A Rio Theme Party on a Budget

For my daughter's birthday, we threw what is so far her most successful party ever. Family interest in her birthday parties has waned--the excitement was high not just with the first but with the second, because that was the first one where she was really able to take an interest. Now people were more laid-back and a full half of her uncles didn't even show up (well, she has only four uncles, but still...).

This year, I decided to keep the food simple and easy to prepare and focus on the decorations and entertainment. See, last year, we bought a terrific Nemo character cake from Goldilocks, our favored special occasion cake provider since our wedding, when we were determined to have a really good-to-eat cake, and not one of those dry fondant-covered affairs. We hate the waste of food and love really good moist chocolate cakes with buttercream frosting, and so we got one of the latter in pretty pastels. The Nemo cake looked great, but was expensive. Worth it, I suppose, since my daughter still talks about it, but it took up a lot of fridge space for a while. So I decided to take a page out of my cousin's book. Their family has a restaurant, and so they serve one of their specialty cakes at their son's birthday parties and have a small but delicious cake for blowing the candles. I had three Rio figures from McDo and I decorated the Goldilocks Choco Caramel Cake with them. No room for candles, but we had a row of tiny cupcakes with marshmallow frosting from Shoppersville (my husband's friend Jose brought some last year and they were such a hit!) and I put Happy Birthday candles on them.


The previous year we had an obsessive search for rainbow bread instigated by my mother. I remember it fondly from my childhood birthdays but don't see it often now except at Christmastime. My mom was really determined to get some and when she finally found it, it was so expensive she got just enough for the tops of some of the sandwiches, all of which I took the trouble of cutting into fish shapes to go with the theme. And the kids wouldn't eat the colored ones. Maybe because they were too pretty, but more likely because they'd never seen rainbow bread before. I also took the trouble of cutting hot dogs into octopuses by slicing half into skinny legs. I slow cooked them in barbecue sauce which made them taste terrific but also made most of them fall apart. They were lanky and looked more like giant squid than octopuses. But the kids ate them. Guess they tasted so good that they didn't care they looked weird. I used cheap shell-shaped pasta, which easily got overcooked so my pasta primavera got rather mushy. So I ended up with food that fitted the theme but wasn't quite successful.

This time I looked up simple recipes. I flirted with the idea of using Brazilian recipes but found them all too difficult and strange. So I went with the no-fail party staples: hot dogs, spaghetti, and pizza. The last came from Shakey's. The rest I made, and my mom supplemented with her ever popular cheese-pimiento sandwiches, this time without the rainbow bread. And I couldn't find a bird cookie cutter, so no fancy shapes this time.

The spaghetti was made simple with a recipe I adapted from a Betty Crocker one for the slow cooker. I put ground beef and a large can of sliced mushrooms (drained) sauteed with chopped onion and crushed garlic in the slow cooker with a 560 g pack of Del Monte spaghetti sauce, and a 400 g can of diced tomatoes. I seasoned it with a dash of basil and a tablespoon of sugar. I let it cook on low for eight hours, stirring it a couple of times. We cooked the noodles later and didn't bother to keep them warm since hot sauce would be poured on them later. I realized that was the main issue with my pasta at past parties--it was difficult to keep warm and tasted terrible cold. The slow cooker sauce stayed warm for several hours even after the slow cooker was turned off, and it tasted okay cold.

The hot dogs were even simpler. I wanted cocktail size but couldn't find any. So we cut up regular chicken hot dogs into thirds. Then we wrapped bacon around the middle. Then I sprinkled them all with dark brown sugar and stuck them in a moderate oven. Out they came in about twenty minutes. They looked a little like the bulldog Luiz's body but I decided it wasn't necessary to push the analogy by calling them hot Luizes. Anyway, I placed the tray by a fruit bowl with a picture of the dog from the movie stuck under it. The fruits were mostly grapes, enjoyed by the older guests. I bought finger bananas but they weren't quite ripe, so I piled the grapes on top of some, hoping nobody would take the trouble to dig down to get a banana. Nobody did, though the oranges I put on top disappeared.

The cheese pimiento spread for the sandwiches is something my mom makes with grated Kraft cheddar, mayo and canned pimientoes. Simple but tasty on fresh white bread.

I realized after we set up that the presentation of the food wouldn't win me any points in cooking challenges on reality TV shows. Later I remembered my cute tropical shirt plates and used them for passing around sandwiches to people outside.

The food had to be indoors though the entertainment was outdoors, due to limited space. And the entertainment was mainly paddle pools, including a waterslide--my daughter's plastic slide stuck into one small pool. It was a hit with the kids from three to ten. The kids could hardly be convinced to eat, even when food was brought out.

Because the weather was uncertain, I had a plan B, an Amazing Race style game with silly stunts like walking with bananas on your head, dancing with noisemakers, and picking up origami versions of Blu and Jewel with origami Rafaels and Evas. We didn't get to play, but that was okay. I feel that kids, like grown-ups, should be allowed to entertain themselves at a party the way they want within reason, and games just give them something to do and make them mix if they don't take the initiative. The final event was the pinata, which was a variation on last year's. My husband disapproved of breaking a pot, as he thought it wasn't safe with our daughter around, and I agreed mainly because I wanted something she could participate in. At the party of one of her playmates, the pinata was a cardboard one that the birthday girl just opened by pulling a streamer, so I made my own version with a box with Velcro closures, dressed up for last year's ocean theme as a jellyfish (I stapled lots of blue plastic straw for the tentacles). This year, the same box was made a cage for Blu and Jewel. I printed pictures of Blu and Jewel, placed them against a background of striped wrapping paper, and put a sheet of acetate with bars drawn with permanent marker on top. This was held in place with tape all around except at the bottom, which just rested on the lip of the lid, so opening the box (by pulling ribbons sewn to the closures) would free Blu and Jewel. You might call this a cooperative pinata because everybody gets to pull the ribbons all at once to free the birds.

