Alright, folks! It's birthday party time! I decided this time around to break the party up into sections, then do a recap with linkups. Since Mondays are Meal Plan Mondays, we'll start off with the food. I debated and debated over a birthday party theme this year. I picked a theme, fought to fall in love with the theme, decided I couldn't get on board with it, brainstormed, came up with a new theme, and the fun started! MONSTERS!!! What a perfect theme for my little critters! My little monsters turn 2 & 3 this year, and this was a fun unisex theme that everyone could enjoy. Every party (at least at my house) has to have themed food. Here's what I settled on. Monster Smiles Monster Ears (with Earwax) Monster Teeth Monster Fingers (with Slime) Monster Eyes & Noses Monster Toes ..and of course, Monster Cupcakes!! Smiles were croissant sandwiches. We chose Ham, Turkey, and Cheese since it pleased most of our guests. You could pick whatever fits your crowd the best. Ears were Wavy Lays Original chips and earwax was just chip dip. Teeth were Nacho Cheese Doritos. What monster wouldn't have cheesy teeth?!?! Monster Fingers were baby carrots and celery sticks. The slime was, of course, ranch dip with food coloring. The eyes and noses were strawberries, grapes, and pineapples. The toes were pigs in pretzel dough blankets. The Monster Juice was green Hawaiian Punch and Lemonade. We also had sweet tea for the adults who weren't into drinking monster juice. Last but not least, the cupcakes! I baked key lime and orange dreamcicle cupcakes from mixes that were on sale to make the monster insides green and orange. Then I got to work with brightly colored vanilla icing, a star tip, and a grass tip (borrowed from one of our favorite cousins). For the best results on the monster fur, I recommend starting from the outside edges and working your way in toward the center. Once you get your desired fur texture, just top each cupcakes off with one, two, or three eyes to make your monsters complete. These were so fun, and such a great addition to our party. This was a pretty low maintenance menu. I just whipped up some sandwiches, threw the pigs in the oven, sliced the strawberry tops, and was ready to go. Everything else was just open and pour. The most complicated thing on the whole menu was the cupcakes...and those were easy peasy as well. I can't wait to show you the details for the rest of the party! Stay tuned for the rest of the week! Here's a small sneak peak of the dessert/favor table to show off the cupcakes a little more. Enjoy!