Party Time: Maddie-licious
For Maddie’s 9th birthday, she decided she wanted a candy party. And so the wheels were set in motion for a Maddie-licious party.First thing was to get the invitation out. We decided to make one that looks like a stick of chewing gum. 
Maddie loves green, so we went with spearmint. After printing and cutting the invitations, they were put in a baggie with sticks of spearmint gum for a couple days to pick up the scent. It worked perfectly!
For decorations, we used the balloon lollipop idea from Parents.com as the starting point. Instead of painting the tubes, we just ordered a dozen white mailing tubes from Staples. We also wrapped red tape around the tubes to create candy cane sticks. We used the remaining balloons and cellophane to create giant candies, some of which were then taped to fishing line to create a garland. Giant kisses made out of foil and ribbon added to the party.
A cellophane basket gift bag, flower balloons, poster board and lettering and circles cut on the Silhouette HD made up our candy bag birthday “banner.”
Another decoration that also doubled as an activity was the Candy Trivia Punch Box. Click for our tutorial. Inspired by the Punch A Box game over at Shannon Makes Stuff, ours was made out of poster board, tissue paper and paper bags. It added an extra pop of color to the room.
We set up a craft activity to calm things down about. Sweet jewelry was the theme and we laid out the table with all sorts of beads, cabochons and findings that we found on Etsy*.
Finally, we put together a treats table where the guest to fill their goodie bags before they left. We decided to include non-candy items that also fit with the candy theme, so we had candy scented nail polish, lip gloss and candy colored clip-on braids. All of this was under a red and white striped awning inspired by the one in Noelle’s French Cafe Party over at Pink Peach Cakes. It was made from wrapping paper, double-sided tape and dowels that we hung using mini 3M Command hooks.
The kids had a great time with all the activities. The Gumball Obstacle Course was so much fun and trickier because if you knocked anything over, you had to start over from the beginning.
The Lifesaver Pass and the Pixie Stick Drop were also big hits.
After ice cream sundaes and cupcakes,
it was time for Candy Button Trivia. Each child was given a candy trivia question and got to punch a dot and get a prize if s/he answered correctly.
Finally, everyone helped clear out the treats table.
——————————–
*We purchased most of the items for the craft table from:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/wiino
http://www.etsy.com/shop/snapcrafty
http://www.etsy.com/shop/EdenGlitters
http://www.etsy.com/shop/GemJunkie
http://www.etsy.com/shop/twpmango
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BottleCapSupply
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCraftyDragonfly
http://www.etsy.com/shop/JuliesBeadStore
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This is so great! Your obstacle course is my favorite, and the jewelry making craft. I bet the kids had so much fun! Sharing on our Facebook wall today. Thank you!
Beyond awesome!!
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love this, such an inspiration!
Amazing job!!! I CANNOT wait to do something special for my daughter’s first birthday. So fabulous!
Wow! Sounds like this was an amazomg party.
I of course meant that it was an amazing party- not amazomg!
Wow! What a bunch of fun ideas! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Amazing! My daughter is 9 too and she would have loved this. She loves to plan her own parties – with a little help from me. She did a carnival theme once with tickets, guess the number of m&ms int he jar, games like blowing flour from a pie plate to find the ring. It was fun, but this looks fabulous. Might be our next one!
Wow! Great party- such cute ideas!
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adorable!!
Wow!! How creative!
Love it! Thanks for the post. Such great ideas.
I am horrible at coming up with ideas, would you mind posting some trivia questions you used on the punch game?
Thanks so much! Some of the questions we used were:
Name five flavors of Life Savers.
Which country eats the most chocolate: U.S, Belgium, England?
What colors are in a regular pack of M&Ms?
If you email us at celebrate@ctbas, we can send you some more. With the answers, of course.
I would be interested in more of your candy trivia questions and answers and the instructions for making the candy button trivia game. You have such cute ideas!
