Beautiful. Gorgeous. Wish you were here.: Princess and Monster Birthday Party on the Trolley

What a day for princesses and monsters. We decided to have Fin and Grey’s 4th birthday party on the trolley. We had ridden on it before and loved it. We were all excited about that ride! When I asked the kids what kind of cake they wanted, Fin told me, “Princess! Everything in pink.” And Grey let me know that “monsters and aliens!” were his choice. Okie dokie then.

Thank goodness for Pinterest is all I have to say. I had a few trusty recipes (Barefoot Contessa cupcakes and No Fail Sugar Cookies) but I needed a lot of help for ideas in the decoration area. I did have a lot of fun finding things to do. Since we had one table on the trolley, I was a little limited, which is probably a good think if you know me. I tend to get all excited about parties and take on a bit too much. It all worked out though. And the nice thing about a location party is that your house can be a disaster from getting it all ready, and no one has to see it! Ha.

Since Finley told me, “Mommy, my birthday will be perfectly pink,” I had my work cut out for me. We did have to have a little discussion about being perfect though (I’m sure for my benefit as well as hers!). We had mostly sweets, and some fruit thrown in for good measure, since it was a middle-of-the-afternoon trolley ride. They had sooooooooo much fun with their friends and family!

The princess menu:

Pink glitter princess strawberry cupcakes (Fin picked out princess decorations)

Pink princess cake with a crown on top (both of her cakes I used the Sprinkles strawberry cupcake and strawberry buttercream recipe) and the sugar cookie crowns (No Fail Sugar Cookies; see list below for resources.)

Pink star wand cookies

The monster menu:

Monster cupcakes with marshmallow eyes

Purple monster cake with marshmallow eyes (my "globby" icing version!)

Chocolate chip monster eyeball cookies

(Again, these could be "sleeker"!, but they were fun and delicious!)

And:

Fruit with eyeball toothpicks

Bunny cookie and cracker snacks

Bunny fruit snacks

Tea/lemonaid

Water

Juice boxes

I was planning to make crown and monster sandwiches, but alas, time got away from me! Oh well, sugar for everyone!! (See these Pinterest posts for those ideas: http://pinterest.com/pin/244179611019301362/ and http://pinterest.com/pin/275423333434005624/.

I really only ended up making a few things for decorations: a birthday sign for each and a Princess tulle wreath and Monster eyeball wreath. Of course they recommended plastic everything for containers for the bumpy ride on the trolley!

One of the ladies at the McKinney Ave. Transit Authority told me that her friend had made a scavenger hunt page for the kids to do on the ride. I thought that was a great idea! I put words and photos of a dog, stop light, stop sign, flower, and car. The kids put stickers next to the ones they saw, and when they got them all, they got a prize. Fun.

Another exciting thing about riding on a trolley for your birthday is that you get to press the bell and toot the horn! After Fin and Grey had a turn, everyone made a beeline to make some noise. So great!

The kids also had fun helping me pick out goodies to share with their friends: the girls got crowns, bracelets, wands and candy necklaces; the boys got “monster” light up spike bracelets, monster antennae, glow wand sticks, squishy “monster balls”, and “monster” mouths. Of course some wanted each other’s – but the good thing is you can have whatever you want at a party!

It was a gorgeous day on the trolley to laugh, eat a lot of sugar, celebrate two little joys, and enjoy the ride with a lovely breeze! I'm so thankful to our sweet family and friends who joined us to celebrate Finley and Grey!

We were so excited that Papa and Mimi came and brought our cousin Camden all the way from Reno!

Grey was "plum tuckered out" and napped on Mimi, Papa and finally Daddy. It was a sweet, quiet ride back to the station to park "Matilda" and go home. Finley enjoyed resting with Nana and soaking up the great day.

I also wanted to include some photos of the cookies I made for the kiddos to take to school. This was such a big deal to me. When I worked in the school system as a counselor, kids could only bring store-bought treats. I remember what a bid deal it was to take homemade treats from home that my mommy made, so I was thrilled to get to do this for Fin and Grey. And since they don’t attend public school, we were good to go. Finley also wanted to make sure we had enough for her class and the class next door, "We need lots mommy!" And Grey wanted to make sure we had "lots of different colors for the monster cookies!". Plus it was the first time they would get to wear a birthday crown at school! I mean, how cool is that?!

Links for recipes and decoration ideas:

Pink glitter princess strawberry cupcakes and Pink princess cake with a crown on top - http://www.marthastewart.com/258957/sprinkles-strawberry-cupcakes and Strawberry Buttercream: http://www.marthastewart.com/314981/strawberry-buttercream

Pink star wand cookies: My Go-To Sugar Cookie Recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/no-fail-sugar-cookies-108172 and Best Sugar Cookie Icing: http://kitchenmeetsgirl.com/cookies-2/best-sugar-cookie-icing-ever/

And wand Idea: http://www.thetomkatstudio.com/princesspartyinparenting/

And cookie sticks: http://www.partycity.com/product/cookie+sticks+8in+20ct.do?producttargetid=245221&kwid=Cookie%20Sticks%208in%2020ct&qcid=&gclid=CKnV-_Ssk7cCFQgx4AodMhcAJA

Monster cupcakes with marshmallow eyes - Barefoot Contessa coconut cupcakes without the coconut (for monster cupcakes and cake): http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/coconut-cupcakes-recipe/index.html

and ICING: http://savorysweetlife.com/2010/03/buttercream-frosting/

And decoration idea: http://thedecoratedcookie.com/2011/09/halloween-googly-eyed-monster-mini-cupcakes-for-celebrations/

Purple monster cake with marshmallow eyes: Same Barefoot Contessa Cake and Sweet Life buttercream icing with this idea: http://pinterest.com/pin/105482816242017785/

Chocolate chip monster eyeball cookies: Cookies: http://www.likemerchantships.org/2008/05/thin-but-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html and Decorating Idea: https://www.obaz.com/lookbook/5003

Fruit with eyeball toothpicks: http://pinterest.com/pin/244179611019409925/

Princess Wreath: http://www.etsy.com/listing/99418111/tulle-tutu-ballerina-princess-wreath?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

Monster Wreath: http://feelincrafty.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/tutu-monster-wreaths/

Goodie Bag Resources:

Princess crowns: Joann Fabric

Princess Wands: I found them at Marshall’s, 6 to a pack

Light up star wand prizes: Target birthday section

Plastic bracelets: Michael’s

Candy Necklaces: Froggy’s 5 & 10, http://www.froggies5and10.com/

“Monster Wand” - White Lightning Stick: Froggy’s 5 & 10

Monster spike bracelets: Target birthday section