A Simple Mario Themed Birthday Party

My kids have recently become totally and completely obsessed with all things Mario. It started with a couple of random Happy Meal toys, followed by winning a prize from the school treasure chest by completing a reading log that also resulted in a Mario toy, and then the Mario Run app segued into playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Wii...and now they're #obsessed.

My 5 year old, despite having his birthday at the beginning of the year, is always talking about his birthday party theme. So far this year it's been Octonauts and Mario, and his birthday is still several months away. When my then-2-year old heard big brother talking about how he wanted a Mario birthday party, he hopped on the bandwagon and shouted that he wanted a Bowser birthday party.

Yeah, that doesn't exist.

But thankfully he wants to be just like his big bro and switched to full Mario, and that I could make happen.

We don't do big extravagant parties. We aren't #PinterestPerfect around here. We try our best and usually end up with a solid 90s style birthday party. A few decorations, an awesome cake, and some yummy snacks with punny names. With my youngest having a summer birthday, we throw the kids in the pool and do cake and presents and that's about it.

Here's how to have a Mario themed birthday party for less than $50:

Decorations

Scour Party City and Target for the best priced decorations. We got our treat bags, tattoos, balloons, and invitations from Party City and the swirl decorations, napkins, and table cloth from Target. We used red and blue generic plates for snacks and cake. I ordered some Mario coins from Amazon for the treat bags, but then found the same coins for a fraction of the cost from Party City, even though it wasn't on their website. I did store pickup so I got that day's guaranteed price but didn't have to drag my kid's through the grab-it-I-want-it-zone.

It's one of my favorite traditions to always make a number (the age they're turning) out of photos of them from babyhood on.

Treat Bags

Our treat bags were fairly simple. I really hate coming home from a birthday party with a dozen tiny plastic pieces of nonsense that my kids will play with for an hour and then clutter the floor for three months. So to spare my parent friends that feel the same, we avoided that and included the following in our treat bags:

• Temporary tattoos
• Coloring sheets rolled up like a treasure map and tied with ribbon
• Mario Coin
• Star rice crispy treat

We made the rice crispy treats by making star shaped rice crispies (add yellow food coloring to marshmallows while they melt and they'll be yellow!) and then we added two chocolate chips for eyes. We wrapped them in clear plastic wrap and tied with a ribbon.

Here's a printable of the coloring sheets I made.

Food

 Piranha Plants: Grapes and strawberries on a skewer.

Fire Power: Cheese Puff Balls

Fire Power Flower: I made the stalk out of celery, the leaves are cucumber, and the flower is carrots and grape tomatoes. I put a ramekin of ranch in the middle as the face.

 Question Blocks are colby cheese cubes, and I made a Ritz cracker coin.

We used Boom-Chicka-Pop for the Bob-Omb pops

We love Costco cakes, but they don't come in themes. My plan was to put our Mario themed toys (a 1-Up mushroom, Mario, and Yoshi) on top of the cake...but I forgot in the excitement of the moment. Since Bowser is often on a pirate ship, I got the pirate ship option from Costco. I was going to put Mario on the ship, Yoshi on the beach, and the 1-Up mushroom up on the flag.

Here's a printable for the food pun labels. I don't have a color printer, so I made them in black and white and then colored them with colored pencils. If your kids are older, it could be a fun way for them to be included.

For drinks, we served juice boxes for the kids and watermelon lemonade for the adults.

The kids all had fun, and got plenty of chocolate in them before hitting the pool again. The birthday boy loved his Mario party, and that's what really counts.

Star Projection Night Light Review

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Both of my kids are totally and completely obsessed with all things outer space. They want to be astronauts, they read space books, they love space shows, and they love watching the astronauts read bedtime stories.

When it came time for my youngest child's birthday, the big 3, my family thoughtfully asked me to add some items to his Amazon wish list (best idea ever- you don't have to keep track of what item you told which family member he wanted, and they know what he has and what he wants even when they live on the other side of the country!). I stumbled across this Star Projection Night Light and thought how much they'd both love it. Our humidifier used to project stars onto the ceiling, but then that feature started failing and strobing and checking on them during the night was akin to being in an actual horror movie. So I added this to the list, and my amazing sister got it for him, and they've been obsessed with it for that last week.

It works great- you can set a timer so it doesn't go all night if you don't want it to, you can have it be an actual light, a lantern with stars on it, or projected onto the ceiling. There are many colors to choose from, including having a combination of colors or all the colors. It can rotate or be still.

