Hello Kitty Birthday Party

Ava asked to have a Hello Kitty party for her 5th birthday.  I'm not sure why.  She's never shown an interest in Hello Kitty before.  Maybe because it's pink?  Anyway, I was very happy to find that there is a TON of Hello Kitty stuff out there.  Seriously.  A TON.  Did you know you can buy Hello Kitty kitchen appliances??!!??  Target sells Hello Kitty microwaves, toasters and rice cookers, slow cookers and even mini fridges!  I had no idea that Hello Kitty was such a big deal.

There are also a lot of cute ideas on Pinterest if you're looking to have a Hello Kitty party for your kids.  Here are some pictures from our party.

Table Centerpieces

I found a bunch of pink pails and filled them with Blowouts.  Then I surrounded it with party hats, confetti and Hello Kitty cut outs that I color copied and pasted on pink foam flowers.

Birthday Cake

I'm sure you can make a cute Hello Kitty cake but you can't beat a $15 half sheet from Walmart!

Hello Kitty Head Bands

I found white head bands and red bows at Michaels.  Then I found stiff, white felt that had a peel-off adhesive back.  I traced ears on the felt, cut them out and wrapped them around the head band.  I used fabric tape to stick the bow to the felt.  I practiced first with paper.  It took me a few tries to get the ears to be the right shape.

Pin the Bow on Hello Kitty

I used poster board and card stock to make Hello Kitty and the bows.  To make everything symmetrical, I folded  large piece of paper in half and drew half of the shape, then I cut out the half shape on the folded piece of paper, unfolded it and traced the whole shape on the poster board or card stock.  I also traced around the bows with a pink Sharpie to give it more shape.  I took everything to Bradburns Parent Teacher store to get it laminated so it could be used again.

Balloon Pinata

This was by far the big hit of the party.  The kids had the best time popping the balloons and finding the tiny prizes inside.  to make a balloon pinata, buy several 12" (or larger) balloons.  Cut the top off of a large plastic bottle to use as a funnel.  You want the opening of the bottle to be large, but not so big that you can't wrap the balloon around it.  I used a SoBe Life Water bottle.  Also, when you purchase your prizes, be sure that they're small enough to stuff through the funnel.  Party City has lots of good options.  I put little toys, Starburst candy and Hello Kitty confetti in each balloon.  Then you just blow up the balloons and hang them from the ceiling.  The kids used tooth picks to pop the balloons.

Birthday Wreath

Ava painted her #5.  This has been the best wreath - it gets a lot of use.  Click here for the tutorial.

Ava's Year in Photos

I printed out a bunch of pictures of Ava over the past year and displayed them in the shape of a #5.  I taped the extras on our kitchen cabinets.  The kids love to see and remember all the fun things that they did over the past year.  I try to include pictures of Ava with the people who will be at the party too.

I found even more ideas on Pinterest that I didn't have time to do.  Click here to see my Hello Kitty Pinterest board.