Strawberry Shortcake -3yr- Decorate Frames Craft

My daughter loves Strawberry Shortcake (SSC) and so, for her 3rd birthday, we had a Strawberry Shortcake party.  We are fortunate that our children have summer birthdays and we can have the parties outside on our deck. There were four children invited, three were 2 years old and one 1 year old. 

Invitations:  A Berry Special Party for a Berry Special Girl! and other details were printed on vellum using the Care Bear font downloaded from the Internet.  The background was red with pink polka dots, which I scanned from a SSC napkin.  The vellum was attached to the background with pink grosgrain ribbon. On top of the ribbon was a 1 wooden heart, which I painted to look like a strawberry.  In the lower right hand corner was a sticker of Strawberry Shortcake on top of a strawberry. 

Decorations:  I really wanted to create a room like you would see in SSCs house, so I used lots of pink and red flowers and painted a lot of strawberries!  I found 12 wooden hearts at a craft store and painted them like strawberries.  These were placed on the lights, chairs, and the entrance to our deck.   I hung a garland of Christmas lights, pink flowers, and pink tulle around the deck railing. 

The food table was covered with the SSC table cover and draped with more flowered garland.  I had pink miniature roses in red pots on the back of the table and placed pink shredded paper around them.  The food was served on clear plastic platters and SSC napkins, plates, and pink utensils added color to the table.  The childrens table was my favorite.  I used a large coffee table and covered it with a red tablecloth. For a centerpiece, I painted a wooden heart basket to look like a strawberry and placed fresh flowers inside.  Around the flower arrangement I placed my daughters SSC dolls.  Each of the chairs had a wooden strawberry on the back of the chair tied with tulle.  My daughter just loved her SSC chairs! 

The gift area was in the corner of the deck.  The centerpiece was my daughters rocking chair.  My mother made cushions for the chair in the shape of a strawberry.  Of course, we decked the chair out with lots of tulle and flower garland!  On either side of her chair were large strawberries painted on cardboard.  The gifts were placed on the floor on either side of her chair. 

Crafts & games:  When the children arrived they were given a green foam craft frame to decorate with red and pink strawberry foam stickers.  On the bottom of the frame I had written Berry Good Friends with a red paint pen.  As they were decorating their frames, I took a photo of them with the birthday girl to put in their frame and take home with them. 

The first game we played was a Hunt for SSCs Prize Berry.  I started by telling them that SSCs prize berry had been stolen and they would have to look for clues to help SSC find her berry. Since the children were 2years old, I used very simple picture clues.  I actually dressed my daughter to look like SSC and took her picture in front of the mailbox, front door, woodpile, playhouse, and swing set.    The pictures were mounted on red cardstock, (easily visible,) and placed in the appropriate spot.  They had a blast looking at the pictures and running toward the next clue!  When they reached the swing set, they found the piñata, which was the next activity.  

The next game was a Strawberry Spoon Race.  It was a simple relay running a strawberry on a spoon for about ten feet.  I involved the moms and dads for this one, so each family was a team. 

The final game was Pin the Strawberry on SSCs Hat.  I simply drew a large hat with the bow and gave each child a construction paper strawberry to pin on her hat. 

Menu:  Since the party was at 3:00, I served mostly snacks.  We had fresh fruit with cream cheese dip, cheese & crackers, and chips & salsa.  For the children, I made p-nut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches that looked like strawberries.  I cut the sandwiches into a heart shape using a cookie cutter.  Then I placed raisins on the bread, (strawberry seeds) and slices of kiwi, (leaves,) to make the sandwich look like a strawberry.  They almost looked too cute to eat!  I served the children strawberry-kiwi juice boxes to drink.

Cake:  I found a three tier SSC cake in the 2005 Wilton Yearbook.  I made a two-tier cake since we had fewer people.  The bottom layer was iced pink with piped red sotas, (squiggly lines) on the side of the cake.  On top I placed a circle of white fondant with curved edges to resemble dripping icing. The second layer was also iced pink and was piped with red dots scattered on the side of the cake and topped with a circle of white fondant.  On the very top, I used a SSC candle and three red candles. 

Favors:  I painted paper mache boxes for each of the children.  The girls were given heart boxes that looked like strawberries and the boys were given round boxes painted green with blueberries.  Inside each box was a SSC charm bracelet, a yo-yo, bubbles, and SSC stickers.  Instead of a charm bracelet, the boys received a rope bracelet.  For the bubbles, I bought Wedding Favor bubbles and tied pink, red, and green curling ribbon around the cap and placed a SSC sticker on the side.   During the party, I had my daughters SSC cd playing.  Thanks for reading, I hope this helps!