Here's a link if you want to check it out more:

The first night we used it, they were actually excited to go to bed. When we turned it on, my five year old exclaimed, "It's like we're in outer space!" The birthday boy just reverently whispered, "I love it!" When we did bedtime prayers, my youngest was praying for the stars and all the colors he could see. 

It's been almost a week and they're still completely obsessed. They're still excited for the bedtime routine because it means they can watch the stars as they fall asleep. We've only used it with the cover off and on, but always with the star insert. I imagine if you're creative you could create another overlay and trade it out with animals, etc.

The High Tide Club Book Review

I love Southern Lit. It kept me grounded in my Southern roots while I was living up North, and honestly was a draw when we were trying to decide where we were going to live when Alaska was just too far away from our families. Mary Kay Andrews has written a long list of my favorite Southern novels, including The Fixer Upper and Spring Fever. Her novels always have a great cast of lovable characters, an intriguing plot, and often a little mystery that needs solving.

Her latest novel, The High Tide Club, is no exception. Once again, I'm drawn in to a (fictional) location I wish I could visit, characters I want to befriend, and a mystery I'm trying to solve the whole time I'm reading. The plot is riveting, and I couldn't put it down. I stayed up way too late at night reading, and let unread emails pile up into an enormous mountain I'm still whittling down.

The High Tide Club  follows nonagenarian Josephine as she recounts her past and her dearest friends, and bounces between the 1940s and present day. With friendships old and new examined and tested, the relationships between these strong women is intricate and envy-inducing. With the decades old mystery of a missing man, a small island being pursued by the state of Georgia, and limited technological resources because of the island's location, this mystery is engaging and may or may not throw a twist or two your way.

Andrews always creates rich and full worlds worthy of exploration and writes them in an accessible and enjoyable way. Whether you're looking for a beach read or to mentally escape for a few hours, The High Tide Club is a wonderful and worthy read.


Looking for more book recommendations and reviews? Did you know I'm on Goodreads? You can follow me here! I also Instagram mini-book reviews- if you want a short review, make sure to follow me on Insta!

New Knoxville Moms Blog Post: Teach Consent Early

My latest Knoxville Moms Blog post is up over on the KMB site! It's on a topic I've always worried about, and I'm sharing my best tips for Teaching Consent Early. Check it out!

Dollywood Post- Toddlers at Splash Country

When you have older kids, a water park is the perfect way to spend a day- soaked in the sun, but with plenty of shade and lots of water to cool off in! But when you've also got toddlers, a water park can be intimidating to the point where you just don't go. With Dollywood's Splash Country about an hour away, it's a great way to spend the day- especially with toddlers in tow! Check out my latest post about all the great things to do at Splash Country with your toddlers here!

Remember, if you want to save $5 per ticket, use the code DWInsiders5 at online checkout and print your tickets!

Incredibles 2 Movie Review (No Spoilers)

No need to fear, there's no spoilers here!

So my love for Pixar and all its films isn't unknown. I try and be at the theater opening weekend to support their newest films, and for Incredibles 2 it wasn't a struggle. I've been looking forward to this release date since the title first appeared on an in-production list a couple of years ago. Since it happened to come out the Friday before my youngest son's 3rd birthday, it seemed like a great opportunity to celebrate with him and support Disney-Pixar at the same time.

A friend invited us to come with her and her family to see it, and seeing a movie in a big group is a fun activity I haven't done in a few years, because babies. It was fun to experience it not only through my kid's eyes, but to be able to share it with my friend and her family.

The Incredibles 2 is a perfectly crafted sequel. It picks up right where the first one left off, but if you haven't rewatched the first one since it released in 2004 (and if so, poor you because you're seriously missing out), you won't feel out of your depth. They do a great job of re-establishing what's going on without it being repetitive and redundant for those die-hard fans (like me) that basically have the entire film memorized and hum the theme song in their sleep.

There are so many perfectly captured moments, from the difficulties of parenting to the mom guilt all moms experience (super or no), that the overall quality of the film is totally Pixar. (I didn't cry though, so it's not UP level Pixar but classic, wonderful Pixar nonetheless). The animation is flawless, the plot engaging, and the new characters just as well developed as those we're familiar with. There are some moments so tense I reached over to hold my kid's hands...a little because I was worried they'd be frightened, but also because I was super nervous for the character involved.

