In Search of....Cake!

For PB's "In Search Of..." birthday cake I decided to make a Loch Ness Monster.

I used two bunt cake pans to make the body. I had a hard time getting the head to stay up so I had to place a little sauce cup covered in icing under the chin. The eyes are black candy melts.  

I spend a lot of time making the party decorations because that is something that can be done in advance.  Cake can't be done like that.  I know lots of folks decorate cakes the day prior to the event but I just don't.   During the morning before the party I am always on the brink of loosing my mind with getting all the last minute party touches done.  I decided a few years ago that when I decorate the cake (which has to be done the day of) I don't allow myself to spend more that 20 minutes doing it.  I want it to look nice but if I hover over it then the rest of the party-putting-together won't happen.  I also look at it that the cake is going to be viewed and eaten all in 10 minutes, so perfecting every scallop of icing is a bit silly to do.

So with all that being said...yes, I know that the green icing didn't make it to all the belly undersides, and sure the squiggly details along the back really don't make sense but PB loved it anyway and it tasted great!

Last up... Go home Goodies!

In Search Of....Party Food

For PB's "In Search Of..." birthday party food I had a whole bunch of theme related goodies.

Big Foot Hair Balls

(Chocolate, butterscotch, and Chinese chow mien noodle haystacks)

Big Foot Toes

(Nutter Butters that I piped chocolate icing on)

Big Foot Toe Nails

(Frito corn chips)

Saturn Rings

(Funyuns)

Spaghetti Monsters

(Hot dogs with pasta noodles cooked within them)

  

UFO Snacks

(Biscuit and meatballs)

Loch Ness Monster Bait

(Swedish Fish and gummy worms)

Loch Ness Punch

(Green Hawaiian Punch)

Here is one image of the spread:

Next up...Cake!

In Search Of... Party Decor

For PB's "In Search Of..." birthday party I did some simple decorating in a couple of spots.

The party took place in the backyard with our deck being the food and drink area.

On the coffee table of the deck I made a center piece of a cow getting abducted into a UFO based after an idea I saw on the nets.

I wanted the deck area to represent all of the three subjects: Big Foot, Aliens, and Loch Ness Monster.  I saved a bunch of images that referenced all of them on a pinterest board.  I then printed out enough to make several long buntings to decorated the railings of the deck.

The bathroom was not safe (it never is!) from party decorating!

I thought it would be kinda clever to hang up some "reading materiel". I made a few buntings using images of covers of The Weekly World News!

I only picked ones that referenced Aliens, Big foot, or Loch Ness Monster.  It was a bonus when I had the cover with "Bigfoot vs. Aliens". 

My favorite cover is the "Redneck Aliens Take Over Trailer Park!  There goes the neighborhood!"

Next up...Eats!

In Search Of....Loch Ness Monster

The last theme covered in PB's "In Search Of..." birthday party was the Loch Ness Monster.

For decor of this area I made a pool noodle nessie with blue mylar water rings around the humps.

For the activity the kids built their own little nessie and raced it!

To make the little Nessies there were small pieces of pool noodle foam to use as the body base and green pipe cleaners with (goggly eyes already attached) for the humps.  

Below are the mini Loch Ness racing lakes:

The lakes are long planter boxes covered in black yard debris bags with rocks on the bottom and filled with water.

To get their Nessies to glide across the water air propulsion by means of a straw was used.

"...and down the Loch they come!  In the final stretch it's Nessie by a neck!"

Next up...

Food and additional decor!

In Search Of.... Aliens

Close Encounters of the...birthday kind.
The second activity/theme involved in PB's "In Search Of..." birthday party was UFOs and aliens!

We decided to use our Airstream travel trailer as an Area 51 backdrop since it has a space age look.

We had aliens peering out from the windows (balloons with green glow sticks inside).

On the top of the trailer was a large mother ship with smaller ships honing in.

(The larger ship is made of cardboard and covered in silver mylar wrapping material.  The smaller ships are made from paper plates, lids from ICEEs, and silver spray paint)

We added bumper stickers on the Mother Ship ("My other ride is the Millennium Falcon", "Spock for President") and a vehicle tag (GLXY QSTR) as a nod to the movie Galaxy Quest.

For the activity the kids made aluminum foil hats to protect their thoughts from being read.
I had 5 rolls of aluminum foil available for the kids and they used every last bit of it up.  They made some interesting head gear.

Here are my husband and son donning their hats and party attire:

Caution!  Anyone that seems to detest your tin foil hat is part of the conspiracy!

Next.... Loch Ness Monster!

In Search Of... Big Foot

Operation 11 Candles

(aka PB's 11th 'In Search of...' themed birthday party)

As I mentioned in the last post, PB wanted to have a hang out party with his friends this year with less adult involvement.  Normally we have several games and activities that I guide the kids through.  After 10 years I have it down pretty well and things go fairly smoothly.  But I knew these hooligans were going to need to have some sort of direction to keep my home from going up in flames in a mysterious blaze. I came up with a few areas of activities to keep them busy and hopefully less destructive.  We had a few adults that floated around to assist with fire extinguishers at the ready. 

