Storybook Party

Posted on Feb 1st 2016

Story Book Party
by shopgirlaudi
(Esmeralda Cavazos)
Written Exclusively for The PartyWorks.com

Make your next party into a storybook wonderland!

Book Shaped Invitations:
Cut out a large rectangle using colored construction paper or cardstock. Fold the long side in half bringing the two short sides together to make a book. Decorate the cover with nursery rhyme stickers or photo copy the cover of your favorite story book to fit the invitation. On the inside of the invitation, list the party details or use the sample below:

Mother Goose
invites you to come
and celebrate
(name) (age) birthday party
in
Story Book Land
at
(location)
on
(date) and (time).
Come dressed as your favorite story book character.

Decorations:
To create a storybook theme, decorate the party area with posters you can make from Mother Goose story books. Ask your local library for left-over posters they may be willing to loan or donate to your party. Create place mats from Mother Goose books -- laminate them for a take-home party favor. Place story books piled up on the table and around the room. Add balloons and streamers in all kinds of colors and use different solid colors for the plates, napkins, etc.

Cake:
Prep Time:
50 minutes
Ready In:
2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients:

CAKE:
1 (18.25-oz.) pkg. Pillsbury® Moist Supreme® Yellow Cake Mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
3 eggs
1 (16oz.) can Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Vanilla Frosting
1 (12-inch) strip chewy fruit snack roll by the foot

FROSTING PICTURES
1/3 cup Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Milk Chocolate Frosting (from 16-oz. can), NOT Chocolate Fudge
1/2 (16-oz.) can PillsburyÂ® Creamy Supreme® Vanilla Frosting
Assorted food colors as desired

Preparation Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Prepare and bake 13x9-inch cake as directed on cake mix package, using water, oil and eggs. Cool in pan 30 minutes. Invert onto wire rack to remove from pan. Cool 30 minutes or until completely cooled.

2. Place cake on serving platter or foil-covered cardboard. With serrated knife, cut line crosswise down center of cake, 1/2 inch deep. Make angled cut, 1 inch wide, from each side of center cut to resemble center of book. Remove cut pieces of cake; reserve for another use. Frost cake with vanilla frosting. (If a colored background is desired, use food color to tint vanilla frosting.)

3. Trim one end of fruit snack roll strip to resemble ribbon bookmark; place in center of book. Apply Frosting Picture to each page of book.

FROSTING PICTURES:
1. Photocopy a storybook image or choose simple line drawing from your child's artwork or coloring book, to fit top of cake. (If necessary, enlarge or shrink image with copier to fit cake.) Tape image to cookie sheet. Tape sheet of waxed or parchment paper over image.

2. Place milk chocolate frosting in resealable food storage plastic bag, filling no more than 1/3 full; seal bag. Cut tiny hole in bottom corner of bag. Squeeze bag to pipe frosting over outlines in drawing, refilling bag if needed. Place cookie sheet in freezer for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, divide vanilla frosting into resealable food storage plastic bags, one for each color needed. Tint with food colors as desired.

4. Remove cookie sheet from freezer. Cut small hole in bottom corner of each bag of frosting. Fill in image with colored or white frosting, going over top of outlines made. (Remember, image is upside down; you are working on the back.) Add additional frosting to back until image is about 1/2 inch thick. Place cookie sheet in freezer for 30 to 40 minutes or until frosting is completely frozen. (Do not freeze longer than 90 minutes or colors will run when thawed.)

5. Remove tape from cookie sheet. Flip frosting picture onto Storybook Cake. Carefully peel off waxed paper.

Food and Snacks:
This will also be a center. We have called it Little Red Riding Hood's House. Here "mom" has made goodies for the kids to pack into their baskets and take to "Grandma's House". The children can pack their baskets with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a juice box and a piece of fruit. You can add a snack, if you wish, such as a small pack of cookies. These are the "goodies" they will take to "Grandma's House" which can be a seperate section. Say across the yard, where you put out old comforters and
blankets on the ground. Toss in some old throw pillows to make the "bed" in "Grandma's House". The kids can gather here to have their basket goodies. For an additonal activity, purchase one of those cardboard coloring houses (Walmart $10) and set this up behind the "bed". Give kids small boxes of crayons to help color "Grandma's House". This would make a nice activity for after their basket lunches.

Goodie Bags and Prizes:
For this theme we have not included any games since the activites will serve as the entertainment. The products from the activities will serve as the favors. If you still wish to include some favors, an ideal would be to give out a small canvas bag with a story book, a bookmark, and a clip on flashlight (for reading in bed at night). You can find these items at your local dollar store.

Games and Activities:
For this theme, we have included only activities. You will need to set up different tables/areas for each different station/ center. Use as many or as few as you like or create some of your own.

Gingerbreadman's Bakery. Set up an area with cooking/baking tools for decorations. Hang some aprons, put out some pie tins, a rolling pin, a sifter, some muffin pans, a cookbook, etc. Here the children can either decorate gingerbread cookies baked in advance or make their own out of fun foam. Have extra sheets of foam, safety scissors and glue for the children to cut out additional pieces and glue on to decorate their men. You can also purchase wood shape cut outs of gingerbreadmen (4 for $1 @ Michael's and let the kids paint and decorate them. Add a string or ribbon with a little glue to the top to make an ornament or attach a piece of sticky back magnetic strip to make a magnet.

Pinocchio's Puppets. In this station kids can make puppets out of socks or use a paper lunch sack. Provide plenty of things for decorations. Yarn, buttons, beads, pipe cleaners, construction papers, glue, etc.

Bookworm's Bookmarkers. Here the children can make their own bookmarks out of strips of fun foam. Additional adhesive back fun foam shapes can serve as decorations. Set out some markers as well.

Mother Goose's Book Store. At this center kids can make and decorate their very own book. Walmart carries some very nice Little Golden Book kits that come with a blank cover and page Golden Book, some stickers and some crayons or markers. These run in price of about $3-$4 each. You can purchase these to use or just let the kids make their own using sheets of cardstock for covers and blank paper for the inside. Staple the cover to the pages to make your book. Provide markers, pencils, crayons, and a variety of stickers for the kids to write, illlustrate and decorate their books.

Hansel and Gretal's Sweet Shoppe. Set up jars filled with gumdrops, M&M's, peppermints and peppermint sticks, and Hershey's kisses. Put out tubes of frosting as well. For this craft you will also need a small empty pint sized milk carton for every child. This will be the basis for the project. Kids can decorate their milk cartons using all the above ingredients to make their own witch's house (like gingerbread houses). Use the frosting as a glue to attach candies to their "houses".

Three Little Pigs Constuction Co. Let children build their own structures using wooden pop sticks, small colored dowels; any wooden craft stick like materials you can find. Have plenty of glue on hand.

In additon to all the above activities, you may want to hire a storyteller for the event or appoint a willing friend or relative the role of storyteller. variety of stickers for the kids to use to write, decorate and illustrate their books.