9846

Bob the Builder -1yr- Pin Wrench on Bob

November 2004

JENNIFER in MC COY, CO  USA

Honorable Mention

My son's first birthday is a month away and I've been busy planning his "Bob the Builder" party for weeks!  I chose this theme because we own a construction company, not necessarily because my son is into Bob -- as a matter of fact, we don't get the show anymore! 

I ordered all of the basic Bob party supplies -- plates, napkins, tablecloth, etc -- and also got some pre-printed Bob balloons, a Bob mylar balloon, and some "1st Birthday" balloons.  I say you can never have too many balloons.  I'll also use orange, yellow, and black streamers since they are common construction sign colors. 

We live on a ranch and my father-in-law is an excavator, so as the children arrive, they will receive a yellow hard hat and get to take a ride in a tractor, dump truck, forklift, or whatever is the most easily accessible.  I purchased a cheap Polaroid camera, so I will take the child's picture and immediately give it to them. 

I bought 2 cookie cutters - hammer and saw - and I'll use them to cut out sugar cookies.  Since the party will be close to Christmas, I'm going to have a cookie decorating station.  I'll have different colored frostings with popsicle sticks for spreading, and several kinds of sprinkles and colored sugars.  (Keep in mind that while this party is for my son's 1st birthday, the children being invited are older and able to do this activity.) 

I have a "Pin the Wrench on Bob" game where the children will be blindfolded and try to stick Bob's wrench onto his toolbelt.  If we need an additional activity, the kids will play "musical chairs", using the Bob theme song. 

For food, I will make chili and fixings for the adults (serve fritos in my son's large Tonka dump truck!) and for the kids I'll use the cookie cutters to make hammer and saw shaped PB&J sandwiches, Bugles for "safety cones", a cup of applesauce, and Capri Sun. 

My son will have 2 birthday cakes - a Bob cake (from a Bob shaped cake pan) that my grandma makes (she used to be a professional cake decorator) and a "stage" cake that I make.  The stage cake is made by baking the batter in (2) 9" round pans, and then once completely cool, I'll slice one round horizontally to put a layer of frosting in between, and the other round I will slice vertically, spread with frosting, and then I'll stack it on the horizontal round.  This creates an upper and lower tier, which I'll then either frost or cover in Cool Whip. 

For cake decorations, I've got a Bob figure, a Bob candle, and 24 cupcake picks in the shape of hammers, saws, and wrenches.  I chose to do 2 cakes so that one will be white and the other chocolate.  I thought about doing a Dirt Cake as another idea to tie into the construction theme, but I think my stage cake will be unique. 

While the gift opening is taking place, I'll have a "Can we build it?  Yes we can!" station in which the kids can build with blocks or mold Play-Doh.  To wind the children down before they leave, we'll read "Bob's Birthday." 

For goodie bags, the kids will get a Bob Christmas ornament, Bob stickers, and a set of plastic tools.  I'm really excited for this party, and it's been very affordable to plan -- I've purchased most everything from ebay, and supplemented items from either a party store or dollar store.

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