Thanks! Below are the sites for questions. We did change the format of the harder ones into multiple choice to make it easier for younger guests. For the punch box, you can find the tutorial here–https://blog.celebratethebigandsmall.com/2011/09/29/all-about-the-packaging-candy-button-punch-box-tutorial/. Feel free to email us at celebrate@ctbas.com if you have any other questions.
The 10 Spot Candy Bar Trivia
http://www.stylemg.com/Style/February-2011/The-10-Spot-Candy-Bar-Trivia/
Sweet Trivia
http://freshare.net/article/sweet_trivia_questions_and_answers_by_deanna_mascle/
What a fun theme! I’m planning my daughter’s first birthday and want to do a candy bar but also included non-candy items. I noticed that you also had candy that wasn’t individually wrapped. Did you provided one goodie bag for kids to put it all in one bag?
Thanks! We had small cellophane bags for the kids to fill with candy, but also had small muslin totes to hold everything. We decorated those with candy designs using puff paint.
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awesome ideas! thanks for sharing!
WOW!!! Love this party!! Thank you for sharing!
OH my goodness! I LOVe your version for the party! I’m so glad I found out you have linked to me! I absolutely LOVE it!!! You’re amazing!!!
Thanks! Glad you liked our take on it. Yours was definitely our inspiration.
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I just found your site via pinterest, and HAD to comment. Not only did you do an amazing job with the party, I think its beyond respectable that you made sure to credit all the other bloggers that inspired you! Kudos.
Thank you!
I am having a candy land party for my daughter on Sunday. So glad I found you on Pinterest as I am using many of your ideas! Couple of questions: I am having a tough time getting my lollipops to stand up in the house. I am using the cardboard wrapping paper as my lollipop sticks and bubbles on the inside to hold them, but they are not standing up!
Also, are the giant Hersheys just made out of foil or is there something you used as a base?
I am also doing the punch out game and it turned out so cute! Thanks so much!!
We’re glad you liked our ideas. For the lollipops, we ended up putting baggies of coins in the bottom part of the tube to weigh them down. They stand up much better with the weight. For the kisses, we used round take-out containers turned upside down. You can find the tutorial here: https://blog.celebratethebigandsmall.com/2011/06/30/all-about-the-packaging-giant-kisses/. Hope that helps. Let us know if you have any other questions.
Thanks you so much! Just tried the coins and Ta-da…they stand up! Great!!! :)) Can’t wait to give the Hershey’s a try!
I love your ideas especially the punch box. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for these ideas and the punch box tutorial. I can easily convert that to a lego theme for my boys!
I wanted to add that I was reading up on Pinterest copyright last night and saw a pin today for the punch board. So, wanting to see the tutorial, I went-a-lookin’. I actually got here from a pin to a different blog. The picture on pinterest was yours as opposed to one of the other blogger’s pictures. The other blogger did give you credit, but I doubt the pinners knew they were passing along your picture seemingly giving credit to the other blogger. Gosh, does that make any sense?
Here is the blog: http://acasarella.blogspot.com/2012/03/party-favor.html
And here are the pins that point to her blog, some using your picture: http://pinterest.com/source/acasarella.blogspot.com/
As a person that dabbles in photography, I wanted to pass that along. I want you to get as much traffic from pinterest as possible for your own work.
Thanks for looking out for us, Tammy!
It is just a coincidence that my reply relates to the message above but I did find your post via Pinterest and think you are super! I am planning on using your punch board idea for my daughters art themed party this week. Thank you so much for the tutorial, the brown bag idea is great. I think your website is beautiful and informative. Thank you!
I’m more than happy to discover this page. I need to to thank you for your time just for this fantastic read!! I definitely liked every little bit of it and I have you saved as a favorite to see new information in your site.
This is amazing! Job well done! I love it!
http://dixie-n-dottie.blogspot.com/
This looks amazing! My niece is having a candyland theme party and we needed some party games that macthed the theme, is the any way you could let me know the rules to the games, The Lifesaver Pass and the Pixie Stick Drop? Thanks.
