Minnie Mouse Party Food

 So the party is this weekend and we finally figured out what to serve. Our menu includes:

• Minnie's Bow-tique Pasta
• Mickey's Meatballs
• Hot Diggety Dog Hot Dogs
• Oh, Toodles! Pizza
• Daisy's Garden Vegetables and Donald's Dips
• Goofy's Grapes and Fruit Bow-quet
• Minnie's Bow-tique Fruit Bows
• Minnie's Pink Polka-Dot Punch
• And of course a Minnie Cake!

DIY Pin The Bow On Minnie Mouse Game

We have been working on final things for the Minnie Mouse party. It is this weekend! Today among other things, I made the Pin a Bow on Minnie Mouse game. Hazel really wants to play this one! To make it, I used a piece of black poster board, a white piece of paper and some polka-dot cardstock (I found it at Target). I used a large bowl and a small/medium bowl to make the head and a yellow-green colored pencil to show up on the black poster board. On the back of the poster board I traced the large circle bowl. Then I put the small bowl roughly where I wanted an ear and I had it overlap the large circle just a bit and traced it. Then I put it on the other side for the other ear. Once I got it how I liked it, I cut it out.

DIY Easy Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse Cake Plates & Free Food Label Printables

So when I bought all the Minnie Mouse stuff on clearance I did not get cake plates. I had pink cake plates we could use and Hazel was willing, however I kept seeing plates with ears on them as I researched for ideas. I realized how easy it would be to make them. I bought a pack of black cake plates at the Dollar Tree. Supplies to make the Mickey Mouse plates is just a pack of plates, black construction paper (two large sheets gave me enough ears for sixteen plates), a 3-inch circle punch and a glue stick.

I decided to use glue stick instead of craft glue so there would not be excess on the plates. To make Minnie Mouse plates you also need pink polka-dot paper (I found a pack of bright polka dot paper at Target--it was the only place I could find any) and scissors. I used the free jpg of bows at The Lovebugs Blog: Lovebug's Bow-tique Birthday Party.  Since I got them as a jpg, I was able to shrink the size for the plates. I am providing the new size of bows, but go check out her site for other great printables!! Here are the bows I used.

To make the plates, just punch two ears for each plate. I folded my large construction paper in half and did both sheets at a time so I got enough for two plates each time. Take two circles and put a little glue on one edge. Then glue to plate in appropriate places. Hold for a few seconds since it takes a bit of pressure to get the glue stick to stick. Let dry and do the next one. These will give you Mickey Mouse cake plates.

Mickey Mouse Cake Plate

(Sorry for the poor quality picture. My camera is acting funny!!) To make Minnie Mouse print out the bows using the template shared above on your bow paper and then put a small amount of glue stick on the back bottom edge of the bow and hold in place on the plate. You could also glue a ribbon bow on, but this would take longer and seeing how they are cake plates that will end up being messy and thrown away, I didn't think it was worth the expense or time.

I think they look cute and Hazel loves them! Since we are talking cake plates, I thought I would share our food labels with you as well. I will explain the food that goes with them in another post. I gave Hazel the choice of two types. I am providing you with both!  Just click picture for each type.

Food Labels Using Characters and Clip Art Found On-Line

Mickey & Minnie Mouse Food Labels

To make the Minnie Food Labels, I added bows again. I used the same template, but slightly larger. You can find them here.

So that is our newest installment of our Minnie Mouse Birthday Party series! For more posts check out:

• DIY Minnie Mouse Pinata and Free Activity Signs
• Mickey and Minnie Mouse Tote Bags for Favors
• DIY Mickey and Minnie Mouse Ears and Party Printables
• Minnie Mouse Napkin Rings for Party
• DIY Party Decorations Product Review
• Minnie Mouse Outfit
• Minnie Mouse Dress
• Minnie Mouse Purse
• My Minnie/Mickey Mouse Party Idea Pinterest Board

DIY Minnie Mouse Pinata & Free Party Activty Sign Printables

Disclosure: I was sent the black jumbo streamers to review free of charge from Oriental Trading. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse Tote Bag Craft

So for Hazel's actual birthday party we had received these wonderful yellow tote bags from Oriental Trading for us to review. Our plan had been for guests to make handprint flamingos on them, however the guests did not want to, so we still had many of the bags. I thought they would be great favors and we could paint Mickey and Minnie Mouse heads on them. My original idea was to get a large sponge and cut it in the shape of a Mickey Mouse head, however I could not find a sponge large enough. Then I thought of the bottom of cups or plates or jars. I tried a few and asked Hazel which size she liked best.

