Chase & Trent's Super Hero Training Party!

I must say now that the party is over and done with I feel this weight lifted off my shoulders. The party was full and my wallet is empty. It took lots of planning, time and money, but it was a success. Things I've learned from this party.

#1 Just buy a cake. Seriously.
#2 Don't try to throw a "stay at home mom" type of party and expect the same results. 

I had wayyy too much expectations for myself that I did not fulfill. I felt like I had all the time in the world and I really didn't. I think if I had the two weekends prior to the party free, then I could have gotten a lot more done. I ended up playing in a two day tournament those weekends which really dipped into any of my free time. Also, I've learned that I'm not a baker. As much as I've challenged myself to be. It's just not something I'm good at. It makes me want to try harder but I really don't have the opportunities for it.

The two things that I wanted to include in my party and glad I didn't was capes and masks. I ended up making 3 masks and they were never used. I also spent A LOT of time (and money) attempting to bake Chase's cake and that didn't turn out so well. Let's just say it's in the trash and I ended up having to spend an extra $50 buying an ice cream cake last minute for the party. So I did waste some money buying things that I ended up not really using. Next time. Plan a little bit better. I guess you learn through your mistakes.

Overall, it was a great party and the kids had fun. All of our friends and family made it, which really sealed the deal. I can't wait for the day when we can throw a party at our house. Have a backyard for the kids to play in. I dream of the day when I can decorate our house for the party instead of rushing to the park an hour in advance and rushing everything. These pictures are in no particular order..it drives me crazy.

For those that are interested in where I got Batman from. He's from Creative Parties. He ran late but that was okay because we were running late too. He was very interactive and in character the whole time. Stayed for the 2 hours even though he was late and entertained the kids very well!

The 3 color jello was so time consuming. I got these awesome 3 oz dessert cups with lids. Made transporting them so much easier.

Last minute, I got these paper cups from 99 cent store and filled them with microwaved popcorn.

I ordered these plastic containers from Amazon. They came with lids which was great. I used the Welch's fruit snack as one of the candy. 

Got those little metal pails from the dollar bins at Target. They even have a little chalkboard star you can write on!

It was kind of windy so these did not stay put for very long. I just used yellow plates from the dollar store. Polka dot and batman napkins from Oriental Trading.

Got the party favor bags from Amazon as well as the crazy straws.

I'm extremely satisfied with the park. This will probably be my go-to park for parties. There were plenty of seating and shade. It was great!

Batman playing hide and seek with the kids.

Most of the kids Chase's age just played on the playground which was right next to the party since they were scared of Batman.

Trent's first taste of cake.

Family photo op with Batman.

Trent's outfit was home made thanks to the help of An for owning a laser cutter and vinyl! I bought the onesie and fabric for the cape. Didn't have to spend $30+ to get one from Etsy!

Superhero Training exercises.

Really happy that our friends Kat and Chris was able to attend the party via SKYPE!

Check out the "photobooth signs" I made.

Guess which cake I made haha.

You can see my attempt at the photobooth  backdrop. It came out good except I wish we had a flat wall to hang it on. .

We also made Chase a custom shirt. 

We forgot to bring a knife to cut the cake with. Just had the plastic ones.

Thanks to Pinterest, I was able to gather all of my ideas for the parties in one place. I was also able to find a lot of ideas for my party just from Googling. Some of the things that I made were from looking on Etsy and just getting the idea and re-creating them myself.

I pretty much took the idea of the invite and re-created my own. Then I printed them out on cardstock.

I used Microsoft Word and created these candy signs. Super easy and taped them to construction paper so they would stand.

I got the idea to print comic book pages I Googled to use them as bunting. Thanks Mandyford.blogspot.com! I cut them into triangles and punched two holes in them. Then I strung them with a red and white polka dot ribbon.

I also bought these clear 16 oz cups with lids and printed out superhero logos on clear labels. Ta-da! I added a silly straw with it and they doubled as drinking cups and party favors. I originally got the idea from Etsy, but they were way too expensive and they used the paper straws. This turned out to be way cheaper and I could make 50 cups for the cost of a dozen they were selling.

Some things I didn't get a good picture of was the party favors I made for the babies. Since there were 5 babies attending the party, I decided to make separate party favors for them. I used paper bags and made these labels to keep them closed. In the bags I included one, organic fruit baby food, one bag of dried yogurt melts, two packages of mum mum crackers and I think one other thing. I made these cute labels that had the KAPOW! and it said super baby on them. 

For the kids party favors, this was what I ended up getting these Got Milk Magic Straws. The kids drinks their milk through them and it changes the flavor! I also included a magnetic picture frame and you can pop out the magnet in them. I thought it would be perfect so they could use pictures from the photobooth. I also included a batman activity book, Crayola crayons, Avengers stickers, and a superhero glider. 

Another thing I didn't get a GREAT picture of was the backdrop for the photobooth. It really didn't get utilized as I'd hope. But, still it was great for deocoration. I used a baby blue table cloth as the background and I got two black foam boards from STAPLES. I cut out the shape of buildings and used silver duct tape for the windows. 

What a great party it was and I think everyone really enjoyed it! So I have to say it was worth every minute and penny. :) 

Oh, ONE MORE THING! I found this amazing site in the process. Called DAFONT.com They allow you to download all sorts of font and you can install them on your computer!