Minnie Mouse Cooking Party -5yr- Polka Dot Aprons

I am big into birthday parties and love everything girly.  When my daughter was born I knew, at some point, that I wanted to have a Minnie Mouse party I love all of the polka dots and the pink, black and white color combo.  I also knew that as soon as she and her friends were old enough, I'd want to have a cooking party.  I decided to combine the two ideas for her 5th birthday and Chloe's Minnie Mouse Cooking Party" was born.

COSTUMES:  the birthday girl wore a black and white top with a glittered Minnie Mouse Bow on the front (like $8 at Walmart the year before it helps to plan ahead!) a pink and black pettiskirt and a pink and white roses hair bow.  I made a top for my other daughter by cutting out black and white polka dot fabric in the shape of the mouse head silhouette and sewed it to a $5 Target white tank top.  I added a pink polka dot ribbon bow to the mouse head as well and she wore it with a black and pink pettiskirt and zebra bow/fuchsia flower headband.

INVITATIONS:  I set up a mini photo shoot with my daughter using a white with light pink polka dots fabric as the backdrop and a fuchsia with white polka dots fabric as the "floor."  Chloe put on her party outfit and we shot several poses.  I picked the cutest one to add to her invitation.  I designed the invite to be 6" tall 4" wide:  the top half was white with large black polka dots.  The bottom was fuchsia with large light pink polka dots.  In the middle was a strip of black with tiny white polka dots "ribbon" with a mouse ears silhouette with bow and the number "5" in a Disney font in the middle of the ribbon.  Her picture was added to the top portion and the bottom portion had the wording:  Chloe is Turning 5!  Please join us for a cooking party to celebrate!  -Date-Address-  RSVP by -Date-Phone-Email.  I then took the invites and glued them into a sheet of black glittered card stock that was also 6" tall but wide enough to fold the sides over the front of the invite.  This was finished by wrapping with a pink polka dot ribbon and sealed with a card stock mouse ears silhouette with Minnie’s bow.  

DECORATIONS/ACTIVITIES:  I sewed adorable pink and white and black and white polka dots children’s aprons (using velcro so kids wouldn’t have to tie them) and adjustable matching chef hats (found an online pattern).  The kids were amazingly cute in them!!  I presented the aprons on fuchsia silk hangers with a little clothing tag I designed with each girl’s name on it.  These were hung on a garment rack that was set up behind a little folding table covered with a fuchsia table cloth and decorated with a black and white polka dot and pink pennant banner I made.  I placed the chef’s hats on the table.   I also used this table to set the cake on later for the birthday girl to blow out her candles.  We held the party outside as the weather was great.  I set up a large 10‘x20’ canopy tent with four 6’ folding tables to serve as the cooking area.  I covered each table with a floor-length cloth tablecloth and then topped each with a pink plastic table cover (to make cleanup easier!) and tied each of the four corners with black curling ribbon so the sides and ends looked draped and also kept the plastic cover in place.  

The first table was for making pizza.  I created customized place mats fuchsia and white polka dots on top and black and white on the bottom.  In the middle was a scrolled black frame and each girl’s name in a Minnie Mouse font.  I had them printed 11x14 at Costco for a few dollars each and laminated them so they served as work surfaces for rolling out and building pizzas.  I placed a ball of pizza dough on each one (kept covered with an overturned bowl until we were ready to start). I purchased dollar store kid-sized rolling pins and painted the handles pink.  I also created kid-sized coordinating oven mitts by cutting the shape out of black dollar store potholders sewing them up and trimming with pink polka dot ribbon.  Under each placemat I hid a square of aluminum foil with each girl’s name written in permanent marker for them to place their finished pizzas on to bake and keep them distinguished.  In the middle of the table I placed two mouse-ears shaped bowls-each had three compartments (found at Target on clearance!) in the large circle of each I placed shredded cheese and in the two smaller ear bowls I placed pizza sauce with a spoon for spreading in one and pepperoni in the other.  The girls loved rolling out dough and creating their own pizzas and were very proud of how tasty they turned out.  I ran them inside and popped them in the preheated oven and got them started at the next cooking table while they baked.  

This table was separated into two sections:  one side had bowls of cubed fruit or berries (grapes strawberries blackberries pineapple blueberries and watermelon) and a mini bucket with halved wooden skewers.  The girls got to make their own fruit kebobs, which they enjoyed and was a nice quick activity to do while pizzas baked.  It also gave them something healthy to snack on before the pizzas came out!  On the other half of the table I had mini pedestal trifle bowls filled with sweets for making edible necklaces (sour apple rings, Gummy Life Savers, Red Vines cut into shorter pieces, and Froot Loop cereal).  I placed pre-cut sections of yarn with tape wrapped around the end to make threading easier.  It might be fun to use licorice rope instead!  By the time the girls had finished their necklaces the pizzas were cooked, sliced, and cooled enough to eat.  For the kid’s  eating table I used a fuchsia and white polka dotted fabric table cloth with a black and white polka dot table runner to cover four child-sized folding tables that I lined up to make one long table.  I covered the child-sized folding chairs with some white pillow-case-style chair covers I made and finished them off with black chair sash bows.  I Created centerpieces by gluing styrofoam balls (painted black) together to form a mouse head.  I added a pink polka dot bow and stuck them on wooden dowels wrapped with pink polka dot ribbon.  I stuck these in mini white metal buckets filled with pink silk roses.  I placed a minnie mouse plate at each setting.  These plates were made with black paper plates that I glued black poster board circles to to form the ears.  I added a pink polka dot card stock bow to the top edge as well.  Along with these at each setting I laid a pair of mouse ears (6/$1 headbands at dollar store wrapped with black ribbon attached felt mouse ears and a pink polka dot ribbon bow) a milk-bottle style glass with pink polka dot paper straws with pink polka dot and Minnie Mouse Emblem straw flags for pink lemonade a mini water bottle (wrapped label part with pink duct tape and added a mouse head/bow cutout in the center) and white and pink polka dot napkins.  

