You only turn 5 once… here’s how we made the birthday special for my oldest daughter, without causing me any stress or emptying our bank account!
Decorations
I found a package of three MLP posters on Amazon, which we hung in the entryway and kitchen/dining room (they also ended up on the walls of my daughter’s bedroom after the party). Then we piled up all of the toy ponies that we own (except the ones we put with food – see below) onto the kitchen table. That’s it!
(I can’t find a link to the exact MLP shirt she’s wearing in the photo above, but there are lots of options on Amazon and eBay. I’ve always been against buying shirts that say happy birthday or have an age on them, as I want my girls to wear them all the time – plus hand down to their sisters 🙂 )
Food
In the current MLP show, there are 6 pony friends plus a dragon. I used their names as inspiration for our menu. The free font on the labels is called Equestria, clipart images were easily searchable on Google, and more of our own toy ponies helped the theme along.
The rainbow jello was a HUGE hit, and so easy to make. It only uses red, yellow, and blue jello, but thanks to the science of color, orange and green show up too!
Thanks to Pinterest and the blog Do Better, here’s how to make it happen:
A 6oz box of each of blue, yellow, and red jello plus a box of Knox gelatin. Mix the blue jello powder with one envelope of Knox gelatin. Pour in two cups of boiling water. Dissolve the gelatin. Add 1/2 cup of ice. Stir until thick. Remove any remaining ice cubes and any bubbles that may have formed. Pour into a 9×13 inch pan. Let set in the refrigerator. Repeat with the yellow jello and pour it over the set blue. Repeat with the red jello and pour it over the yellow. And there you have it, Rainbow Dash’s Finger Jello.
Cake
My daughter’s favorite Pony is Twilight Sparkle, so of course she had to be the theme of the cake. I kept it super simple — boxed funfetti cake mix, vanilla frosting mixed with food coloring to make it purple, and sprinkles. The candles were a lucky find at my grocery store — while they didn’t ignite like 4th-of-July sparklers, they did flicker and sparkle just enough to finish off the Twilight Sparkle cake.
Once again, simply choosing food and decorations around a theme made for an easy, memorable day for my daughter. No games or activities, we just let the kids be kids and play.
Keep your birthday parties simple, so you can enjoy your day with family and friends.
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