Calvin & Hobbes Birthday Party

 

 

My three boys LOVE Calvin and Hobbes. Draco here has loved him since he was like 3. He couldn't 'read' yet but would "read" his brothers comics and quote the lines he knew. He wore his Linus shirt from Halloween all the time and called it his Calvin shirt. He was due for a new one. This time instead of using a sharpie to draw lines we painted stripes with blue tape and fabric paint. (I would suggest the marker and quilting ruler next time. Much easier) We grabbed a picture of him with his stuffed Hobbes he got for Christmas.

 

 

It was his 2nd favorite present after this. I found a pattern for free here. So thankful I found it as I was going to be making my own. (saved me so much time!)  Draco loves his Hobbes. (And so does baby sister)

 

 

To decorate for his party I was able to get some comics to use for a backdrop from a girl from my church. I am so thankful for a silhouette. I can make a matching birthday banner pretty quickly. I had some orange crepe paper and made it fringey to switch it up. I love how crepe paper is cheap and colorful. It's a great way to make a party look festive. I printed up some fun prints of Calvin and Hobbes to add to the mix.

 

We kept the food simple by making popcorn with our popcorn maker. So easy and cheap. Plus it has less carbs for my diabetic son than microwave popcorn. I did flavored water instead of punch or soda. It's cheaper, easier, and doesn't have any carbs. We will have diet soda for him sometimes but I try to not let my other kids drink diet soda. Flavored water makes it easier. And don't the orange slices make it look classy? And match our décor.We made 'tiger tails' from pretzel rods dipped in orange melts and drizzled with dark chocolate. I love salty and sweet together. I had the kids take those home to keep the sweets to a minimum.

 

I was also told we had to have Calvin's favorite: Chocolate chip cookies! Draco loves the comic where Calvin drinks an elixir that turns him invisible. They after removing his clothes  he is free to sneak into the cookie jar. It ends with Calvin's mom yelling at Calvin, demanding to know why he is naked and sneaking into the cookies. Perfect humor for a 7 year old!

I am really excited about how his cake turned out. It was pretty easy to do. I was searching for ideas and could only find fondant made Calvin and Hobbes. And I knew that wasn't in my skill set quite yet. This method for transferring images would work great for so many things. I wish I would have discovered it years ago. I used Pooh Bear Gold for his skin and a mix of yellow and orange for his hair. The best part was my son's face when he saw it. He loved it!

 

How cute it Calvin??? I was a little scared it wouldn't work out. My plan B was some orange bunting for the top. So glad it turned out!

 

I love having parties based on characters from books. Even if they are comics. Our family loves reading. And having parties based of books just encourages reading and brings characters to life.

 

We made his piñata as well. Easy and so much cheaper. We wanted to make an alien that Spaceman Spiff liked to battle. We searched for the simplest one. (Calvin likes to pretend his teacher Miss Wormwood, or Suzie, or anyone he doesn't like is an alien he has to defeat. Gotta love his imagination!) I was going to make it the shape of the alien, but kept it simple by just using a box. I would cut some slits into unless you want to make it challenging. We filled it with cheap candy and party favors from the $1 store. (Cheap candy = Great candy for low blood sugars)

 

Just like with our Percy Jackson Party I did my research. I had scored this from a garage sale. I have read Calvin and Hobbes before but I was looking for fun ideas for his party.

 

 

 

We knew our party needed newspaper hats and water balloons.

 

 

This mischievous boy loved his party. And he loved introducing his friends to Calvin and Hobbes. Some of them were already fans. Most of the parents were as well. I love that he loves this character so much. And I love that all the brothers quote him together.

The kids were pretty great at letting me get a picture before our water balloon fight. Grady put the balloons in water to keep them cool, but it was still too hot. We had to redo a bunch for the fight. We had them play sardines, a game of hide and go seek, but you stay with someone instead of tagging them.

 

I love how I got this balloon right before it popped and right after.

 

 

I loved keeping it simple. Our activities were making the hats, dress up clothes for free play, relay race, water balloon toss and the piñata. I loved seeing their joy from these simple party blowers.

I can't believe my sweet boy is 7!

 

 

Calvin and Hobbes create G.R.O.S.S, a club to Get Rid Of Slimey girlS. Good thing we didn't go along with that. Girls were totally welcomed at his party. Which was a good thing since we had so many of them show up. I love this sweet boy and I loved seeing him giggle and play with his friends.

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