Monster Bash.....a party in pictures

Our little monster turned 5  last week much to my dismay.  I tried putting a brick on his head, giving him coffee like no body's business and living in denial.  He still turned one year older.....which means the baby of the house...is actually a big kid now.  Yes, G will always be referred to as the baby and I've got no problem with that....he does....but who's asking.  \
So, this past weekend we had a Monster Bash for his party.  It turned out wonderful, the weather was amazing and plenty of his little buds showed up.  I am by no means crafty so thank goodness for Pinterest and the ability it has to inspire me to do more than just order a cake and invite some kids over.  I did order cake...let's not get crazy here....but we had our little theme and really had fun with it.

Enjoy!

The invites were simple!  Neon printer paper, white paper, googly eyes, and a permanent marker to make them however you please.  I just cut out various types of "teeth" and folded the invite where the monster could have an overbite or under bite...hee hee.  Inside it said:
Our little monster is turning 5! 
Come and have a SCARY good time with us at a MONSTER BASH!
insert your info and you're good to go.

Meet our monster for Pin the Mouth on the Monster!  I free handed him the night before on a piece of neon poster board and secured him sticky tack.  I drew all kinds of mouths on more of that great neon paper and cut them out.  I knew that we would have girls and boys and this party so I made sure to make some plump lady mouths as well as scary monster mouths.  The kids really enjoyed this.  We used sticky tack for the back of the mouths as well and gave everyone a prize of crazy fingers!  So fun.   You will also need a scarf to blindfold your little monsters, I spun them around as many times as their age. 

 Some of our tables before the food.  I found this great blue pumpkin at the local grocery store and it was just creepy enough to use as decor.  I almost painted an eyeball on the pumpkin to make it a monster but decided against it.  We used the cheap but oh-so-fun vampire fangs for table decorations and craft paper to cover tables.  I always snag the vampire fangs from Target, you get 30 of them for just a few bucks. They go a long way.  Decor, favors, etc.  I found the cute spider tins at the Dollar Spot at Target. Perfect for all of our plastic ware and goodies!

This would be our Green Goop punch!  It is super creepy with the swampy look the sherbet gives it.  All you need:  Lime Sherbet, Sprite or 7 UP, frozen limeade concentrate, frozen lemonade concentrate.  This was crazy sour, which the kids dug but I could've dealt with a little less punch.  If you want to do this for a grown up soiree just add rum.  And don't forget the gummy worms for effect!  B found this great "cauldron" in the camping department at a local store.  Worked out perfectly.

I am kicking myself right now for not taking a picture of the actual monsters in the boxes!  I was in such a hurry to have the boxes put together that I blanked on that. Epic fail.  I will have to take one later of the one that G adopted.  My 9 1/2 year old daughter took on the Adopt a Monster booth.  I let her make the poster for it and decorate all of the monster boxes.  Inside the boxes we had: 

little stuffed monsters that my lovely and crafty friend made for us.  There was such a variety of colors and facial expressions...all the kids loved them! 

a Birth Certificate of sorts.  I just made a little card that asked for the new name of the monster, the kiddo who was adopting it, and the monster's fave food that I filled in for them.

I also squeezed in the box the other favors, hand tattoos, pencils, etc.

This was HUGE hit.  The kids loved taking their turn at the booth and naming their new creature to take home and take care of. 

Cake Time!!

For the monster munchies we only made a few things....the party was from 2-4 so not really a meal time.  I adapted my Twirly Whirly Pizza into Pizza Bites.  Served with marinara.  If you would like the recipe for the Twirly Whirly Pizza it can be found on my blog here.  I filled these pizza bites with kid friendly things, turkey pepperoni on 2 of the "loaves" and turkey pepperoni and mild sausage on 1 "loaf".  These are easy and great for parties or weeknight dinners paired with a salad. 

The mummy dogs were big hit and pretty darn yummy!  I used turkey dogs (with no nitrates!) and crescent rolls.  We vetoed the idea of the mustard eyes because we were dealing with 4 and 5 year olds.  They are blind mummies. 

I also didn't take a pic of my Monster Munch but it was a great addition to the table and also for the G's pre school Pumpkin party.  I served the concoction in small, clear, plastic cups and here is what you will need:

Chex Mix

Plain M&M's

Crunch and Munch

Mix together, you will need to do this in small batches or use 2 big bowls and transfer. Looked great in a huge bowl with a ladle for scooping at the party.

and presto!  You have a fabulous mix that is terrible addicting for kids and grown ups alike. 

I hope this can help someone else in their party planning!