When I was teeny tiny, my favourite tv show was Sesame Street. As a three year old, I was given a fluffy Big Bird toy. From then on, Big Bird was my loyal companion. Decades later I had my own teeny tiny people. It was a lovely surprise to discover that all the furry friends from my childhood days were still living on Sesame Street. My little ones also fell in love with this bright and cheerful neighbourhood. So it was kind of a thrill to be able to plan a Sesame Street party for my daughters 3rd birthday. And because it works so well as a colourful party theme, I went with it again when my son turned 3.

I started with an entry banner which read “Sunny Days, sweeping the clouds away”. Under this I hung yellow tissue paper pom poms. In the entry I also put up this Sesame Street lamp post, and a sign which read “Today’s party is brought to you by the letter G (your child’s first initial) and the number 3”. Then I dotted around our Sesame Street toys and books. The rest of the decorations revolved around the dessert table and the games and activities.

We served a variety of hot finger foods and cheese and fruit platters. For the kids specifically I had fruit skewers and veggie sticks with dip.

I put out a variety of activities to occupy the kids when they first arrived. First I tried to get a photo at the Sesame Street lamp post with the birthday child and each of their guests. We had a small table set up as Elmo’s Crayon Corner and a counting board set up as “Count with the Count”. We also turned on a bubble machine and called it “Bubbles with Big Bird”.

Then we played a few games together. First up was Ernie’s rubber ducky pond. I floated a bunch of rubber ducks in a tub of water. On the base of each duck I had written a 1,2,or 3. The kids took turns choosing a duck from the pond and they got to claim a prize depending on the number of their duck.

Next we played Pin the Nose on Elmo. Each child had a turn at being blind folded. They had to attach a nose to a poster of Elmo and the one who got it closest to the correct spot won a prize.

Our next game was Oscar’s Trash Toss. This was a competition to see who could throw the most number of scrunched up pieces of newspaper into a bucket. It was really cute to see everyone cheering each other along. We finished off with a game of musical statues and most of the kids loved the chance to break out their moves!

The idea for the second birthday cake came from The Australian Women’s Weekly “More Cakes For Kids” book (2010). They show a bubble-bath cake. I took the idea and turned it into Ernie’s rubber ducky bath tub.

For a girls party, I used twisted strips of crepe paper in red, pink and white as the backdrop behind the dessert table. They make such a visual impact. You can see these in the image at the top of this post. I also hung up a happy birthday banner. I used the same banner at a boys party. But instead of the crepe paper streamers, I used paper fans in red, yellow, green and blue. I also ran a red and white striped table runner down the length of the dessert table. The theme colours also showed up in the napkins, plates and cups `

For sweets we served cupcakes with cute toppers, cookies and a few chocolates and lollies. We also had popcorn in red and white striped noodle boxes. And there was flavoured milk in my favourite mini milk bottles.

For the first party I sent guests home with a cookie showing the number 3. At second party I again used cookies as the favours. But as I was pregnant I went with the easy option of store-bought! Our prizes for the games were a mix of bubbles, crayons, bouncy balls and stickers.