I really should title this “How to throw a 2 year old’s birthday party when you’re 38 weeks pregnant”. I was large and tired and didn’t have a lot of time and resources to throw much of a party this year. I also decided it was totally unnecessary to throw a big party for a 2 year old. The first birthday is always really special and more for us, but the 2nd just doesn’t seem as monumental.
Anyway, we decided just to invite some friends to the local park and provide snacks. It gives the kids a fun playground to play on and run around and we can still have a small celebration for our sweet girl who’s world was just about to be turned upside down by our new addition.
The most important thing about any party is the food, right? At least in my mind it is. Since this wasn’t some epic party like her first and it was essentially a park play date, I still tried to package the snacks in a way that were cute and seemed more special than just throwing them in a basket. See below for some cute ideas on how to package snacks or food for parties, favors, bake sales, valentines etc. It just takes a little effort to take things up a notch and these are some really easy and super cute ways to add a special touch.
PACKAGING STORE-BOUGHT SNACKS
I made most of the food for Eden’s first birthday party (I even made homemade cheese-its). I know..I’m crazy. But lets remember that I was almost 38 weeks pregnant for this party and ain’t nobody got time for that. So I bought a bunch of snacks at Target and packaged them in a cute way. See below:
- Greek-Yogurt Covered Pretzels and Cranberries
Eden loves Greek yogurt and pretzels and recently has really been diggin “canbewwys”, so these were a perfect option for her. I stuck them in some small glassine bags and closed them with a sticker. Confession time: I actually had all these stickers and a lot of the bags left over from her first birthday. I always have miscellaneous items left over from showers and parties and it was so easy to pull from my stash here that I had very little to buy. That’s a win in my book!
What you need:
Glassine bags (click here to buy)
Stickers (click here to buy from Amazon
Snack of your choice
How fun is that. So little effort, but totally cute!
     2. Trail Mix
I thought this would be a good snack for kiddos and still something adults like, too.
What you need:
Little cups
Gold Ink Stamp Pad (I got this stamp from Hobby Lobby last year for her 1st b-day)
trail mix (This trail mix is from Target and it is soooo good)
- Stamp the cups with whatever fun stamp you have. I used the letter “E” but I have done this in the past with other types of stamps. I have done music notes and arrows for other parties in the past. You can buy really cute stamps pretty cheaply at any craft store.
   3. Popcorn
I literally use popcorn for everything. It is a snack everyone can enjoy and is so easy to package in cute ways. This time I decided to put it into little individual paper bags.
What you need:
White Paper Bags (I got these from Amazon)
Stickers (left over from Eden’s 1st Birthday – click here for similar)
Popcorn or your choice (I love Boom Chicka Pop)
- I had these bags left over from something else and I wanted them to be shorter, so I cut the tops, filled with popcorn and folded over to seal with a sticker.
      4. Cookies
Ok, so I did make 2 homemade items: cupcakes and cookies. I had to make my girl some homemade cupcakes for her birthday. I also decided the week of, that I could crank out some cookies, too, because cookies are easy to make and I can’t help myself. I made the dough several days ahead of time and stuck in the freezer until the day before. Great things to make ahead. You can get the recipe here.
What you need:
Wilton Shaped Party Bags 100/Pkg – Clear (I had these leftover but originally got them from Joann’s)
Stickers of your choice ( I got these Feather stickers from Hobby Lobby)
Cookies of your choice ( I made these if you want to check out that recipe)
- All you do here is make cookies (or buy), stick them in a bag and seal with a sticker. Are you sensing a theme? I had lots of bags and lots of stickers in my stash.
See below with how I set out all of my snacks. I like to always put things in trays. It helps compartmentalize items and gives a cleaner look to your table. I also had these left over from her 1st birthday….as I am writing this I realize it seems like a recycled everything from her 1st birthday and put little effort into this…but remember…38 WEEKS PREGNANT!!!
    5. Donut Favors
One last thing!!! We can’t forget about favors. Don’t forget that I am southern and everybody leaves my parties with a favor! My girl loves her some donuts! So what a perfect little sweet treat to send home with all her friends.
What you need:
clear bags (I had these gold dotted bags left over from Christmas Buy here from Target)
cardstock
donuts (I bought Little Debbie’s powdered donuts)
- Design and print a tag for the bags. You have to cut it to fit the size of whatever size bag you have. If you don’t want to design and print a tag, you can always just get some cute scrap-booking paper or colored cardstock to use.
- Fill your bags with donuts or any sweet treat
- Fold your cardstock over the bag and staple to secure.
Hope this helps you with some great and easy ideas for your next party!
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