Fun Memories

Yesterday, we had a party to celebrate Kade's 5th birthday! A tradition seems to have fallen into place of having themed birthday parties. Kade has chosen them all out except for #1. So far we have had:
#1- Teddy Bears
#2- Cars and Trucks
#3- Mickey Mouse
#4- Yellow Lion
.....and this year we did Spongebob. I'm not sure he'll want to do a "theme" every time... he might be getting too old for that in a few years. I'll enjoy it while it lasts! We always do the parties at one of the grandparents houses, because our house is a bit too small for a crowd. This year we even invited more than normal- there were over 30 people there, and 11 of them were under the age of 8! Everybody was able to make it, which we were very thankful for! I got to see some great friends that I haven't been able to see for a long time! Kade got so excited as each of his cousins and other friends came through the door. I heard him say several times, "HI!!! Welcome to my Spongebob birthday party!!!" I think the best gift for Kade was getting to play with them all together!

So, one of the things that I noticed while browsing the net for ideas, was that there are not many pictures of these ideas! And since I am a visual person, I thought maybe there are others out there who would appreciate the pictures. Many of these things could be applied to any type of birthday party. We made most everything ourselves. It was a fun project to do together, plus it kept costs down, which is always good! First, I made invitations using Print Shop.

I downloaded a free Spongebob font, and found all the images using Google. The little song at the top was an idea from this party website.

Next I created a banner in Print Shop, 4 pages in width. Jer and Kade colored it in for me after it was printed. This was hung above the front door.


I decided to include a game at the party, which is a first. I also got this idea from the party website linked above. I drew and colored Squidward on poster board. I drew, colored, and cut out the 4 funny noses, and about 10 Squidward noses. For the game, I asked the kids what was missing from the picture. I told them I happened to have some noses, and stuck each one on and said, "is this the right nose?" It had all the kids laughing, it was really cute! Finally I found the correct nose, and then each child got a chance to spin around, close their eyes, and try to stick the nose in the right place. They each chose a little prize out from the prize bucket. After the party, I stuck the game up on Kade's door, so he can switch the noses around or play the game whenever he wants.


The party decorations were done by Jer's parents - they went all out! The place looked awesome... here is a view of the atrium:

To top it all off, they had a bubble machine and a fan to blow around the streamers and jelly fish hanging from the ceiling! They did a great job!

I decided to make treat bags this year, but I forgot to take a picture of them. Kade loved picking out special things to include. I made a small coloring book using some of these images. We also put in a few crayons, a noise blower, Spongebob fruit snacks, animal crackers, chocolate coin, gummy krabby patty, bubbles, and a Spongebob tattoo. Kade decorated some lunch bags with stickers, and we tied the tops with blue ribbon and added a tag with the child's name.

Jer's mom made most of the food, and I made little signs for each thing, to keep in the Spongebob theme. We had:

Gary's Favorite Kelp Juice

Sandy's Jelly Fish Jam and Sea-Nut Butter Sandwiches

Spongebob's Pineapple House Special

Krabby Patty Secret Ingredient

Patrick's Crackers and Cheese

Squidward's Shark Fin Surprise

Mrs. Puffs Pirate Booty

Last but not least, the BIRTHDAY CAKE! My mom made it for us. She could sell these cakes that she makes, they are amazing! I always feel bad cutting into them! This cake was so yummy, it disappeared in no time :)


Kade loved his cake, loved the party, loved playing with all his friends, loved all the awesome presents, and had a great time... all the preparation was worth it to see his smiling face!


When the party was over, Kade looked completely overwhelmed, exhausted, and ready to go. Later in the night he came down with a fever, and today he is sick. Maybe he just partied too hard! Or maybe he was just hanging on to get through Thanksgiving and his party, and finally let the fever take over. He hasn't had one in over a month, so it was about due. It's so sad to see him sick, but right now he's cuddled up on the couch in some new Spongebob pj's, watching a new Planet Heroes movie, drinking apple juice, and playing Spiderman checkers. He doesn't let a fever get him down!