10 Tips for an Affordable Minnie Mouse Birthday Party
{+ Cupcake Recipe}
My daughter is turning 2 years old and we are throwing a party and sharing 10 Tips for an Affordable Minnie Mouse Birthday Party !
#1 ) Have your child pick a theme and colors! We are focusing on Minnie Mouse today because my daughter is literally obsessed with all things Minnie. Where do these obsessions come from? She saw a Minnie Mouse one day in the store and for the past 4 months, everything from shoes, shirts to stuffed animals and toys have to be Minnie Mouse. Minnie Mouse was an obvious theme for this year and so we had to pick colors. Pinks, black, and white were some nice complimentary colors to go with. Pick at least 3 colors. One dark, one light and one bright for contrast and fun. Some great places to go for party supplies are Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby and Target. Amazon is also a great place to search for ideas and grab fun items.
#2 ) Meal plan. I think a lot of people go over board in this department. Kids are pretty simple. Pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers work perfectly. We did some hot dogs on the grill for our guests with ketchup and mustard on the side. Cheap, simple, and all the kids are happy. Don’t feel like you have to feed everyone a big meal either. Maybe just have some snacks spread out and put your money and focus on other areas.
#3 ) Snacks are a must. If you do a meal or not, you need some snacks. Kids get hungry and the adults get bored but everyone can agree on eating. We did some popcorn in cute bags and a plate of watermelon. Popcorn is filling and healthier than other options and it is always nice to offer something fresh so shoot for a fruit or vegetable. Remember to buy some plates, napkins and utensils.
#4 ) Add special touches. I enjoy crafts so I made everything myself but even if you don’t have a crafty bone in your body, there are a lot of great party packs that are ready to go. Once you have a color and theme picked out, just search for what you need. You may end up spending more money doing this, especially if you want Minnie Mouse on everything. The little things go a long way though! I made this Minnie Mouse head below from Styrofoam balls. I spray painted the round Styrofoam and a stick, used toothpicks to assemble and poured some confetti in a vas. Really simple to do but so much fun to make and for our guests to look at.
Also, I had Minnie Mouse cut outs for everything. I used the felt with a sticky back and a cookie cutter in the shape of Mickey to use as my template. A hand drew a little bow as my template for all those. I made the banner, cups, and popcorn bags with the Minnie Mouse felt cut outs to add a pop of Minnie and to make the party table cohesive. I also used this cookie cutter for the watermelon cut outs.
#5 ) Let the kids dress up. Invite the kids to dress up as Mickey or Minnie or make your own mouse ears like I did. Having a theme and purpose to the party is important and going beyond that to play dress up adds a memorable experience and prompts bonding between children. You can buy mouse ears but this gets expensive! I found ones for under $2 a piece… these were about 50 cents to make. Big difference when you have 20 kids running around. All you need is cheap head bands, scissors, felt, glue, bobby pins to hold the ears in place until dry, and bows. I got lucky with these bows because they were on clearance so search around for a good priced bow or even make your own.
#6 ) Drinks! Refreshments are always on the party list. A pink lemonade was a great choice with the theme and colors. We also had a cooler filled with caffeine free sodas and waters. If alcohol is acceptable for the adults, you can let them know to BYOB in the invite. Don’t forget the cups.
#7 ) Never underestimate the power of a balloon. Seriously. Throw a bunch of blown up balloons on the floor and it looks neat, plus the kids have a blast with them. Bonus! They are cheap.
#8 ) Have a craft and activities planned out. I bought some wooden beads and ribbon so we could all sit in a circle and do an activity together as a group. Pick at least one group activity. Pin the bow on Minnie would be fun. Cut out and paint a Minnie Mouse and a bunch of bows to see who can come the closest to pinning the bow in the right place, make a necklace or bracelet, paint, color, use stencils, or whatever you can think of. Try and pick an activity that is fun for all ages that will get a lot of participation.
#9 ) Cake! Save money by making your own cupcakes or cupcakes. Cupcakes are a lot easier to bake and decorate so I made these cute Minnie Mouse Cupcakes for the party. All you need is a box of chocolate or vanilla cake mix, mini Oreos, butter, vanilla extract, milk, confectioners sugar, eggs, cupcake liners, instant pudding, pink chocolate melts and a chocolate bow mold.
Yum
- 1 box chocolate or vanilla cake mix
- 1 box chocolate or vanilla instant pudding mix
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup milk, + 2 tablespoons for frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- .5 pound pink chocolate melts
- bag of mini Oreos
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- You need a hand or stand mixer, muffin pan, cupcake liners, chocolate bow mold, measuring cups, mixing bowls and a glass bowl for chocolate, frosting tip and bag.
- Place cupcake liners into muffin pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, add box of cake mix, 1 cup milk, .5 cup room temperature butter, and 4 eggs.
- Use your hand or stand mix to blend well.
- Pour mix into the cupcake liners filling ¾ full.
- Bake for 18 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
- Make the chocolate bows. In a small glass bowl, microwave chocolate according to package directions. This should take about 1 minute. Stir well and use a spoon to fill each mold. Let the chocolate set before removing and repeat until you have enough bows.
- Begin your frosting. In a large bowl, add .5 cup of room temperature butter and mix until smooth. Add the 2 tablespoons of milk and vanilla extract and half the confectioners sugar. Mix well and add the remaining confectioners sugar until blended completely.
- Place the frosting into the pastry bag with a large tip. Frost each cupcake.
- Set 2 mini Oreos on each cupcake with a chocolate bow in the center.
#10 ) Lay out all your plans in the invitation. Let your guests know what to wear, what foods you will be serving, that there will be crafts, and of course put the time and date. Also, have a phone number and email for RSVP. If you know who is coming, you can save money across the board by not buying too much!
Pin this to share with your friends:
[…] Minnie Mouse […]
I LOVE your tips and tricks for throwing a Minnie Mouse themed birthday on a budget! ? What did you use for the backdrop behind your table? Was it just a white tablecloth?
Thanks Nikki. Yes, I just used a white tablecloth because that room is painted green which doesn’t go with Minnie Mouse. If you wanted to do white too, you could even pick up a large roll of white paper from Hobby Lobby so it can be taped up easily.
Where does the pudding come into play? I didn’t see on instructions! Thank you!
In the cake mix for cupcakes