The Extremely Awesome DIY Cars Birthday Party!

This year was Nico's last birthday he will have while living here in Puerto Rico, so we decided to do it BIG! 

He turned 2 years old and I'll admit, my mom and I got a little carried away! 

 

 I made the invitations using Microsoft Publisher and pictures and fonts downloaded from the internet for FREE! It cost me about $10 to have them printed on glossy paper at Office Depot.

  

There was one side with the information in Spanish and one with information in English for our bilingual birthday bash. 

 

The theme was cars (not the movie) since Nico has an obsession with toys cars, and to save money we DIY'ed everything we could, even his candle!   

Regular Candle + Sharpie       

Most of the decorations were done by hand also.We used a lot of paint and a very old hot glue gun.

 

To make other party favors and decorations we used sheets of foam, construction paper, glue, and printed pictures of the birthday boy. 

 

The goody bags were just plain black bags from Party city with construction paper to create the lights and a little flag was later added to keep the bag from folding open. 

For his cake table, we used table cloths and banners that were ordered from Ebay. 

 

I would like to personally thank my aunt who made and decorated Nico's delicious birthday cake! 

  

Based on some adorable ideas from Pinterest, we made cute little labels for each dish that we decided to serve. I created each label on Publisher and downloaded the fonts and images from the internet. 

We served hot dogs, french fries, chocolate doughnuts, pigs in a blanket, chicken nuggets, sandwiches de mezcla (traditional Puerto Rican party food), and chips and dip! 

The food was such a hit that our guests gobbled it up before I got to snap a picture of the lay out, but I have included a few labels to give the idea. 

The Iced Tea reads Motor Oil, the Lemonade reads Anti Freeze

 

 

My extremely talented mother and I my this piñata togeteher using an old box, super glue, tissues paper, construction paper, and tape! We were very proud that it at least resembled a car!

Though all the really mattered was that the kids had a blast destroying it!

 

 Nico was the only one who wasn't very enthusiastic about scrambling for the candy. 

I guess he is wise beyond his years, knowing that there was plenty to go around!

 

However, after some encouragement on my end, he eventually reached in and picked up just one toy. 

 

I think what he enjoyed most were the games, crafted by my mother and me!  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Each little player tried their hardest and each little winner got a mini prize!  

 

What I enjoyed most was the beautiful photo booth once again made by my mother using a sharpie, a large box, and construction paper.

Nico and his lovely Grandmother AKA The Artist

And even though I was against it in the beginning; when in doubt, get a bouncy house. 

As much as I hate to admit it, it was a huge success! All the little ones who were too shy to participate in the games enjoyed bouncing to their heart's content. 

*Tip!!*

Make the older kids and the younger kids take turns.

(Learned this the hard way after my poor little guy got trampled, basically my worst nightmare)

Baby Bounce!

 

 We enjoyed spending an amazing day with family and friends...

My cousin's gorgeous daughter

 

and we were blessed enough to be able to take such a memorable picture! 

Primos = Cousins!!

Nico is holding the "O"

 

I honestly could not imagine a more perfect 2nd Birthday Extravaganza!  

**All of the inspiration for this party came from Pinterest pins all saved to my board Nico's 2nd Birthday Party **

Easy Last Minute DIY Father's Day Gift (Toddler Friendly!)

This year is my husband Pedro's second Father's Day! 

His second Father's Day is equally as significant as his first, because our son, Nico, is finally old enough to help me continue the tradition of the DIY Father's Day present!

 22 months old

Last year, I created a little picture book explaining what made Pedro the best father in the world. 

It was kind of last minute, but I was able to put together something that he could look at on a bad day, or when he needed something to make him smile. 

This year since I already had an idea, I put much more thought and time into his gift, and I was able to make him something just as personal as the first, but a bit more practical......  

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

A wooden picture frame! 

Painting is a wonderful toddler friendly activity! Not only does it help little ones develop fine motor skills and creativity, it's a great time to teach colors! 

Not to mention, painting a picture frame is a simple activity for busy Kul Moms that takes 30 minutes or less! The small frame cost less than 10 dollars at Walmart, along with the paint and paint brushes. And the newspapers were free, making this activity affordable on virtually any budget! 

Since Pedro's favorite color is green we started with a green base. Nico enjoyed aiming for the picture frame, but after a while, that turned out to be the last thing he wanted to paint. 

CAUTION: This is activity is only for Kul Mom's who like to get messy! 

While I finished the green base and painted the borders blue...

Nico smeared green paint all over his hands and in between his fingers. It turned out to be a wonderful sensory experience for him! 

 

I added strokes of yellow before the paint was dry to give it a funky texture and painted the back of the frame a solid green. 

I had a number of pictures that would have looked very nice in the frame but none that managed to send the right message. 

This Father's Day, I wanted Pedro to know that I appreciate him as a dad, and also that I am in love with him as a dad. When we were dating, I used to sketch pictures for him all the time and write songs and poems about how I couldn't be without him. My heart was seeping love and it had to be expressed! I need him to know that I still feel that way, more now than ever! He is not the boy I fell in love with. He has turned into an incredible man who means more to me than anyone will ever know. 

I drew him a new picture to show him that I cherish the bond he has with our son, and that I still love everything about who he is.