The Minnie Mouse Party - Cakes, Decorations and Games

Anushka turned three a few days ago and this year we celebrated her birthday "Minnie Mouse Style"! It was so exciting planning the party, working with all pink and black and getting all the decorations ready. There were a lot of times when I could involve Anushka, especially when there was glue involved and she so enjoyed messing everything up:)

Then of course there were the cakes and lots of them...(Links to the recipes below the pictures)

Chocolate Cake filled with Ganache and Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting(SMB)

Chocolate cake filled with Strawberry Whipped Cream and frosted with SMB

Vanilla Chiffon Cake with Strawberry Cream filling and SMB frosting

I love tall cakes and attempted a tiered one this time, my first! I kept the top tier short though or else we would have ended up with too much cake. The Minnie Mouse figurines gave me a few sleepless nights, it was not easy getting the face right and I was so relieved when I was done. All in all we had two fun evenings with friends and I still cannot believe that it's been 3 years!!
Just sharing a few more pictures and details from the parties....

Welcome sign on the door...

The banner was designed in paint and then printed and cut into shape. The number 3 is cut out of stiff felt and I glued some pink tissue flowers on it.

Made this out of paper pinwheels, my favorite thing!

I made these Minnie Mouse Ears kind of following the tutorial here. But I took the easy way out and bought black plastic hairbands. I used stiff black felt with the sticker on the back, so all I had to do was cut the ears using this template and then wrap them around the band and stick them together. They were very stiff and stood up straight. I made the bows and hot glued them on the bands. Anushka loved these and still wears them all the time.

Here is a great game for a Minnie mouse party...

The blind-folded birthday girl pinning her bow...

Last but my favorite...the pinata, I was so happy with the way it turned out and the kids always love it. I got the idea from here but made it a pull string one. It's perfect for kids this age especially if you're having an indoor party.

"I want to pull"...the birthday girl goes first and I had my fingers crossed the whole time praying all the kids get a turn.

It was an amazing experience planing the party and Anushka had a great time. Here's the exhausted birthday girl with her favorite gifts...

Happy 1st Birthday Anushka!!

My baby turned ONE yesterday. I can't believe a year has gone by. I've been going over all the pictures of this past year and I wish I could go back and relive some of the moments, especially those when she would be so content just to be held close. She has started walking now and dislikes being carried. She has not said a legible word as yet, but talks constantly. I just love hearing her talk animatedly. It's so exciting to watch her grow and yet I want her to stay a baby forever. These are such precious times.

To celebrate her big day, we had a small party with a few close friends. We did order a cake, but I wanted to bake something for my little one too. Anushka is lactose intolerant and a few of our friends eat only eggless cakes, so I baked an Eggless Strawberry Cake for the special day.

The eggless sponge recipe is from Sunita's blog and was delicious. I made two layers and just sandwiched them with dairy free whipped topping mixed with some fresh strawberry puree and a layer of strawberry slices. Topped the cake with just the whipped cream and M&M for color.

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the sliced cake, but the birthday girl seemed to enjoy her first cake:)