Turbo Themed Birthday Party

Amos's birthday request was simple.

"I want a Turbo party!"

Then a Turbo party you shall have my son.

For those of you who don't spend a large portion of your time watching children's programming, Turbo is 2013 movie about a very fast snail put out by Dreamworks in 2013.

We started with printable invitations designed by Party Innovations and went from there. I relied heavily on racing themes with some snail specific games thrown in the mix. Amos's biggest request was a "TURBO CAKE!!!" so I reached out to Cathy's Confections with the idea of a layer cake with a small Turbo on top. Luckily for Amos, Cathy came back with the idea of fully Turbo-shaped cake. 

Y'all, this. cake. 

Amos lost it for this cake. Turbo was the centerpiece of the party and he was more than up to the task. 

I bought plastic trophies as favors because kids LOVE trophies and set up a "refueling station" and that was about it. I had plans for lots of snail-themed food, but I have three kids now and it just didn't happen! 

My favorite party was actually the races. We set up Hot Wheels tracks and had the little Turbo toys race each other. 

Then, I made snail costumes from Oh Happy Day's tutorial and used racing flags to make a little track. The kids LOVED it. If you have not watched preschoolers in snail costumes race each other in slow motion, I HIGHLY recommend it!

Turbo party snail races! #slowmo #turboparty #Paducah #PaducahParty

A video posted by Sarah Holland (@bluegrassred) on Jun 6, 2015 at 11:59am PDT

Amos was thrilled with it all, which is the only that really matters. 

Griffin's First Birthday Party

I spent MONTHS planning Griffin's first birthday. If I'm being honest, I started right after I took the bar in July. 

Griffin's birthday is in May. 

I don't know if I had too much free time. I don't know if I was bored at home with an infant. I don't know if I needed the creative outlet but either way it became an obsession.

I handmade little baby food jar candles as favor. I made garland and pendants and tree decorations. I spent entire days tracking down the perfect candy to match the color theme. I even knit the matching cap you see above. (It doesn't matter that it was 80 degrees and not exactly knit cap weather.)

And you know what? I don't regret a single second of that time.  

This party was my gift to my son. This party was a thank you to every person who had supported us that first year. This party was a way for me to celebrate the beautiful baby who had made me a mother. 

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