I love this party idea and am stealing alot of it. Can you explain the obstacle course. My daughters party is in three weeks.
Hi, I am currently planning a Sweet Shoppe Party and was wondering how you got the lollipops to “stand up” on the floor and tables?? Thanks!!
Kaila
krosed2@hotmail.com
We put baggies of coins in the bottom of the tubes. It was enough weight to keep them standing.
Love the idea! it is so creative the decoration but I would love to make the Candy Trivia Punch Box.
Hello, i have a question, how do you do the kisses??? Thanks!!
Please see our post on the kisses at https://blog.celebratethebigandsmall.com/2011/06/30/all-about-the-packaging-giant-kisses/
Thank you sooo much for this! I found it pinned on Pinterest and I just did this theme for my daughter’s birthday. We had the punch game, the lollipops, hard candy garland and more! It was so much fun to hear your child tell you “This was the best birthday ever” is priceless. Thanks for the inspiration.
beautiful pics, respect =)
http://mademoisellediy.wordpress.com/
Thanks for the great idea! I’m doing a science party and I’m going to do this periodic table style!
That’s a fantastic idea!
I just love this. Very great ideas! Just wanted to know of you have tutorial for the awning over the candy buffet or where I might be able to find one?
I used dowels, packing tape and removable 3M command hooks for the awning. I just Googled “DIY awning” to get an idea for the basic shape (2 triangles for the ends and support bars across the top and bottom). Instructables.com is a good place to look.
Very cute! I plan on trying the punch box for my daughter’s 9th birthday this year. =)
Will you please explain the obstacle course? Thank you!!! 🙂
After dividing into two teams, each kid had to go through the obstacle course carrying a gumball on a spoon. The first team to finish won.
Hello! I just would like to give you a big thumbs up for the excellent info you’ve got here on this post. I’ll be returning to your blog for more soon.
How did you keep the white tubes/lollipops upright on the floor? It’s a-DOR-able!!
Thanks! We used baggies of coins stuffed into the base.
You’re party looks adorable! I really love your creative games! Could you please tell me how you made the giant Hershey Kisses? Were they all foil or did you use something inside to form the kiss shape? Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks so much! Click here to see what we used to make the kisses. The middle is bunched up tissue paper on a round take out container to give it a general shape. The foil then held it together. Hope that helps.
WOW! Found you via Pinterest, and sooo glad I did. I am repinning and can’t wait to explore your blog. This is fabulous!!!
I love, love how you used the balloons for the decorations. Was there a particular size balloon that found that worked best for the “hard candy” and lollipops?
Thanks! I used 12″ balloons. I didn’t blow them up fully for the hard candy so they would look a rounder. They were fully inflated for the lollipops. Hope that helps.
Perfect. Thank you for the tip! I am so excited to try out your ideas!!
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Hello, just came across your blog and I love your party ideas!!!
Can you tell me how I can get those cute chewing gum invites????
Thanks! If you’re interested in purchasing a printable file, please email us at celebratethebigandsmall@gmail.com.
Thanks so much! I definitely will be emailing you.
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what were the lifesaver and pixy stix games you mentioned and was there a game with the whipped cream?
The pixie stix drop is just like a clothespin drop and in the lifesaver pass, the kids had to pass
them from one stick to another.
The whipped cream was just for the sundaes.
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Why buy expensive mailing tubes? At Staples, they’re $13.99 for twelve, 24″ tubes, which comes out to $0.58 cents per foot. At Lowes, you can get 10-ft of 1″ white PVC pipe for $3.67, which comes out to $0.37 cents per foot and best of all, you can CUT YOUR OWN SIZE. Cut long pops, short pops or in between! Staples has coupons more readily available, but they are not impossible to find at the big box hardware stores, either.
Lowes: item #23976
Home Depot: item #531194
Thanks for the tip! While it’s not a practical option for those of us in urban areas like NYC, PVC piping is a great alternative if you can do it.
