Last year, after I went completely overboard for
Dash's first birthday party, I swore: never again. I kept up that refrain through the whole of 2007. We would keep it small and simple this year. No theme, no favors. Just a small gathering of our closest family and friends to drink a little champagne, eat a little cake and congratulate the child on another year done.
Well.
I'm not sure how these things get away from me so fast. I swear to God, I was--just two weeks ago--talking to Aunty J about heading over to Costco for some mini corn dogs and maybe a few bagel pizzas. Things have progressed a mite since then.
We'll have a robot theme. There will be about 30 guests, 10 of whom are children. Here's where we are so far:
We'll need something for the littles to do, so I decided on robot stick puppets. This was so awesome to plan and shop for and execute that I want to keep doing it. Pirates! Literary Figures! US Presidents! You know, whatever the kids are into that year.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieBQ9hkA2gTacIs7CwFId3mbCKy3dz8pRLx7PORHsRMAX91YVKZCZsurj5cAJkqZLo-eKaoF63GtRveV4oEkKuPo7UsYErt0BU58Ik-gfsyb0su4rtNTzReEEDZb5KTLMdXRSi7w/s400/IMG_1623.JPG)
Here are the basic, unadorned robot shapes. They are felt with adhesive backing, so the kids will peel them, stick two together (each shape has a mate so they'll match perfectly) on a tongue depressor and get to work decorating.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0KHROeK4lFhpMvN-jTLgXgywAMSyJRz4YmpBCgxH9OFDbPcBJ_Ks3NkEyxtuYZlx-JXbvW94cMgv8Xv-qTCCkaSBEs4so588UsCGE1Y185yDn1_uwqCR6qzF8YOIhq-Bdd_KIMg/s400/IMG_1615.JPG)
The little buckets were on sale at Michael's for $1 each. I filled them with googly eyes of assorted sizes, adhesive sparkly stars in silver and gold, silver pipe cleaners cut into 3 inch lengths (for arms and legs), and adhesive-backed felt I cut into tons of shapes .
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5zh0XDf6UNRkvnqoLLHvFHsZ-BvCbLsM556IzxVSFynBpffgVqBUN71XJygvtpJoPGaNlRj45Eztikjeflb3kxKR1Zk5kxDaFn0U-BSegsWiFU1yJcWBf57-U6K7Lr7dOAxxIdA/s400/IMG_1621.JPG)
Here's a close-up of the felt shapes because my fingers hurt from all of the cutting and I want more bang for my buck on them.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0p1aQeQI3lGzbWivQJ7DwDY3wghYhbtDZtSgrLixpwkH8TSOnUSEDgjf1GqEa7jNC3-My0Smm6t4RKEAM3ES5i9iRy-YPLZLpC092DlJ058goX7sVKKwI6E5u3l4NrEefirHlQ/s400/IMG_1604.JPG)
I made a prototype so the kids can get an idea of the grand plan. I'm pretty sure Dash will destroy it well before his birthday, though. I handed it to him this evening to see if it would play, and found him 10 minutes later brushing its "teeth" with his new toothbrush.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTctCiOGUBubrPX9TrePG_p7XY4bYR6rjdYTzOZttJTPx4ewOUhEB0DjM9vSf6e-IxNBO6AxWEFsdb80-uhs1tfio9Ah-TyQcTaV2jvzxHi9EgNNl0kJOgyRavnJjq5UXUp9eitg/s400/IMG_1632.JPG)
I think the favor bags will be pretty sick, too. These are the actual bags. They're silver paper, $0.59 each at Target. I printed out the main image from the invitations (to be posted later as I accidentally deleted the only picture I had of them and don't have another to photograph) on label paper, cut them out & stuck them on each bag. Inside each bag will be:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqKH_SOaDIimSU3ed1BT74BjRw7gVMTZH2X_M5s0JMIMtoYmYsLFWl451SAUmJwUb-YIfOP07DG4ua1SdPeODMSffTmPMRowqNv-_tc18voeMUJRz0caE2RGOpFXFbGqFZE1lEg/s400/IMG_1635.JPG)
