When I heard that a movie was coming out based on The Lorax book by Dr. Seuss (yep, a little barbaloot in the form of Lauren from Baby Lifestyles Magazine whispered it. Thanks, Lauren!), I was super excited. And THEN when I saw the trailer, I squeaked! A bright, beautiful, whimsical world AND a story that really has something wonderful to say.... What an AMAZING idea for a party, right??! I knew I didn't want to wait around for a client to come to me with the idea (because who knew if anyone ever would), so I took all my excitement for the idea and pulled together a fun inspiration party. So if you have a little Lorax in your house, who wants to celebrate their birthday AND "speak for the trees" I have a few ideas to help get the ball rollin' on your Lorax party! It's always fun to set the stage for a party with a welcome sign and for this party I made one that was Seussian inspired! Right off the bat I wanted to pull the kids into Dr. Seuss' magical world so I created a combo kid's table/dessert table. I decided that kids are always drawn to dessert tables like moths to a flame and parties are about fun, so why fight it? Give the kids what they want! This one is laden with brightly colored cupcakes decorated with a fanciful sugar flowers... ...cute Barbaloot and Lorax cookies... ...little milk bottles filled with orange juice and adorn with bows, mustaches and sweet stripey straws... ...not to mention adorable Lorax and Barbaloot cake pops! I have to mention that I was blown away by the Lorax cake pops! When I first approached Sarah, of Mom's Killer Cakes and Cookies, a couple months ago about this party I couldn't even imagine how you would make Lorax cake pops and what one would look like, but I knew I really wanted them on the table. Sarah never batted an eyelash. She just jumped right in (bravely going where no cake pop designer had gone before) and within days these beautiful cake pops arrived at my doorstep! Keeping the message of the book in the forefront of my mind, I used cloth napkins, bamboo plates and utensils, glass milk bottles, cardboard straws and reusable baking cups as well as an up-cycled nubby rug to help add recyclable, reusable, renewable whimsy to the table. And of course what Lorax tablescape would be complete without Truffula Trees??! I created these by adhering feather boas to a few styrofoam discs with neat pins and sticking them on some birch branches. (tutorial here: http://www.gwynnwassondesigns.com/2012/03/tips-hints-lorax-party-truffula-tree.html) All parties need activities to keep the good times rollin', so in the spirit of the Lorax I set up a potting station... ...and came up with a little game idea that I like to call "Recycling Relay". For this game each team is presented with a bin of various recyclable and non-recyclable items. (Be sure to mark each teams' items with a different color.) All the teams are lined up along a homebase line and about 10 feet away a recyclables sorting bin is set up. After a brief lesson about recycling and how to determine what items are recyclable and which are not, it's on your mark, get set.... GO!! A single member of each team takes one item at a time and runs it from the homebase line to the sorting bins, puts the item into the correct bin, runs back, and tags the next member of their team to repeat the process. Whichever team finishes first with all their items correctly sorted wins! Once all the sweets are devoured, games are played and happy birthdays are sung, it's time for all the little Lorax's to go home. And what better way to send them off to continue all the earth-lovin' goodness than with a small pot and packet so that they too can protect "last of the seeds"! Credits: - Party Styling & Printables - Gwynn Wasson Designs - Cake Pops - Mom's Killer Cakes and Cookies - Cookies - All Things Exquisite - Small Sugar Flowers - Cupcakes by Christy - Large Sugar Flowers - Wilton - Stripey Straws - Polka Dot Market - Pom Pom Fringe and Napkin Fabric - Jo-ann Fabric - Bamboo Forks and Plates - Party City