Strawberry Shortcake -5yr- Strawberry Adventures

My daughter wanted a Strawberry Shortcake party for her 5th birthday. 

So for the invitations I bought some thick artist watercolor paper. I cut the paper down to the size of a 4x5 card and painted a rainbow of colors on it.  I then went to Michael's craft store and bought tiny little straw hats (about 3 inches in diameter) and spray painted them pink.  I then tied a red ribbon around them to look just like strawberry shortcake's hat.  I hot glued it down to the watercolor papered invitations.  On the inside of the card I typed: "Come join Delaney on her birthday for a delicious treasure hunt and cookie-making extravaganza! Strawberry Shortcake and friends will help you collect the necessary ingredients to make cookies for Delaney's special party!"  Everyone was so amazed and excited just over the invitations.

For the entrance into the party, I lined one side of the hallway with a huge blanket of Strawberry shortcake.  I make a tunnel effect by streaming streamers and ribbon across the top of the ceiling and then down the sides of the wall.  I made the streamers tight to give it a tunnel effect.  I cut out strawberries that I made out of foam.  I applied them to the streamers and hung some down from the ceiling.  The front of the door read, "Come to Strawberry Land... where it rains strawberries".  I made a tropical tree from paperbags.  I took a paper bag and folded it down half way.  I then put another paperbag on top of that one and so on.  I then cut huge leaves out of paper bags and painted them green.  I applied paper flowers to some of the trunk. 

I also made a picture area.  I took packaging paper and lined a section of the entrance.  I painted the sky a carolina blue and also painted a fence.  I used green streamers and twisted them into vines.  The vines were placed on the painted fence.  I then added my foam strawberries onto the fence.  I extended the paper vines and stawberries along the hallway walls.  It gave a nice affect.  I bought flower vines at the dollar store and hung them from the ceiling and lined them on the wall. You really felt as if you were standing in a strawberry field.  As you came to the end of the hallway, I placed 20 pink and red balloons.  As the guests arrived they had their picture taken with the birthday girl.  

As the guests were waiting for the whole party to arrive they entered into my living room.  I had streamers hanging everywhere in bright pink, neon blue, and light pink.  I put 30 balloons in the room in the same colors.  I placed a pink tablecloth down on the floor.  Each guest would go sit down on the tablecloth and make a bracelet from a Strawberry Shortcake jewelry kit I bought.  When they were finished with their bracelets, they went to a small table to play with some homemade strawberry scented play dough.  The play dough was homemade and glitter was added for that extra girly color.  Strawberry kool-aid was used to give the strawberry scent.   When all the guests had arrived and everyone made their bracelet and had a chance to play with the strawberry play dough the extravaganza began.  I made each guest a stawberry shortcake hat. 

I bought straw hats from Michael's and tied a pink and green ribbon around the hat.  I then hot glued a foam strawberry to the bow.  I then handed each guest a willow basket which was lined with some strawberry shortcake fabric I had bought at WalMart.  I hung a tag from the handles.  I explained that we needed to go to several places to get cookie ingredients so we could make cookies for the birthday party.  I then pointed to a sign I had made out of cardboard and paint sticks.  It pointed to a room which read "Orange Blossom Acres". 

I told everyone we needed to go to Orange Blossom Acres to collect our first set of ingredients.  We walked to the room where I had fake pine trees and other faux trees in the room.  I made it into a maze where it ended at a huge box.  I had painted an orange tree on the box.  I then took some craft balls and painted them orange.  I put them on the tree with velcro.  The object of the game was to pick an orange and throw it across the room into Orange Blossom's basket.  Once the basket was filled, Orange Blossom gave each guest a little bag of cookie ingredients (chocolate chips).  

Next we went to Cake Walk.  I made a sign for that as well.  Cake walk was a room decorated with flower garland, and streamers.  There was a table that had a bright pink table cover and the edges were lined with flower garland.  Each guest had a miniature gingerbread house.  I made each house using small milk cartons.  I used graham crackers instead of gingerbread.  I glued them onto the carton with gingerbread icing.  I created a strawberry shortcake gingerbread house from a gingerbread house kit I bought at Michaels.  However, I had to buy different candy so it would not look like a Christmas house.  I used skittles smoothies, gum drops, life savers creme swirls, and sprinkles.  I made the icing the night before.  Each little house had a bag of candy sitting next to it.  Each guest began to decorate their very own house.  I let them know that Angel Cake really needed help building and decorating houses.  When the houses were finished each guest rec'd another bag of cookie ingredients (nuts).   

Next we had to go to strawberry fields and pick strawberries.  Everyone went outside for this part of the party.  I hid little strawberry candies ,which were wrapped in strawberry packaging  I had purchased at the dollar store, all over the backyard.  They all went out to hunt for the strawberries and filled their baskets.  In the middle of the yard, hung a strawberry pinata. 

After all the strawberries were picked, they each had a turn hitting the pinata.  They all rec'd their final ingredient (sprinkles) and went inside.  I had made up a batch of cookie dough the night before.  Everyone dropped all their cookie ingredients into the dough and had a turn mixing it in.  They then went to the party room.  I used floral vines instead of streamers.  They hung from the ceiling and the chandelier.  The table was beautifully set with tulle, and flower vines.  Each place setting had a little tote bag. 

I bought the mini tote bags at Michaels.  I stamped a strawberry onto the front of the bag with fabric paint.  I then wrote their name on the bag with puffy fabric paint.  I tied a red ribbon around one of the handles.  Each bag had a strawberry shortcake straw, strawberry shortcake compact mirror, ss lipgloss necklace, a ss water squirter, strawberry flavored candy cane, and a sheet of ss stickers.  I played strawberry shortcake music from a CD I bought at Target.  I was afraid that my chairs would get a nasty spill from all the food that I had prepared so I took a plastic tablecloth and cut it into sections.  I made chair covers from the plastic tablecloth.  It worked so well and looked so good.  There was  a strawberry candle lit on the buffet.  The room smelled yummy. 

As the guests were seated, I took out a batch of cookies that I made the night before.  I led them to believe that these were the cookies they just made - but they were magic.  Then I served them strawberry cream cheese and crackers, cheddar cheese, strawberries, blueberry muffins, pineapple casserole, rainbow pasta salad, little pb&j sandwiches, fruit pizza, pretzels, and strawberry - gingerale punch.  I had a special cake made with strawberry filling.  We served that after singing "happy birthday", along with strawberry ice cream.   Next we all sat in a cirle for gifts.  Each guest held their gift for the birthday girl.  Since she was turning 5, we all went around the circle and counted 5 guests.  The guest that was number 5 gave the birthday girl her present.  This kept everyone entertained and calm. 

Afterwards, everyone rec'd a book that was made.  The front cover had a picture of my daughter.  It read, "Thank you for celebrating Delaney's 5th birthday".  It was filled with ss coloring pages, and activities I had copied from other coloring books.   The party was a huge success.  Everyone had the best time and was so impressed by the party.    I sent out thank you cards with the picture of each guest and the birthday girl.  I made my own thank you cards out of cardstock and a strawberry stamp.  Everyone said it was the best party they had ever seen or could even imagine.