I bought some magnet "paper" and printed out robot images I found online (along with some pix of Robo-Dash for the grandparents). I also printed some of our favorite family photos on the scrap pieces and they're currently adorning our fridge. This is awesome stuff, this magnet paper.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtb82rRfRwTMwu-GxyikevG_tGNdvsQf0id0RZvdeMxjUL0G_udvQ6SM4-2NGyK7Iep3bX6lEc1Hx0oTZ-EIl3exrwBwtqZFjz46yvQr9xXBSfJQFRy6ls4y-gy5pVKr2_po4eA/s400/IMG_1628.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXByqmoPi_7S9M9lnZ8IxvH97T8n4Ij-0fp6UYd7MMIPh5zWV7K2b8zlMrUTdfKjuQhBwM3-iIGJTA_2Mes2dZbiCYGFHTiHYgksDNd4JmJgqwsrxKK_qrKFwwSmSb3NYGskJn7w/s400/IMG_1630.JPG)
I got it in my head that I could find some foil-wrapped robot chocolates online for the favor bags. Nothing. It is absurdly impossible to find anything robot-related in the world of candy favors. But, lookit what I did find:
Robot candy molds. Less than $2 each, and including the wrappers, lolly sticks & twist ties, I think I paid $10--tops. It was a wee bit of work--heat up some chocolate chips, spoon them into molds, tap, freeze, unmold & wrap--but the fact that they're the cutest robots ever, cost less than a box of See's for, like, 40 lollies
and I could control the quality of the chocolate? Worth it 100 times over.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1fJUwNLmtAUrnpHJ-KIYYAm8SowcvDrm5t6URIj4u0yA0DvWWPwMOvqhvivnhApFY3JVCQb45egb9IIxgjwxIJwUyHVQF-kdTc6VIc9GcHpTBy3TBJoXN3ke1_7uUOHxbPzgBQ/s400/robocard.jpg)
Also in the favor bags will be one of
these adorable things. I found them on Etsy. They're by a 7-year-old boy who finances his Lego habit by drawing amazing robots and having his mom print them as cards and sell them.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66B3Zw_QXYUfNWaiUS94R29ie5HoLoasGCC2oOfhxYW5w910oP6GsuSAALJwc0OiLgtJHVrjzYYssYGqgEe1qlni1Ey2qP9JdpXAnyYT5UVPP2OsslnGLZh6Jwn3PVNPGEE-fmA/s400/IMG_1633.JPG)
I'll include a bundle of Crayons so the kids can color them if they so choose.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOwGZWAqYVpMF8lNwuBJidYeOGs3CGV6A3er5DOopJivzQ95eTlEWije3JmeFODX3ywy03r54g8j6JfDMK-io_LRTd1wnegpqy4bA9J8oxF7-42-15bB47FO9bi6b3S3By6xFKTw/s400/IMG_1636.JPG)
And, finally, there will be a small sheet of "Build Your Own Robot" stickers because they are cute and 20 of them cost me about $2 on Ebay.
Ok. Well. That'll do it for today. But there will be more. There will be a video. And a good picture of the invitation. There will be the cake and, ohh, what will the cookies look like?
And, finally, something great will happen to these:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEeCV27se1wz89kNcS1E7DJRA5VfmmP59kLftiPmpr1BbtJxGrk0zFbdxzUojfcbuNEfuEUYqpln6XlaVlGNlXAydIlpAJgixi_x-kjLTgsDSerYVuYmGeF0AR0Ghak-EVIuGNNw/s400/IMG_1627.JPG)
What? Well, you'll have to check back to find out.
4 comments:
how exciting! I wish I could come to the party. Just what will you make from coffee beans and nuts?
OK - you might just be my new hero. Do you want to plan one of my kids' next parties?
I LOVELOVELOVE the felt robot idea. Very, very cute, and easy enough for small hands and entertaining enough for the bigger hands, too.
I want to come! For the champagne and for the robots. I'm planning Dash's first birthday right now and it includes making chocolates in the shape of the letter "D." I figure I have one year before I need to get crazy with themes, so I'm sticking with d's and dots.
Probably going to need some champagne too. Like, right now.
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