Ok, I admit it. I tend to go a bit overboard when it comes to planning my daughter’s birthday parties. I can’t help it. Once a year I find myself scouring Pinterest ( I am NOT a Pinterest Mom by any means) and the internet for decorating and party ideas, designing a cake, and assembling goody bags. I am fully aware I bring on the craziness myself. I think it started with the “Super-Mom-I-can-do-anything” mentality brought on by working moms guilt when I was working in corporate America full-time and traveling like a crazy person. But, truth is, I really love it. The theme she asked for this year-Annie the Movie (the new one). Um…sure. Should be no problem considering it’s a live action movie, Annie is a real person, and there are no party supplies or merchandising out there. Ugh…where to begin? Color, I decided to start with color. Red and White and polka dots.

Ok, NOW WHAT?

I found an awesome Annie Printable kit from Worldwide Party and an Annie Dress Party Bag Printable from ChicaandJo on Etsy.

A hit with all the kids were the mason jars! We got pint size mason jars and tied tags around the neck. Add a polka dot straw with the adorable flags and you have a fun accent to your party. The kids filled them with Strawberry lemonade or a punch of fruit punch and sparkling water. The organic juices from Trader Joe’s taste great, are organic with less junk in them, and more economical than buying a ton of juice boxes.

….and, yes, I am one of those parents that serves wine at a kid’s birthday party.

The goody bags came out super cute. I printed the dress pieces on sticker paper, cut them out and stuck them on standard red party bags. Since Annie doesn’t exactly lend itself to party favors for both girls and boys, I decided to do summer stuff. Bubbles, chalk, and those balls you use in the water.

Once a year- and once a year only-I break out the fondant. I decided to make the cake a combination of the key elements of the movie-New York City, Music, and the Sun. The skyline was a stencil that was supposed to be outlined on the cake only of course it was too big. Last minute improvising by carving it out of fondant and making husband fix the messy job I did.

Note to self- check dimensions of stuff before hand.

The apples are to cover up some “imperfections”. I found this Immaculate Scratch Cake Mix at Target. It’s non GMO with all natural ingredients. Im always excited to find a healthier, affordable substitute to something like a cake mix. I don’t go crazy with this stuff when it comes to a party, but if its there and available and better for you, why not? And it was delicious! We did the bottom layers chocolate and the top layers vanilla.

To round out the desert table, black bean brownie cupcakes decorated with the personalized themed cupcake toppers!

Our Birthday Girl in her Annie dress…..

We played the movie soundtrack and I was amazed that the boys , as well as the girls, loved the music and created their own dance party. My daughter wore her Annie dress that she had worn for Christmas. Seeing how happy she was, and how much fun the kids had, made all the work worthwhile.