DIY Mickey and Minnie Mouse Ears and Free Printable Party Signs

Our next craft for the Minnie Mouse themed upcoming party is ears of course. I tried to make ears last year before we went to Disney World. However they came out floppy. I decided to go back and figure out what I did wrong. I followed the tutorial at The Suburban Mom: How to Make Mickey Minnie Mouse Ears for a Party. She provides a free downloadable pattern. I used this pattern with some adjustments. I found the space between the two circles was too big for the size headband I used. I folded my pattern a bit to shrink it. This definitely helped in getting them to stand up. I also used the foam this time. I used two pieces of sticky foam and I used my 3-inch punch to make the circles instead of her pattern (which is a 3-inch circle).

DIY Minnie Mouse Napkin Rings for Party

Well, Hazel's half birthday is at the end of June. Because of school ending mid-June and some of her friends take off for the entire summer the day school is out, we are having her half birthday party in the beginning of June. (We decided to have a half birthday party for her since her birthday is in the middle of December holiday season.) She decided ages ago that the theme for this party will be Minnie Mouse. (Unfortunately there many more boys in her class than girls, but they will have to deal with lots of pink.) When she made the decision last summer, it happened to be when they were changing the Minnie Mouse theme party supplies and I was able to buy a bunch on clearance. We got the invitations and thank you notes, dinner plates, plastic cups, and a banner as well as treat bags. As we were looking at what we have and do not have, we decided we could use some of the other supplies we have and do some do-it-yourself projects. Today's is a simple one. I did not buy any of the napkins and decided not to buy special napkins. I did however have some bright pink napkins left over from her flamingo party (well actually I bought them for either party). Since this is her first child-focused birthday party, it is a lot of fun to plan.

As I was looking at ideas on line, I thought of making individual silverwear settings with a Minnie Mouse head on a napkin ring. I bought one of those Mickey Mouse head punches ages ago with a coupon and when I opened it yesterday, it did not work. Ugh!! Then the idea came to me to use pom poms. I searched for black pom poms last night and found three. I found some pinkish polka dot scrapbook paper and cut some strips. Then I glued the two smaller pom poms onto the bigger one and got a Mickey head. Then I glued the whole thing to the paper. (This was my first one and of course I had the head spinned in the wrong direction, but it was actually easy to spin after it dried.) I left it out to show Hazel and of course she asked if we could add a bow to make it a Minnie head. I explained I just didn't have the ribbon yet. Today I went to Michaels and bought two pacakges of black pom poms (small and the next size), some skinny pink ribbon and I found some cell phone charms shaped as bows in a clearance bin. I showed Hazel how to make the Mickey heads and she glued most of them for me though she did say it was boring. I poked the plastic charms through the paper to add the cell phone bows.

Then I wrapped a spoon and a fork in a napkin and wrapped the holder around it and sealed it with a piece of scotch tape. Didn't they come out cute?

If you do not have the cute bow cell phone charms, a small ribbon bow works great as well. The hardest part is tying the bow. Then you just glue them on. This is actually easier than the others since the others are a pain to poke through and get to stay in (I didn't want to glue them in case anyone actually wants a bow cell phone charm) and they break rather easily. I made a few of these as well since I only found ten of the charms (five packages of two at forty cents each).

Now we are set to have the tables set for the kids and possibly for the parents though I probably will need to make a few more. Since she wanted a Minnie and Daisy theme, I used lavender plasticware.

I think they look great with the Minnie plates. What do you think?

Looking for more Minnie Mouse ideas? There will be more coming between now and the party and you can also check out:

• DIY Party Decorations Product Review
• Minnie Mouse Outfit
• Minnie Mouse Dress
• Minnie Mouse Purse
• My Minnie/Mickey Mouse Party Idea Pinterest Board

Sharing Saturday 14-6

Thank you to everyone who shared last week and to all of you who took time to check out what others had shared. I'm running late with this post since there were so many wonderful ideas shared!! If you have not had time to check out all of them (over 100), please do. They are so inspiring! Instead of sharing most clicked (it was a tie), I thought I would share some favorites and Olympic-themed posts as well as some Valentine-themed posts. Now the favorite is really one for Hazel since she LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. There are also many more wonderful posts (and even more Valentine-themed ones)!! I had a hard time choosing which is why there are so many shared!

