Taco Bout A Party!

I can hardly believe it, but my baby boy turned three this month!  To me, he's still my baby, but if you ask him, "I not a baby, I a big kid."  And really, he's right!  He talks (endlessly), he does everything possible for himself, he climbs in & out of his crib (Lord, help me!), and he keeps up with his six year old brother like a champ!  He also knows how to plow his way through a few tacos and an order of chips & queso, so it only seemed fitting that we had a Birthday Fiesta for him this year ;)

As always, I kicked the theme into gear with the invitation we sent out:

I just design these in publisher, which is my favorite program in the word, y'all!  Print them 4 to a sheet of cardstock, cut apart, and they can be mailed in envelopes or even as a postcard, to save a little money.  I'm gonna be honest, I gave them out to family in person, and I texted a screenshot of it to anyone not in the area.  Lol, I didn't want them to get lost in the shuffle of Christmas Cards.

Back when my Aidan turned one, I started a tradition of making a shirt for the Birthday Boy, matching the theme & personalized with his name.  To connect to our Fiesta, I created a design of Mexican party flags spelling his name, and added "is three!" underneath.  I have to admit, it's easily my most-favorite shirt I've done so far - no doubt because of my new Cricut machine, which made it so easy to do!

I also used my Cricut to make the various signs & banners to decorate our house.  As our friends & family arrived, the "no time to siesta" sign greeted them.  Over our buffet line, I strung a banner saying "taco bout a party."  On the fireplace & on our window frame, I used Mexican fiesta flags to spell out "Happy Birthday Leo" and "Leo Is Three."  The bright colors, the fun puns, and the flag cut outs all added to the festive theme I was aiming for.

The buffet I mentioned before featured tacos & nachos, with both beef & chicken options, and plenty of fixings - queso, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, lettuce... I had hard shells, soft tortillas, and chips for anyone who prefers nachos.  Our kitchen is set up in a sort-of U-shape, with doorways on each end, so it really lent itself to a smooth-flowing buffet line, complete with drinks in the sink!  Everyone had something to eat, and seemed to really enjoy it, from toddlers to grandparents.  

 

The best part of the party food, though, was the "pinata cake" I made.  Let me choose to word this nicely, and just say it was quite a labor of love... the actual cake was easy: I layered 4 round cakes, cutting out a circle in the bottom three, to create an empty core.  I filled it with mini M&Ms and sprinkles, then topped it with the fourth layer, and iced the whole thing in white frosting.  My fatal error was deciding to coat the entire cake in rainbow nonpareils.  I was going for a festive, Fiesta-like feel... but what I got was a MESS!  Sprinkles all over my kitchen, stained countertops, an emotional late Friday night... Ay yay yay, I will never do that again!  But, I will say, it was worth it, because Leo's face lit up when he saw it, and all our guests enjoyed it!

 

As if the candy-stuffed cake wasn't enough sugar, we sent each person home with a rock candy stick, with a personalized tag to match our theme.

I have to say, throwing a themed party for my boys is one of my favorite things to do.  I attribute it to my mother, who planned the most epic themed Day Camps you've ever heard of, and who throws the best bridal/baby showers ever!  So as long as my kiddos let me, I'm gonna keep it up ;)