Somewhere Over the Rainbow...
The Wizard of Oz is my absolute favorite movie! It has been since I was a little girl. The unique story and characters, bright and imaginative sets, the lovely music, and of course, JUDY GARLAND, all create a happy zone for me. I was delighted in that Scout took to the movie right away too and even more thrilled when she requested an Oz party for her third birthday!
Admittedly, this party was almost a decade ago and fairly early in my party planning and paper crafting adventures, but here are some of the elements that made for a great day for our sweet little Dorothy.
I used tempura paints on butcher paper and crepe paper to make a rainbow to hang from our overlook. I fashioned a mini Oz backdrop and house our of large moving boxes and paint and I created a talking tree out of a faux houseplant. We had primary color floor mats for our play area. We used the yellow ones to create a yellow brick road from the front door through the party space. We made a kids table with rainbow decor and Wizard of Oz paper plates, cups and napkins. I finished the party look with rainbow streamers, blue gingham tablecloths and a homemade birthday banner with pictures of the birthday girl. Scout loved skipping up and down this path in her costume and ruby slippers!
For party favors made sugar cookies with a high heel cookie cutter which came as part of a princess cookie cutter collection. I used Wilton red gel food coloring to create a thin layer of red buttercream frosting. Before the frosting dried, I covered the frosting in red sugar sprinkles and then added a simple bow with Wilton red fondant. While I am far from a professional baker, once the cookies were placed in the favor baggies and tied with the blue gingham ribbon, they turned out pretty cute!
Dorothy’s Ruby slipper cookies for Wizard of Oz party favors!
Since this party was planned for a 3 year old birthday girl, we included lots of kid favorite snacks: rainbow goldfish, “Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My!!” animal crackers, and “Witch Mix” full of kid snacks, and of course, rainbow candies like M&M’s and Skittles. The green jello jugglers were also a hit with the littles.
Clara had received this adorable Wizard of Oz finger puppet set prior to the event and the guests enjoyed playing with it at the party. The party was a while ago and I can’t find this exact item, but this is a similar finger puppet collection.
As a party activity I ordered rainbow crafts from Oriental Trading Co. similar tho these. and attached the rainbows from the crafts to the outside of rainbow favor boxes. Inside the boxes were the items to complete the craft, rainbow lollipops, Wizard of Oz stickers, and packaged snacks.
The Wizard of Oz poster and metal prints were actually personal decor from my closet that I pulled out for the party. While the Tinman’s heart and and Lion’s Badge of Courage were something I ordered, I paired with a homemade Scarecrow diploma for a fun display.
If I had the opportunity to throw a party with this theme, these are some of the party elements that I would use, check them out:
Wizard of Oz Printable Birthday Package from Divine Party Design are available on Etsy. it includes a cute banner, cupcake wrappers, thank you tags and bottle wraps. This Wizard of Oz Sign Set, also by Divine Party Design would be a great addition and provide some activity inspiration as well as this cute Wizard of Oz Photo Booth Prop set. And I adore these Over the Rainbow Invitations by Goodies Designs!
At the party we had a big family group, served delivered pizza and then focused on our Dororthy’s favorite, ICE CREAM! I found some free ice cream social printable labels from Eat, Drink, Chic and set up fixings for a build your own ice cream sundae station.
Even if you aren’t planning an OZ themed event, but like me, you LOVE The Wizard of Oz, Rainbows or a are looking for an adorable to express PRIDE love, check out these fun crafts that we have been inspired to try:
1) Inspired by our favorite balloon designer Creative Hearts Studio, we tried our own mini rainbow balloon art (we’ve seen these as party of Creative Hearts more elaborate designs). Seriously, blowing up the thin balloons was the hardest part and glue dots are used to hold the balloons in place.
2) This adorable and easy cut out rainbow card from Meri Meri Mini Makes collection.
If you are looking for more fun Rainbow Party inspiration, check out Rainbow Sugar Rush Party and Secret Life of Pets Rainbow Party.