Disney Princesses Sightings and Peg Dolls

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Disney World Princesses

As you know we went to Disney World in June. Hazel loved meeting all the princesses. There is a McDonalds near our house that has had many of the princesses and I have taken her to see them there, but they only have the white ones since the actress is white. So on her must see list were Jasmine, Pocahontas and Tiana. Of course whenever we saw a chance to meet a character, Hazel wanted to even if she had no clue who the character was. We spent a lot of time waiting in character lines. I think she has now decided the princesses at McDonalds are actresses, but the ones in Disney World are the real ones.

To remember our visits I made Hazel some peg dolls for the princesses. (I still need to make a Merida and hope to make a mermaid Ariel one as well.) I got the idea from Pinterest. Apparently there are many out there and I cannot find the exact pin to give you the source I originally saw. I however played with their hair in different ways.

Now one of my favorite photos of Hazel meeting the princesses is this one of her and Rapunzel. She has just told Rapunzel that she dressed as her for Halloween.

Our count for princess sightings: 

Cinderella we saw 3 times.

Aurora/Sleeping Beauty we saw 3 times.

Belle we saw 2 times.

Ariel we saw 2 times (once in a dress and once as a mermaid).

Jasmine we saw 1 time.

Pocahontas we saw 1 time.

Tiana we saw 1 time.

Merida we saw 1 time (and it was after the heavy downpours so we were soaked).

Rapunzel we saw 1 time.

Snow White we saw 1 time. (Sorry, I cropped out her friend since he was in every picture of Hazel with Snow White.)

We did not see Mulan since we do not know her story and Hazel really has no idea who she is.

Now Hazel knows who the princesses are, but does not know all the stories behind them. She also has not seen many of the Disney movies since she is scared easily. She likes to watch Cinderella and Pocahontas, but that is about it for those movies. I won't let her even try Snow White or Aladdin. I remember seeing Snow White when I was five and I had nightmares for weeks afterward. My mother was not happy with my father for taking me. For Hazel the princesses are about beautiful dresses. She is at the age of loving dresses and the fancier the better. I remember being like that too, so I do not worry about how this will influence her since I know I grew up the same way.

Fairy Tales in Different Culture--Disney World's Cinderella

Well, I have been a bit quiet the past week because we traveled to Florida to go to Disney World and Sea World. I took the week to be with my family and was computer free. Since we just got back Friday night and I'm still settling back home, I thought I would share our Cinderella pictures from our trip. Yes, Hazel met almost all the princesses and several of them a few times. 

Source

We were not able to get a reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table (the restaurant in Cinderella's Castle), however I did get us a reservation for the Cinderella's Happily Ever After Dinner at the 1900 Park Fare in  Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa.

Originally my parents were going to go with us, however at somewhat last minute they canceled. We invited Hazel's best friend from school and his family. His mother and he were able to come with us and they stayed for a portion of the week. They really wanted to go to Epcot and I decided to take Hazel too and managed to get a reservation for the Storybook Princess Lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway of Epcot's World Showcase for Saturday, so the four of us enjoyed a lunch hosted by Belle and with Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora, and Ariel at it. So on Saturday we had two chances to meet Cinderella. Then we did not see her until we went to the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday.

First a bit of history about Disney World. Disney World is an entertainment resort in Florida. It was opened October 1, 1971. Walt Disney wanted to give the Eastern United States a park similar to the one he opened in California in 1955. It originally was meant to be a supplement to Disneyland (in California). Walt Disney disliked the businesses that popped up around Disneyland and wanted to control more of the area. Market studies also showed that only 5% of the visitors to Disneyland came from the East coast where 75% of the population of the country lived. He chose the Orlando area since it had good roadways and an airport close by. Using dummy corporations he managed to purchase 27,443 acres of land. Many were happy to sell the swamp land they owned.  In 1965 the true owner was leaked to the Orlando Sentinel.  Disney held a press conference sharing his plans including the plans for EPCOT--a futuristic planned city. Walt Disney died of lung cancer in 1966.

In 1967 his business partner and brother, Roy O. Disney took over and eventually got the rights for a district that included a two towns. This area is now called Lake Buena Vista. The only places this land would be governed by the county and state was in property taxes and elevator inspections. 

