Candy Land Birthday Extravaganza!!

During our "snowed-in" days in early February, I had lots of time to think about and plan out a fun party for Abby's 4th birthday. I decided on "Candy Land" as the theme for three reasons...1. Abby loves playing this game (although she totally cheats everytime we play), 2. It was a gender-neutral theme which helped with all of her "boy-friends" who would be coming and 3. It was so full of bright colors, fun characters and so many creative opportunities to run wild with. I had a lot of fun planning this party (although it was a TON of work, much more than I anticipated going into it!)

We started off by serving a rainbow-colored lunch in the "Rainbow Room" using the colors of the Candy Land Path (Orange: Macaroni & Cheese, Green: Broccoli, Red: Strawberries, Yellow: Bananas, Blue: Jello, Purple: Grape juice.) Rainbow colored Goldfish were also offered to complete this very kid-friendly lunch!

After lunch, we started on our journey along Candy Land Path (Colored felt squares marked the path throughout the house and each child got a colored box to gather all of their treats during their adventure in Candy Land...)

1st stop: Gingerbread Tree

Here each child got a balloon with their name on it and did their best to keep it up in the air. If your balloon touched the ground, you were out and had to sit down until the next round.

(Prize: A gingerbread shaped sucker from Gingerbread Mama!)

2nd Stop: Peppermint Forest

This game was a ring toss around bottles shaped in the form of two candy canes.

(Prize: Peppermint stickers and candy canes from Mr. Mint!)

3rd Stop: Gumdrop Mountains

No pictures of the actual event, but the kids headed to the landing on our stairs and tried to drop a piece of bubblegum into a bucket on the floor below (hence the "gum-drop.")

(Prize: Gumdrops from Jolly!)

4th Stop: Licorice Forest

The kids got strings of licorice and strung rainbow-colored cheerios on them to make "power-bracelets" to help protect them from Lord Licorice.

(Prize: Twizzlers from Lord Licorice!)

5th Stop: Peanut Acres

The kids had one minute to collect as many peanuts as possible from the "peanut field" into the bowls. (Notice Landon getting in on the fun in this picture...he actually tried to eat the whole peanut, shell and all!)

The birthday girl with a very full bowl of peanuts!

After collecting their peanuts, each child got a turn with the "magic oven" where inserting a peanut and saying the magic words magically produced some peanut butter cookies!

(Prize: Nutter Butter Cookies from Gramma Nut!)

6th Stop: Lollipop Woods

The kids played a version of "Musical Lollipops," a picture of a lollipop that they had to sit on when the music stopped.

(Prize: A huge lollipop from Lolly!)

7th Stop: Snowflake Lake

Each child got a snowflake kit to make a snowflake headband to take home.

(Prize: Peppermint Patty from Princess Frostine!)

8th Stop: Chocolate Swamp

The kids used chocolate syrup as finger paint to paint their very own "chocolate masterpiece." (Note: No pictures were taken during this time because we needed every available adult to help control the mess!)

(Prize: Chocolate pudding from Gloppy!)

9th Stop: Candy Castle

After getting a prize from King Kandy for finishing their journey through Candy Land (skittles), we had a special crowning ceremony for our "Birthday Princess" and everybody sang Happy Birthday after revealing the "Castle Cake."

Then everybody headed back to the "Rainbow Room" to enjoy some Castle Cake with Bubbegum Ice Cream!

Then came the part that Abby had been looking forward to most of all....opening presents. All of the children were very eager to help her open them!!

She received wonderful presents that she has been having fun with ever since!!

And that concludes the story of the Candy Land Birthday Extravaganza. It was a lot of work but the kids had a great time and Abby still talks about the fun she had with her friends at her "Candy Land Birthday." It's funny though, because for some reason she keeps talking about how she'll have another birthday party when she turns 7. Sounds about right though, I'll probably need those 3 years just to recover from this one!!!