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Thanks! Try https://blog.celebratethebigandsmall.com/feed/
We did the Punch Box at my son’s 4th birthday and it was a complete success! Thanks for the wonderful idea!
So happy to hear that!
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I love the idea of a punch box! What a great idea! I posted a link on my blog to this under “Spend New Years Eve with Your Kids” It gives ideas on games, crafts and activities that you can do to countdown the new year. Your punch box was an idea for how to choose each activity. Thanks a lot! http://www.cindyscreativecuts.com/spend-new-years-eve-kids/
Thanks so much for including it on your post!! What a fun topic. Happy New Year!
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Hello,
My name is Christal, and I’m the editorial assistant for Red Tricycle, a local and national site for parents. I’m currently working on a story on how to throw an awesome game night/party and came across your Candy Button Punch Box.
May we use one of this photo (https://celebratebigsmall.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/candybutton.jpg?w=584) in our story? In return, we’ll credit you and link readers back to your blog for the tutorial and to see more of the party.
I sent an e-mail to info@celebratethebigandsmall.com but it bounced. If you could email me back at christal@redtri.com, I would really appreciate it!
Best,
Christal
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how did you make the candy decorations?
There are some explanations in the post but here are links to two tutorials for some of the decorations.
https://blog.celebratethebigandsmall.com/2011/06/30/all-about-the-packaging-giant-kisses/
https://blog.celebratethebigandsmall.com/2011/09/29/all-about-the-packaging-candy-button-punch-box-tutorial/
The Parents.com link wasn’t right in the article. Here’s the link to that as well. http://www.parents.com/fun/birthdays/themes/candy/
What a wonderful party idea!! I wanted to ask you where you found the silver paper that wrapped the invitation. It’s super cute!!!
Thank you!
Thanks! I bought the silver paper at Pearl Paint, which is no longer around. However, I’ve seen similar paper at Blick Art and Amazon carries silver gift wrap which would work as well.
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I stumbled upon your page when I was checking out few games for my daughters 8th birthday which is coming in a weeks time…The decorations are beautiful and the games are so well thought of. Could you please explain how the games Lifesaver Pass, Pixie Stick Drop and the Gumball Obstacle Course are to be played?
Thanks so much!
The rules are as follows:
Lifesaver Pass
Divide into teams and line up. Everyone is given a skewer (trim the tip a little to avoid sharp pokes). There is a cup of Lifesavers at the head of each line and an empty cup at the end of each line.
The first player places a candy (or many candies) on his/her skewer. The next player uses only his/her skewer to take the candy and so on. The last person places them in the cup. First team to fill the cup at the end wins.
Pixie Stix Drop
Divide into teams and line up. Pass out Pixie Stix to each player. Players take turns trying to drop one into a bottle. S/he then returns to the back of the line. Keep going until everyone has used up his/her Pixie Stix.
Bending over or crouching down to get closer to the bottle is not allowed. The team with the most Pixie Stix in the bottle wins.
Obstacle Course
Divide into teams. There is a cup of gumballs for each team at the start of the course and an empty cup for each team at the end. Each player carries a gumball on a spoon while going through the obstacle course.
If the player drops it along the way, s/he has to go back to the beginning and start again. The first team to carry all of their gum balls across the course wins.
Good luck with your daughter’s party!
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Awesome party decorations. Looks like the kids had a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing.
These games would be perfect for my 5 year old!! She saw your pictures and said “Oh! Can I bite those lollipops?” I think that means she likes it! Can you explain what your obstacle course consisted of? It looks like they weave in and out of the ‘lollipops’ and then jump over the ‘candy canes’? Anything else that we can’t see in the pictures?
Thanks for all the good ideas!
Hi! The only thing you can’t see is the container at the end. Otherwise, it’s pretty much like you said in that they go between the lollipops and then step over the candy canes while carrying gum balls with spoons.
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