"I defy you to come up with a better name than Seven."

This year, Reese chose Candyland as her birthday theme.
It's amazing how easy it is to make decorations from a board game when you use a color copier! (Megan, Hannah, Jackson, Hayden, Reese, Madi, Quincy and Corbin)
Bunting and cake characters were printed out on cardstock and tada! Candyland Birthday party. I won't lie. I had a lot of fun making this cake. Probably more fun than Reese had eating it.
Actually, she had a lot of fun eating it, and so did her friends, so it's probably a tie.

I baked the cake in a large jelly roll pan so there would be more space to make the game board on it. There is a base layer of green and white frosting. The squares of the path are starburst. Queen Frostine is skating on pink coconut flakes, and King Kandy's Castle is made from purple ice cream cones that are filled with white bread and frosted. I thought the kids would throw them away, but the two that got cones on their cake piece totally ate them and were happy about it. Nasty. That officially eliminates any guilt I will ever have for using a boxed cake mix and frosting from a can. The kids did not care in the least how the cake tasted, they just thought it looked cool and they each wanted a character on their slice. I was happy to deliver.

A birthday wish was made and seven candles were blown out!

The kids decorated gingerbread cookies. This is the best recipe for cut cookies. Seriously, the best. The cookies stay soft and fresh for weeks (yes! really!) so you can use them for advent calendars or send them in the mail to loved ones (er...sorry loved ones...I didn't do that. But now you know I could do that, so harrass me next year and maybe you'll get a box of cookie mail)

mmmm sprinkles with a side of cookie.

We played a game I made that is like the Candyland Castle Game (which is what Reese wanted to play, but it is only a 4 player game) but a Christmas version.

Each player gets a gingerbread card that has 5 different decorative charms on it. Play is simple: players draw charm cards from a bowl. If they get a piece that matches part of their gingerbread man, they can keep it. If not, it goes back into the bowl and they have to wait unil it is their turn to draw again. Not very challenging for 7 yr olds, but the kids really enjoyed it, and it made for a great party game because the kids could joke around, converse, and not be serious or attentive when it wasn't their turn.
There was a candy buffet and the kids to pick prizes after they won the Gingerbread Cookie game that I made.

Then, I read the story of Candyland (yup, the one that comes inside the game box) and as each character was introduced, the kids got something to put in their goody bags. (candy canes for the candy cane forest, Dots for gumdrop pass, nutter butters from Grandma Nut, Twizzler ropes for Lord Licorice, etc)

What was fun is that one of the guests said, "let's do spotlight for Reese!" and the kids ended up each saying something they like about the birthday girl every time they got a treat. It was precious, partly because of the nice things they said, and partly because it was spontaneous. Reese loved all the validation.

After games, cake and presents, and the usual running wildly around the room that happens at a birthday party. The kids danced to Hoedown Throwdown and Freeze Dance and then the party ended/ Reese thanked her guests and hugged them enthusiastically as each of them left, then she and Quincy disappeared into a bedroom to play with new toys until bedtime.

I think she's already working on a theme for next year!

Happy 7th Birthday, Pieces! I hope your wish comes true!
(unless you wished for a guinea pig or a cat...)