Trolls are still very popular in our house which means that they’ve been hanging around basically forever. I mean, I played with trolls which might be why I have no problem watching or singing with them at least once a week. We even have some old school trolls that I purchased for Olive to play with. But when Ella was five, so about two years ago, she asked for a Trolls birthday party and I did my best to make it happen.
TROLLS BIRTHDAY
When our kids have an “odd” birthday, we allow them to go somewhere for a party. So Ella chose to have it at our local Stony Creek Swim School. I really do love this place. They’ve always been the best and this party rental was no different. So sweet, so helpful, and so accommodating. And not to mention close to home.
But I’m not sure what I was thinking by taking on a party, at another location, with a child under 5months old, and a husband working on Saturdays… Somehow though, we semi pulled it off. Since we only had about 45 minutes from when we could get into the space before the guests would arrive, this meant we had to prep and move a lot of things rather quickly. Que Deodorant. Decor went out the window, but Ella kept asking for Cloud Guy and I didn’t really know how I was going to accomplish this trolls birthday.
I browsed for a few ideas, but at that time, there wasn’t much out there as Trolls were still pretty new. I had to improvise on a lot of things since I couldn’t just print things out!
TROLLS PARTY MENU
The menu was the easiest and included:
Biggie’s Happy Tears (water)
Smidge’s Mighty Mushrooms (Strawberries & Marshmallows)
Fuzzbert Hair (Veggie Straws)
DJ Sookies Dips (Carrots & Ranch)
Guy Diamonds Glitter Balls (Sugar Covered Grapes)
Troll Hair (Cotton Candy)
*I printed plain labels and grabbed Troll stickers at the store to add the characters to them*
FUZZBERT HAIR
HUG TIME
Since we were short on decor time, I used a plain items like the tablecloths, plates and napkins which were all purchased at Walmart and then added a runner down the middle using a roll of coloring paper I had laying around. I placed crayons intermittently on the table so the girls could color if they wanted. It was a nice way for them to occupy their time while we prepped plates or got all the kids out of the pool. Each spot had a DIY Headband on top of it too! The girls could sit wherever they liked and they got a headband and goodie bag to take home with them.
THERE’S ALWAYS A BRIGHT SIDE
There were so many fails with this party, but there was one shining light. I made Poppy Headbands for all the girls. I spent a few nights cutting the felt, hand sewing some parts, and gluing the rest.
If you want to see how I made them, click here where you’ll find the tutorial I used. Here’s the template too. They turned out so cute and I even made Ella’s a little different to resemble the one Poppy wears when she becomes Queen.
I also decided that the best (and easiest) way to accomplish hitting on all the Troll things was to use a folding presentation board. I honestly don’t even know what they are called, but you know, those things everyone uses for their science fair projects! haha. Seriously though, it was manageable and could stand behind the food. I added Cloud Guy and the Troll tree to this and the idea was for it to look like Poppy’s Scrapbook in the beginning of the movie. I think it turned out ok.
CAN’T STOP THE FEELING
Cloud guy was made with white paint underneath, pipe cleaners, cotton balls, and baby socks. I added the rainbow which was thread that you’d use for friendship bracelets, and the rest was basically cut felt. I did splurge and buy rolled felt flowers for the bottom area.
And if you read my last post from Olive’s First Birthday party, you saw that I contracted out her cake. This cake might be the reason why. LOL. When Ella turned 5, we had this party. Her next party was a target cake. That is all. I suck at cakes — or need A TON OF PRACTICE. In theory, the cakes I pick are not complicated, but I just can’t figure it out. However, I was assured it tasted delicious by many of the guests.
So there you have it.
I’d probably consider this a NAILED IT trolls birthday party.
SOLID BURN BRANCH
Lots of lessons were learned from this party.
- Fellow Moms are the best. I remember everyone jumping into help with just about anything and everything and wanted to cry because it was just so nice.
- Let the place do it for you. I wanted it to have theme for Ella, but in the end I should have just paid the extra $20 for them to do pizza and streamers. It’s ok to not take this on every time.
- The kids don’t really notice the details, but the parents do. And I do. haha
- I cannot bake no matter how badly I want to be able to.
- Make sure to have gluten/dairy free options. I felt so bad we didn’t have anything for one child to eat but her mom reassured me it was fine and had a bunch of stuff in her bag. I still to this day felt awful.
- Present over Perfect
- If you want good pictures, hire a photographer (or ask a friend) because you will be all over the place and not able to take ones you like two years later. bahahhaha.
- I need a barn or event location where I can prep and decorate for at least a week in advance. Then my parties might not be of Nailed It Quality!