The roads and drainage for the Magic Kingdom were built very quickly and several of the resorts were completed before the opening in 1971. The plans for the futuristic planned city were pushed aside after Walt Disney's death. However the idea evolved into the Epcot Center or Epcot. Also the town Celebration was later developed in 1994. (Source) We actually spent an afternoon in Celebration walking around the downtown area. It has 1950's feel to it and is beautiful and friendly.

Now onto our trip. We stayed at our time share, Vacation Village at the Parkway. The developer of the time share saw that someone was buying all the land around his and refused to sell. Now Disney is all around it. It is a wonderful place to stay without being in a Disney Resort. Our first Cinderella sighting was at the lunch in Epcot.

It was a quick visit, but a very fun lunch. Next Hazel and I took the monorail to the Grand Floridian and planned on meeting Daddy for dinner. Daddy however got lost driving to the Grand Floridian, so he got there very late. We however enjoyed seeing the characters of the story. The first thing we saw was a dance which Cinderella and Prince Charming did once or twice an hour. Sorry for the picture quality. The room was dark and we were a bit far away from the dance floor.

Then we waited for some characters to come before heading to the buffet. Cinderella came first and was closely followed by Prince Charming.

Hazel was actually not afraid of Prince Charming (unlike Aladdin). She posed for several pictures with him. Cinderella was also impressed with her dress having Cinderella's picture all over it. I made this dress for her. We had a short break so we headed to the buffet and got some food for Hazel and some strawberry soup for us to share. It was delicious!! Then Lady Tremaine came by. After a bit of confusion about Ducky and Daddy (don't ask), we had a nice conversation with her and got a picture and autograph.

During the dance we saw a bit of the personalities of the stepsisters and stepmother. The big question we had was are they going to be nice or mean. Anastasia seemed to still lack manners. She liked to shout in the restaurant, but was very fun. Drizella did not like children, but did pose for pictures and give autographs. Both stepsisters asked why her face was not on Hazel's dress. I believe it was Drizella who said everyone had trouble finding the fabric with her face on it since it always sells out so quickly.

 Anastasia was told that the little boy at the table next to us considered her his favorite, so she asked him to marry her. He refused since he was too young.

Steve finally arrived to see Drizella. After we saw all of them, there was another dance. Lady Tremaine commented that it was good to see Daddy made it. We had a lovely time and Hazel was beside herself. Plus we loved the strawberry soup and will definitely have to try to find the recipe. I think this one will be our first try. Hazel managed to fill her first autograph book by this time. It did not have many pages since it was one of the ones you could put a picture on one side and they signed the other side. Plus we did a character breakfast as well.

On Sunday we went to Sea World and had a visit with a friend of mine from high school and his family. Monday we went to the Animal Kingdom. Tuesday we had breakfast with the time share and then spent time in the pool and headed to Celebration. Wednesday we went to the Magic Kingdom. This was Hazel's favorite! Our first stop was in Town Square Theater to visit the princesses. It was the only place you could see Rapunzel. Also there was Aurora and Cinderella. Both of which we had already seen twice, but she still wanted to see them again. Then we went off to see more and check out the castle. We spent the day checking out princesses. We managed to see Belle and Ariel (this time as a mermaid) as well as Tiana and Merida. Plus Hazel saw Mary Poppins. We also rode on Prince Charming's Regal Carousel (by this time we had been caught in the pouring rain and it showed).

Our plan for lunch was to go to Be Our Guest Restaurant which is at Belle and the Beast's castle. However the wait was two hours and we knew the rain was coming, so we did not want to waste our time. We did catch the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade at 3 p.m. There was a Cinderella float as well as some of the characters ahead of it.

Hazel was very excited to see the mice. We did not see the Fairy Godmother at the castle, but I got a picture of her on the float.

Hazel's goal had been to stay up for the fireworks, however we all got tired and wet, so we left around 8 p.m. The fireworks were at 10 with the electric parade at 9. Luckily we saw Dream-Along with Mickey Show that included some fireworks (as well as the princesses).  One of the major disappointments for me was that all the characters now have assigned places to meet people. Apparently some of the adults started tripping them when they walked around so they had to do this instead for the safety of the employees. How sad that adults would ruin something that is suppose to be fun for kids. I'll share more about our trip in the future! Our next Cinderella story will be on Sunday since next week is the Virtual Book Club for Kids week.