Candyland Birthday

I started thinking about Maddy's birthday a while ago and wanted something gender neutral since she has more boy friends this year.  So Candyland was the perfect theme to celebrate this little sweetie's 4th birthday.  I pinned all kinds of things to get me inspired and loved the way everything turned out.  Giant lollipops greeted our game contestants along with the Candyland trail.  No, I didn't make the colors exactly match the pattern of the board game.  It was too hot to get that detailed! 

I started buying candy a while back so when it came to the actual day of the party, I was shocked to see how much candy we actually had.  It was everywhere.  We could have eaten candy for three meals a day for about a month afterward.  I ended up throwing it away the other day because I just couldn't look at anymore candy (and we had had enough!).

The sign says, "Maddy's Candyland."  Confession, it's still up almost a month later.  Er, I mean I'm taking it down RIGHT NOW!

 I've discovered that if I want a picture with Maddy it has to be pre-party.  These were taken when we were all ready for her guests to arrive.  I wouldn't have been ready with so much time if it wasn't for my amazing parents who came to help set the stage for the festivities.  They wrangled the kids and helped us with every detail.  Thanks Mom and Dad!

The cake was homemade, but dried up completely by the time of the party.  Sometimes,  a box cake full of all those good preservatives is just better.  I need to work on perfecting the homemade recipe.  The decorations look difficult, but upclose you would have noticed how novice this cake was.  I just threw on some candy....seriously.  She loved it so that's all that mattered.

I didn't think about printing the arrows in different directions, so they are upside down.  Oh well! We had different stations of the board game around the house with different games or activities.  The first station was the Gingerbread Tree where they decorated foam gingerbread people.  

Next, the kiddos (mostly parents) guessed how many gumdrops were in a jar.  The kids' guesses ranged from 3-7.  Good try, kids.  Stay in school.  Kasen's mom guessed 130 and their were 140 so Kasen won! 

 Then Lord Licorice had them spell their name with licorice sticks. 

At Peanut Acres, the kiddos tossed peanut bean bags (old socks stuffed with rice) into a tub.  This game wasn't as successful as I thought it would be.  

Outside, kids decorated giant lollipops (paper plates glued to stir sticks) for the Lollipop Woods. 

Only a few brave souls attempted to paint with pudding with Gloppy.  This was on my bucket list for the summer so I decided it would be fun for the Chocolate Swamp. 

Our new playground was the perfect spot for the Kandy Kastle where the little sugars beat the piñata and played! This was the only picture I got of Maddy in her (almost Katy Perry-ish) cupcake dress from Marme.  It fit perfectly for the day and she loved it! 

Shhh... Maddy says at least twice a week that she is going to marry this handsome little guy next to her.  I love him so I'm glad we have a picture of both of them just in case they go to prom together or get married.   You never know! 

 On her actual birthday we attempted to go to the Ft. Sam Splash Pad, but it was broken.  So we splashed around at Maddy's friend Nathan's house in the backyard.  Thanks to everyone for making Maddy's birthday so SWEET!  She had an absolutely amazing time and it was such a blessing to share it with all of you!