A Play-Doh Themed Birthday Party

When we asked our eldest daughter if she wanted to celebrate her birthday at school again this year, Caila said “no.” What she wanted was a party at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, and to invite all her classmates from school and friends from the KFC community.

She specifically requested that particular fast-food restaurant because she likes the dancing chicken mascot. Considering that her past four birthdays were always celebrated at school or at home, we agreed. And since her birthday fell on a Friday, we made sure to book the venue early. All we needed to pay was a Dhs200 downpayment to block the date and time we wanted.

It’s a good thing that Popeyes allows outside food so in addition to their grilled and fried chicken, we ordered spaghetti and lumpia from Bawabat Al Nahda (which I forgot to take pictures of), and puto-flan from a friend’s friend.

Next item to think about was the theme. After changing her mind so many times, she finally settled on Play-Doh. Leave it to her to come up with themes that are either not easily available or hard to incorporate! But thank goodness for the internet, I found some ideas; and based on these, Caila told me how she wanted her cake to look like which I immediately ordered through Cakes & Treats by Kat.

everything was edible except for the 3 tools at the lower right

the colorful cake inside that impressed the guests

A week before the party, Hubby and I went to a couple of shops near Al Ras metro station where we bought several paperbags and items. Mama had brought foldable colored fans from the Philippines and made loom-band bracelets, all of which we put in the lootbags for the kids.

With only a few days left, we booked the services of My Photobooth.

And finally, we bought a big box of 24 different colored Play-Doh to add to the prizes that Popeyes provided.

Just like Sophie's 1st birthday, we asked everyone to mark their fingerprints on a framed paper

Of course I just had to bake something for the party, so I made a few dozen ube crinkles (which I also forgot to take pictures of) and chocolate cupcakes for the guests to enjoy.

cupcakes and tubs of Play-Doh

And enjoy they did! During the party, a couple of Caila's classmates came up to me just to say that the cupcakes were delicious and they really liked them! And a friend even asked if I accept orders for the ube crinkles. Yaaaaay!

Even though we had limited the number of guests, the number of people who arrived still exceeded the maximum capacity that Popeyes accommodates, which resulted to several having to stand up. The host was shocked that there were so many kids (more than 20, I think) that she became overwhelmed, so only a few games were played.

Nevertheless, we could see that the kids were having a good time. When the mascot came out, they became really excited and practically hounded it.  Good thing they settled down and let it go for the chicken dance.

Seeing that the prizes were actual Play-Doh, they really gave their all in the games. Even the parents did their best.

It was a crazy, yet fun-filled night. 

I guess a slice wasn't enough for one of the little guests =)

And I'm glad the celebrant was old enough to enjoy, remember, and cherish that day