Each of the primary theme subjects (Bigfoot, Aliens, and Loch Ness Monster) had a separate area and activity.

  Let's journey into the woods first!
Keep your eyes on the look out for an actual Bigfoot sighting!

What man...or thing could have made such large tracks?!
Those footprints are over 18 inches long!
Where's my plaster so I can make a moulage casting?!

(I made the footprints from cardboard. They lead to the backyard and main party sector.)

 Geez!

What is that horrific stench? 

Oh... My....It can't be!
Why he looks friendly!  And he is communicating with us:
"Pardon me foul odor... Me had onion and ketchup sandwich for lunch."

And there is another one!
He/she spoke:
"Watch out for me random dropped scat piles!"

Well let's all watch our steps....

The friendly Big Foots posed for pictures, which is something I understand Sasquatches to rarely do in the wild.

(I painted the Sasquatches on large pieces of cardboard).

HHHUHG!

What is that?! I think it is...a Bigfoot hairball!

So what are we suppose to do with this?

Oh! Chunk them!

It's Big Foot Hairball Hurl!

For the Big Foot activity I borrowed a corn hole game from a friend of mine and Big Foot-ified it. I covered the corn bags in furry big foot fabric.

I also covered the corn hole game boards in black paper and painted on more friendly Big Foots: 

Next Up... An UFO invasion!

If you happened to wonder why the holes on the boards were so oddly placed, this is the before:

In Search Of... Invitations

Operation 11 Candles
(aka PB's 11th birthday party)

PB wanted to have more of a 'hang out' party with his friends this year and informed me to not go all out as I have previous years past. He still wanted to have a theme though.  He chose to base it after one of his favorite television shows
 "In Search Of..."

The opening disclaimer of the show:

"This series presents information based in part on theory and conjecture. The producer's purpose is to suggest some possible explanations, but not necessarily the only ones, to the mysteries we will examine."

"In Search Of..." (1976-1982) was an unexplained phenomenon and mysteries show hosted by Leonard Nimoy.  The Ghosts episode gives me chills!

I decided to represent a few unexplained reoccurring mysteries as the common theme for his party:

UFOs, Big Foot, and Loch Ness Monster.

I constructed the invitation to appear to be a Top Secret X-file with various photos and newspaper clippings corresponding to the mysteries/subjects.

The pages on the right were fastened inside with clips so they could be flipped through. 

There is a page for each (Aliens, Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot).  

The classified paper inside the file on the left was a memorandum with the party info and details.

"Do not let this document out of your sight.  Memorize contents and destroy if necessary."

I put a comical "Note to Self" on the top portion of each subject's document:

Aliens:

 " Note to self: 1. Find UFO   2.  Ask pilot about buying a light saber."

Loch Ness Monster:  

" Would prefer to not be called Nessie. His name is Jeff."

Big Foot: 

 " Bigfoot and Justin Beiber have never been seen together.  This means something!"

The Top Secret folder invite went into a Confidential and Classified envelope.  They were then delivered to selected members of the southeastern sector by means of secret service agents wearing all black and keeping identities under wrap wearing Groucho Marx-esque glasses/mustaches.

Operation 11 Candles

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish I could convey the atmosphere... the background of this ...fantastic scene.  Hundreds of cars are parked in a field in back of us.  Police are trying to rope off the roadway leading to the farm.  But it's no use.  They're breaking right through.  Car's headlights throw an enormous spot on the pit where the object is half buried.  Some of the more daring souls are now venturing to the edge. ..."*

Welcome readers to the first of several posts covering the intricate details surrounding PB's most recent birthday celebratory observance. 

 It will be known here on out as....Operation 11 Candles.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this may the most terrifying thing I have ever witnessed...Wait a minute!  Someone's crawling out  of the hollow top.  Someone....or something.  I can see peering out of that black hole two luminous disks.. are they eyes?  It might be a face..it might be..."*

As parents are allowed to supply celebratory confections on appropriate dates to fellow classmates within the educational advancement building that PB attends, I obliged.

I constructed unidentified space crafts using common glazed donuts and their counterpart donut holes while also applying icing and silver sugar sprinkles within the diameter of the sugar ship.  The saucer men are merely paper images attached to toothpicks...no matter what you have heard or think you know!

"A humped shape is rising out of the pit.  I can make out a small beam of light against a mirror.  What's that?  A jet of flame springing from the mirror, and it leaps right to the advancing men.  It strikes them head on!  

Good lord!  They are turning into flame!"*

The invasion has begun! 

Keep your radio dial tuned here for further information! 

* Excerpts from Orson Welles "The War of the Worlds" by HG Wells Radio Broadcast 1938