As far as family-friendliness, it really depends on the kid. My now 3 year old did mostly great, though he did get a bit antsy during some dialogue heavy sequences in the middle, and was squirming and crawling all over me. Thankfully we had popcorn and lemonade to distract him, but that's something to keep in mind if taking toddlers. My five year old loved it, but he was nervous about seeing it because the previews show the villain, the Screen Slaver, and it's honestly pretty dang frightening. Here's the trailer:

As you can see, the Screen Slaver is a pretty scary villain. My five year old is sensitive and almost didn't want to go (promises of said popcorn and lemonade, earned for free through Coca-Cola's rewards program, tempted him to go and he was ultimately glad he did. I'm grateful Coke gives rewards for all the Coke my husband drinks!). If your kid is easily intimidated by new situations, it may be best to wait and watch this in your living room instead of a giant screen in the darkness of a movie theater. There are some intense battle scenes that may provoke your children into pretend battling each other for days following (as mine also do when they watch the original Incredibles).

This is one of the funniest Pixar films I've seen. Jack-Jack, Dash, and Violet all get more screen time than in the original, and it's wonderful. They're really well developed, and we get to watch them discover who they are and what's important to them. There's some great messaging for kids about growing up, responsibility, and the importance of knowing those things. Jack-Jack and Dash made me laugh out loud, uproariously, over and over again.

The relationship between Bob/Mr. Incredible and Helen/Elastigirl is further explored in a really realistic way. Since it's a sequel, we really get to delve deeper into what makes them tick and how they work together versus solo.

This is yet another fabulous Pixar film. I can't wait for it to come out on disc (I'm guessing around October or Thanksgiving, in time to be holiday gifts) so we can add it to our regular rotation of family movie night films. It's definitely worth seeing in theaters, if your kids are up to it. If you don't think your kids are ready, then it's still great for date night! (You know you're a true Disney/Pixar fan when you go see the movies and leave your kids at home- we did that with Coco because our sensitive one wasn't ready to see it. Now he loves it).

Have you seen Incredibles 2? What were your thoughts?

Love Your Library

Summer is here! The days are warm, fireflies are out, and the kids are out of school! All summer long! So what are you going to do with them?

There are so many things to do with kids these days. Camps and trips and excursions, oh my! But that's not the kind of summers I grew up with. Prepare yourself for my first 'Back in my day' rant, because we all know 90s summers were the best. We spent all day hopping around the neighborhood pools, using card tables and leftover poster board to 'build' lemonade stands, zoning out in front of the Disney channel, and riding our bikes from dawn until dusk. The world is different now and if I let my kids roam the neighborhood wild like I did, someone would likely call the cops on me.

So a true 90s summer isn't really an option for my kids. But I can tailor it to today's world dynamic, hanging out outside with them during bike rides and spending days upon days in the pool until we're all prunes and in desperate need of a movie marathon. There's also one thing I can do that my mom did do with me and my fellow 90s babes- visits to the local library.

I grew up going to the library frequently and I loved it. In fact, when my purse got stolen at the mall food court when I was 8, my biggest fear was that my library card was stolen (it was the first thing I'd ever signed my name to and I was terrified I'd be ruined for life and they'd never let me borrow books again. Side note- who the heck steals an 8 year old's purse?!) Thank goodness my library card was in a different purse, so whew- bullet dodged. I'd check out stacks of books and disappear for hours on end into a world that existed in my mind, built off the words of authors I loved like friends.

Libraries have definitely advanced since my days of huge stack checkouts. In our current city, the local library hosts fun events, has a scavenger hunt, and has puzzles for kids to play while they're visiting as well as numerous story times throughout the week.

Last week, the fire department came and did a presentation that included putting on all their gear and turning on their air so kids would know what firefighters look and sound like in the event they're trapped inside a burning building and need rescuing. Then they showed kids all the cool gadgets and tools on their truck, explaining the difference between a fire truck and a fire engine and telling them what each tool does. The thought behind this presentation was immense- kids in car accidents and fires will be much better prepared to understand what's going on in a scary situation having witnessed a calm adult on a sunshine filled day telling them all about it.

This week they're having a magician, and later in the summer there are LEGO days, a chemist doing science experiments, and more. This is all in addition to their regularly scheduled story times.

So if you're looking for a free activity to do with your kids that's educational and encourages an ongoing love affair with literacy, head to your local library. If you're in East Tennessee, check out the Knox County Library's site for details here.

If you're looking for a way to love on your library, donate books you no longer want that are in good condition. Even if there isn't a need for them on the shelves, they may be able to sell them at a library sale to raise funds for new books and events. You can also participate in these book sales to get a great deal, support your local community, and find your next favorite book. Libraries are often looking for volunteers, so ask your librarian how you can help.

What does your local library offer?