Confession: Birthday parties are stressful! I’ve only been planning my children’s birthday parties for the past six years, so perhaps my angst is due to inexperience. When my children were younger, I had ambitious aspirations to do everything from scratch, including the vegan birthday cake for my son. But over the years I’ve learned to let a few things including knowing when it is ok to let someone else make the cake.
For my son’s recent birthday, I let him choose the venue and the theme. I personally like to change it up each year so that each party is unique and memorable, and this year he opted for a Monsters University theme at Zoomars, a quaint historic petting zoo in San Juan Capistrano. Even before the film, I saw inspirational ideas for a Monsters University Party on sites like Pinterest and Spoonful, but I wasn’t sure that I could replicate any of those, so I opted for something simple and festive. And, since birthday parties these days can be quite expensive, I used Walmart as a resource for practically everything!
Decor
My local Walmart store has a decent selection of themed party supplies so I was able to pick up Monsters University tablecloths, plates, cups, and napkins. To save a little bit of money, I also picked up non-themed items in monstrous colors like blue and green for the adults in attendance. Many venues have strict policies on balloons, but we were given a lot of freedom at our local petting zoo so I brought our helium balloon kit from home and added a bit of color to the outdoor space. The Balloon Time Kit we have at home includes balloons, curling ribbon, and a helium tank and is available at Walmart.
Food
Food is probably one of the more challenging aspects of planning an outdoor party. Our space had a refrigerator/freezer so we decided to order some pre-made sandwiches and served them with fresh fruit, vegetables, Kettle Chips, Pirate’s Booty, San Pellegrino, juice boxes, and bottled water. If your local Walmart has a grocery section, you can order or simply pick up ready-made sandwiches, fruit and vegetable platters, and more.
Cake
Having ordered a custom cake from Walmart in the past and being quite impressed with both the look and taste of the cake, I put a call in two days prior to my son’s party. They were able to create a fun, festive Monsters University-themed cake that had guests asking me where it came from. The cakes area available in 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and full sheets and can be customized with your preference of cake flavor, icing, and filling.
Overall, I was pleased with how the party turned out. Planning wasn’t stress-free, but the ability to purchase almost everything in one place alleviated some of the chaos of running around before the party. You can find nearly everything I purchased for this party at your local Walmart Supercenter.
Images: Jason Bailey
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Looks like a very fun party, Caryn. And being able to get nearly everything with one-stop shopping at Walmart must have been a big plus. Happy belated birthday to your son from Cathi and me. The little ones are growing up so fast!