You guys are probably better parents than we are- you probably don’t hand over your cell phone/iPod/iPad to bribe your Smooches with Angry Birds. But we do. And so Burke has deep love and great enthusiasm for Angry Birds Rio (and Letter School… and Cut the Rope… I could go on, but I won’t). Of course, when I asked him what kind of birthday party he wanted this year, Angry Birds Rio was the immediate choice.
The lesson I learned putting this party together- you can make pretty much anything into an Angry Bird– just add eyes, a beak and angry eyebrows. Balloons, party hats, beach balls, paper bags, bagels, cookies, waffles, paper cups, pom poms- they’re all just canvases waiting to become angry birds. Good to know right?
A few more details from the Angry Birds Brunch-
ANGRY BIRDS BRUNCH TABLE
As I mentioned above, Angry Birds are alarmingly easy to recreate by adding eyes, a beak and angry eyebrows. Our brunch table included-
-Angry Birds Bagels (I saw some on pinterest and then modified to use staples I had on hand)
-Angry Birds Cookies (I followed this Angry Birds Cupcakes tutorial by The Crafting Chicks, but modified for cookies after the Target bakery had readymade Angry Birds cupcakes)
-Angry Birds cupcakes (from Target) with “Happy BIRDday” and “Free the Birds” cupcake toppers (the blue and yellow plush Angry Birds are pencil toppers that I found at Party City- I put them on cake pop sticks as special cupcake toppers for Burke and Luca)
-Strawberry donuts and donut ‘eggs’ (from Winchell’s)
-Red cake pops (from Cakes a Pop’n)- the stand is made from foam blocks wrapped in wrapping paper
-“Monkey Bait” Banana Bread
-Three variations of “Angry Bird Eggs” (gumballs, sixlets and egg candies that I got in the bulk candy section at Sprouts)
BUILD YOUR OWN ANGRY BIRD WAFFLE STATION
The fruit waffles with a whole selection of homemade fruit syrups were the hit of the party (well, actually, I think the “beaks” [candy orange slices], “eyes” [sliced jumbo marshmallows with chocolate chip eyeballs], and “angry eyebrows” [Twizzlers Nibs] were the real draw)!
Burke and I spent an entire naptime last week making the Strawberry, Pineapple, Tangerine and Kiwi syrups- he declared the pineapple to be his favorite, but said that all of the others were “still pretty good.” The colorful watering cans were a Dollar Tree find.
Since waffles piled high with tons of berries and whipped cream are pretty much my dream brunch food, I may or may not have hit up the waffle bar more than once. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one, either.
EDITED TO ADD *I’ll put together a post with the fruit waffle and fruit syrups recipes!
BIRD NECTAR DRINK TABLE
Even though the Angry Bird paper cups were a kid favorite, I have to admit that the ‘feather’ (tinted coconut) rimmed OJ glasses were one of my favorite parts of the Drink Table.
The single serving Naked Juices (covered in “Bird Nectar” bottle wraps) were also quite the drink table highlight.
And don’t get me started on the Frozen Coconut Limeade (modified from this one at Chef in Training). Seriously- it was SO GOOD (details for both the “grown ups only” and “kid friendly” versions will be on the Sips blog soon).
“BIRD FOOD” FRUIT AND VEGGIE TABLE
In an (unsuccessful) effort to minimize the sugar and carb heavy menu, we added a “Bird Food” fruit and veggie table to the mix. I think I might’ve been the primary frequenter of this table (haha!), but it’ll definitely make an appearance at more parties in the future!
ANGRY BIRDS PRINTABLES
The Angry Birds faces that were plastered on the balloons, the hats, the favor bags and the beach balls were all using the free printables courtesy of The Party Animal. Love.
I made the “Bird Food” banner, the “Happy BIRDday” garland, the Angry Birds cupcake toppers, the food labels, the bottle wraps, the favor bag labels and the other party signage in Photoshop and Powerpoint (mostly Powerpoint).
PARTY GAMES
The guests hunted eggs (though, in Angry Birds Rio pineapples are the hunted-item… Burke didn’t seem to notice the discrepancy). And we carried on our World’s Biggest Pinata tradition (remember last year’s Hello Yellow Pinata?). The kids loved it!
PARTY FAVORS
These goodie-bags-with-angry-bird-faces were full of Angry Bird goodness! A slingshot (from Oriental Trading Company), an angry bird pom pom, some Angry Bird sweets, a bouncy ball and an Angry Bird beachball made the ride home just a little crazier, sugar high-er, more fun!
The best part of the party, hands down, was afterwards when Burke shouted “Best. Birthday. Party. EVER!” (there might’ve been some fist pumping too- and what is cuter than a 4-year-old fist pump? Nothing, I tell you!).
Happy birthday boy(s) + happy guests + tons of Angry Birds fun = Mission Accomplished.
Are any of you (or your Smoochies or hubbies) Angry Birds fans?