. This DIY Minnie Mouse Photobooth was just the thing!  Added bonus: it cost just a few dollars to make!

How to Make an Easy & Inexpensive Minnie Mouse Photobooth Backdrop

Materials Needed:

• Black tablecloth, purchased at the Dollar Store
• Clear packing tape
• White 3-inch circles
• Pink pom pom garland, purchased at the Dollar Store
• Photo booth props
• Lollipop sticks, paper straws, or BBQ skewers

Optional: 3M hooks

Attaching my black tablecloth to my block wall ended up being tricky, so I used 3M hooks. I placed four hooks along the top of the wall, following the package directions.  To prevent the tablecloth from tearing, I reinforced it with clear packing tape at the top. Then I made holes to hang the tablecloth.

Due to wind, I ended up placing bricks on the bottom of the tablecloth.  Just beware of stumbling!

My pint-size party assistants were kind enough to randomly place polka dots on the tablecloth.  The top was decorated with an inexpensive pom pom garland from the Dollar Tree.

I ordered Minnie Mouse accessories from Etsy & printed them at home. Using black & white straws I had at home, I attached the accessories.  Time to party!

Now that we’ve had TWO Minnie Mouse parties, it’s time to mix it up. What’s your favorite party theme?

Tsum tsums are seriously the cutest. If you haven’t checked them out, they’re Disney-themed stacking stuffed collectible toys. My girls are crazy for them!

When brainstorming a fun way to break some news (more to come on that!), I decided to make a Minnie Mouse tsum tsum pinata. Using recycled materials & a little bit of butcher paper, I was able to whip up this sweet party necessity in an afternoon.

[eltd_highlight background_color=”” color=””]How To Make a Tsum Tsum Pinata[/eltd_highlight]

Supplies:

• Projector (or awesome drawing skills)
• Butcher paper (I used black, white, red, and pink)
• Crepe paper streamers
• Glue or scotch tape
• Packing tape
• Cardboard
• Box cutter
• Marker

Steps:

1.  Create tsum tsum face-I traced the Minnie Mouse design using a projector & a picture from a Google image search. You could absolutely sketch your own.  Using various colors of butcher paper, I made two tsum tsum faces. If not a perfectly symmetrical image, you’ll want to make mirror images.
2. Trace face onto cardboard-Trace both face designs onto cardboard. I used leftover Amazon boxes.  Put face designs aside until finished construction of the pinata.
3. Cut cardboard-Using a box cutter, carefully cut the tsum tsum designs.  It’s okay if they aren’t perfect!
4. Cut strips of leftover cardboard-Using scraps of cardboard, cut long strips to serve as the sides of the pinata. Mine were approximately 4-inches thick.  You will need enough strips to go around circumference of pinata.
5. Roll strips-Roll strips tightly to make them more pliable.
6. Attach sides- Using clear packing tape, attach strips to one cardboard face. I stick to small pieces of tape, about 6 inches at a time, so that the pinata is breakable.  Tip: Make an X with your box cutter at the top of your pinata. This will allow for rope to be strung. Another Tip: Leave a gap in the siding to allow for adding treats.
7. Attach remaining cardboard face– Use packing tape to adhere remaining cardboard face.
8. Decorate siding with streamers-Cover the siding of the pinata with streamers. Zig zag back and forth, adhering with glue or small pieces of scotch tape. For a fringe look, cut 3/4 of the way through streamer.  Another alternative is to ruffle the streamers and glue down.
9. Attach butcher paper faces–Using glue, adhere faces to front and back of pinata

Although it looks like a lot of steps, making your own pinata is a lot of fun and relatively easy. Considering I already had all of the supplies in my recycling bin & craft supply, it didn’t cost me anything to make.

Our Minnie Mouse pinata had an extra special surprise inside that I’ll be sharing with you soon.

Which Disney character would you like to see as a pinata?