Hostess With The Mostess

For my daughter's first birthday, we threw a Candyland themed party. We had a lot of friends and family to invite, so we rented the local community center.

Tables: Each table we covered in a different color plastic tablecloth (like the squares on the game board). For centerpieces, I used an image of each Candyland character, glued them on foam with a dowel rod at the bottom, then stuck them in a flower pot that I glued a foam block into. Lastly, I filled the flower pot with tissue paper or shredded basket filling. I also stuck large lollipops and candy sticks in the foam block around the character center picture.

Cake: One of my fabulous friends is crazy about cupcakes. She make a different cupcake for each character and set them up on the game board itself.

Favors: Since we were in Candyland, I thought the only fitting favor was a candy buffet. We had a candy for each character and little goody bags for everyone to fill with their favorites and take home with them.

Other decorations: I used my Cricut to create two banners: one that read "Happy Birthday" and the other that read "Candyland."

Activities: To keep all the little ones busy, I set up several arts and crafts. The kids decorated gingerbread cookies with icing and little candies. They also made candy necklaces (used the Wilton kits). And they decorated foam tiaras and crowns so each one could be "King Kandy" or "Queen Frostine." The adults loved getting in on the activities, too!