“The Nutcracker Suite”

The Perfect Theme for a Winter Birthday

We love the story of the Nutcracker. It was always one of Chloe’s favorite stories. So it was also the perfect theme for her 5th birthday party.

Entryway:

To make the arrival even more exciting for all of my children’s friends, I love to decorate the entrance way! To create something magical and fun to welcome them to whatever world they will soon be entering!

This year we created a gingerbread house entrance to the party! Complete with giant candies surrounding the doorway!

Activities:

As the guests arrive, I love to provide a simple activity to keep them busy and happy while we wait for all of the other guests to get there. This year I used these adorable ornaments from Oriental Trading Company.

The girls each colored their own Nutcracker ornament while they waited.

When all the guests arrived we made our very own gingerbread houses! We like to make a simplified version with smaller children that they can create on their own.

For supplies you will need:

• Graham Crackers
• Royal Icing for the “glue”
• Sprinkles, small candies, pretzel sticks, “tube-shaped” cookies, mini marshmallows and any other fun toppings you can think of.

Each child had their own tray with their basic supplies in it (a pack of graham cracker cookies, a plastic spreading knife, and frosting. Then in the center of the table we placed several small dishes with all different types of decorations and supplies.

Each child was able to create their own house shape! From a simple rectangle or square, to a two story house, or a house with a slanted roof! It was fun to watch them use their creativity.

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Their houses were imperfectly adorable and stacked high with loads of candy! I love allowing kids the freedom to create their own design instead of giving them a kit or a premade house to decorate! They had so much fun!

It is good if you are doing this particular activity with smaller children, to have a few extra hands available to help them with the “gluing” stage, which can be a little tricky.

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After gingerbread houses we sat down to read the Nutcracker story. I like story time with smaller children. It gives them time to settle down a little, to use their imaginations and to listen to the story of the theme we have chosen if they did not already know it yet.

To keep their little hands busy while they listened, they all received a little Nutcracker sticker book from Oriental Trading Company.

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They added their little stickers while they listened about the land of Sugar Plum fairies and Nutcracker Princes.

Next we had a real ballet lesson for all of our little ballerinas. They were so sweet in their little tutus!

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The little ballerinas learned some real ballerina positions, stretches and dance steps.

Dinner

After our activities the kids had dinner. You can find fun ideas for all kinds of Nutcracker themed treats on my recent post.

Games:

After dinner we got a little silly and played freeze dance!

All of the kids had to jump and dance as crazy as they wanted while the music played. And then when the music stopped they had to freeze! Whoever didn’t freeze with the music was out until the next round. The kids were so full of giggles and loved all their silly dancing moves.

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Before presents the kids played a round of ballet slipper bowling!

I made Mouse king bowling pins with toilet paper roll tubes and the kids took turns trying to knock over the pins with a ballet slipper! Just like Clara in the Nutcracker story when she saved the Nutcracker by hitting the Mouse King with her slipper!

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Cake and Presents

To finish up the night we celebrated with a Nutcracker cupcake cake and presents! The birthday girl was perfectly pleased with her Purple Sugar Plum Fairy party.

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Decorations:

Here’s a peek at the dessert table when we had cake (cleared up from dinner and treat time). I loved the pretty ballerina background and the snowflake tablecloth. They added such a whimsical touch to the party.

Decorations were pretty easy seeing as though Chloe is born in December and we chose the Nutcracker for a theme. I just put up all of my Christmas decorations, choosing a more pastel color theme that year to match the party!

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Party Favors:

• Sugar Plum Fairy wand
• Purple Tulle Ballerina Tutu (handmade by Grandma)
• Nutcracker Sticker Book
• Nutcracker Ornament
• Gingerbread House
• Nutcracker candies
• DIY Nutcracker & Ballerina Favor Bags

We had a lot of fun with this party theme! We hope you will too!

Happy winter birthday to all you winter babies out there!