The girls all swapped their chef hats for the mouse ears as they ate they were so precious!  When they finished it was on to the third cooking table to mix up some cupcakes.  I bought small glass mixing bowls whisks wooden spoons (I cut the handles shorter to make them child-sized) rubber spatulas and divided Minnie Mouse trays/plates at the dollar store.  I pre-measured strawberry cake mix into each bowl.  The trays had 3 small compartments and one long one.  I placed the whisk in the long part and pre-measured water and oil in small condiment cups along with an egg in the 3 small compartments.  I also had disposable foil cupcake trays (2/$1 at the dollar store) (with six cupcake spots each) pre-lined with pink polka dot cupcake liners.  The girls just had to pour the oil water and eggs into the bowl and mix everything up and then scoop the batter into the trays (we even had a three-year-old guest who did a great job at this).  I popped those into the oven  and we got ready to break open the minnie mouse pinata while they baked.  I made the piñata myself by cutting mouse-head shapes out of large cardboard boxes and wrapping more cardboard around the edges to attach them.  I then covered them with black tissue paper and ruffled black crepe paper.  A pink polka dot bow finished it off.  After the girls finished with the piñata the cupcakes came out of the oven and cooled while the birthday girl opened gifts. The gift table was a folding table covered with a fuchsia table cloth and had some stuffed Minnie Mouse dolls holding onto balloons as well as an 8x10 framed photo of the birthday girl in her birthday outfit.  After gifts the cupcakes were cool enough to be frosted and decorated.  

At the fourth cooking table I had mini pink rubber spatulas and mini cupcake pedestals set up at each place.  In the middle were tubs of pink and white frosting full-sized and mini Oreo Cookies along with some white chocolate bows I made using candy melts and a bow mold (all to make Minnie Mouse heads) sprinkles and pink sugar for decorating.  The girls each frosted and decorated her six cupcakes.  My local donut shop donated six pink donut boxes which I decorated with Minnie Mouse heads and each girl’s name in the Minnie Mouse font.  The girls got to take their decorated cupcakes home in these as I had a cake to serve at the party.  I brought the cake over from the dessert table and we sang to the birthday girl and had some cake and treats.  That was it for the structured activities but I also had a pink castle bounce house (that I purchased on Ebay).  I added large glitter card stock mouse heads with fabric bows to the turrets of the castle to tie it in with the party even more.  I also had a bubble station with some homemade bubble solution in a large glass drink dispenser and little pink paper cups with bubble wands made out of black pipe-cleaners twisted to look like mouse ears as well as some giant bubble wands and trays that I already had to make giant bubbles.  The girls got to refill their bubble cups as needed.  These were great filler activities!  Throughout the party I had hot pink polka dot black and white balloons as well as some giant Minnie Mouse head balloons.  We had a fancy dessert table as well (description below). 

PARTY SNACKS:  The girls had the pizzas they made of course.  I also provided some Costco pizza and buffalo wings for the adults. As a backdrop for the dessert and snack table I hung black and white polka dot fabric with ruffled black curtains (from Target) on either side.  In front of this I draped a scalloped circle banner that I custom-made with Chloe’s name the number 5 and mouse ears on it.  The dessert table was covered in a white table cloth and I made a hot pink tulle tutu table skirt lined with pink feather boas at the top around the edge of the table.  On cake pedestals and trays and in mini metal buckets I set out the snacks:  mini Pringles cans that I re-labeled with Minnie Mouse labels hot pink-frosted donuts special ordered from the donut shop black and pink polka dot-coated pretzel rods (wrapped in baggies with pink pows) Oreo cake pops dipped in black candy-coat and topped with pink bows made from candy coat I put in a bow mold little pink polka dotted treat cups that I poured a bit of ranch in and then stuck broccoli florets and carrot sticks in (we needed something healthy!) heart-shaped shorbread cookies decorated with pink marshmallow fondant and black fondant mini mouse heads rice krispie treats cut into little strips and stuck into little pink polka dot Minnie Mouse fry boxes I designed printed and put together black and white striped old fashioned candy sticks candied apples dipped (bottom) half in pink candy coat and (top) half in black candy coat with black-candy-coated marshmallows for ears at the top  a napkin holder decorated with black glitter card stock mouse heads and little pink and white striped treat boxes decorated with mouse heads and bows and stuffed with black tissue for them to put their treats in.  I added a swirly pink picture frame with a design (similar to the invitation) that said Please help yourself to some treats in the Minnie Mouse font.  

CAKE:  The cake was the centerpiece of the dessert table.  It was vanilla cake with lemon curd and fresh raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting.  It was covered with white fondant and the bottom tier had a hot pink ruffled skirt with a black bow around the middle.  The top tier was hot pink with polka dots topped with a white scallop-design trimmed in black at the top.  I placed a number 5 glitter candle and minnie mouse figurine on the top.  It was sooo cute can’t really be described with words!  All the treats were labeled with cute Minnie labels I created.

FAVORS:  I got some huge fuchsia gift bags on clearance at Target for $.60 each.  I added mouse heads with bows and each girl's name to these to take all of their treats home in.  They got to take home their cooking tools (bowls spoons rolling pins whisks place mats rubber spatulas etc.) aprons chef hats oven mitts mouse ears headbands piñata treats edible necklaces dessert table treats and their cupcakes that they made (which were actually delicious by the way!).  The kids were exhausted by the end of the party and headed inside to watch a Minnie’s Bowtique episode for a bit before heading home. I had so much fun planning this party and it turned out beautifully (a lot of work as always!!).