Other theme touches included bird stuff for favors. I made the stickers for the bubble blowers myself. We also threw in little helicopter toys and hair grips with little flowers a la Jewel for the girls. No candy in the loot bags this year, I decided. Last year we had gummi stars and sea creatures. They were drawing the ants even before the party and for a year afterward I would find some tucked away in corners around the house, always ant-ridden. Candy for the pinata only and a festive pack of cheese chips (a reference to Blu's "Cheese and sprinkles!") for the loot bag this time round.

Clearly I've learned my lesson by now. Lessons, rather. Here are my lessons on how to throw a successful theme party on a budget, with three behind me (Pooh, ocean, and Rio!):

1. In choosing a theme, focus on your child's interests. That way at least one kid will be happy--the most important one!

2. Veer toward a theme that uses stuff that you already have and things that are easily available.
This entails a bit of shopping around. We thought of Little Einsteins at first, since this along with Tigger and Pooh is one of Chesca's fave shows, but couldn't find suitable favors or decorations. There weren't any Rio things either, but at least we had some bird stuff like this hat, and found some bird erasers, stickers, and toys.

3. Be timely. That way, the kids will know what the theme is about. Rio had just come out and was the first movie Chesca had watched in a theater. The McDo toys were wiped out in no time--we only got Jewel by asking for a sample on display. We also knew this might be the only time we could do it, with no guarantee of a sequel.

4. Think like a kid. I thought of making bird nest bread cups with tuna and quail eggs, but figured the kids wouldn't like them much. Besides, eating the eggs in the face of the birds seemed kind of ironic. In the end, I focused on making food the kids would like.

5. Keep fun largely unregimented, especially for young children. Pre-schoolers and toddlers still can't play games with rules much and are sure to lose out when there are older kids. And anything competitive will cause upsets. They already have a hard time with taking turns and sharing! There are other ways of encouraging socialization. Paddle pools are one, but there are also craft and coloring tables (I printed coloring pages from the web for the little ones to do after eating). You could also have games with adjustable levels of challenge like the fishing game I had last time. Older kids fished for magnetic fish with the container on the floor and had to wind the line; babies had the container lifted close to them so all they had to do was dangle the line to make a catch. And everyone got a prize depending on the size of the fish. So the only competition was against themselves, if it was important for them to get a bigger prize. You could also have group games where older kids can help younger ones, like the amazing race I planned. My daughter still doesn't understand the point of challenges and competitions, so we might as well save those for later.

6. Repeat yourself, and you'll repeat your successes. Kids actually like familiarity. You can have the same party food and if you want just add a few new items or decorate staples to fit the theme, like our fish-cut sandwiches last year. This year we did pools again and just added the slide. Other repeats from last year include the cupcakes, pinata, and bubbles.

7. Be flexible. We were a bit disappointed that there wasn't any Rio merchandise available, other than the McDo toys. But anyway, what's important is that we give kids stuff that will make them happy. At most other parties I've been to, favors don't bear that much relation to the theme, but are just candies and snacks placed in a bag with a theme picture. I couldn't even find one, though my mom found jungle party hats with a blue bird. So I just used clear plastic bags that showed off the fiesta colors of the loot. I know, not that environment-friendly, but they don't sell paper bags at our neighborhood grocery. Besides, I had them from before. I tied them with blue yarn for the boys and clipped them with the hair grips for the girls. I wanted to buy feather pens or tropical flower clips, but found them too expensive. I'm pleased to say what I ended up with cost about 25 pesos per bag (around 50 US cents) and the kids really liked the things!

Sometimes you find the perfect item to fit the theme, but there isn't enough. So what to do? It helps to have variations for boys and girls, or for toddlers and older kids. Last year my mom provided rubber aquatic toys but there weren't enough, so I gave them only to the toddlers and babies, who appreciated them more, anyway. For the Pooh party we couldn't find enough beaded Pooh stickers and stencil rulers for all the guests. That was fine, I gave the boys the rulers and the girls the stickers. This time I had gotten some rubber birds but they weren't enough, so I got the clips and stickers for the girls. In any case, this year most of the boys are siblings of her girl playmates, so they could always share the stickers.

We always forget to use something at a party but take it in stride. First it was the Pooh buttons we bought. And we were also unable to play pin the tail on Eeyore, largely because first the house was too crowded due to rain that drove everyone into our small living room, then later because I just got too busy. Last year it was Chesca's Nemo mat, which we had planned to use for decoration. This year I didn't get to put out the origami birds I'd made. Perhaps it's just as well, though, as my daughter liked them so much and she was having a hard time sharing at the party. It would have devastated her if those fragile toys were destroyed. I thought of making them as favors actually but went crazy at the thought. Which brings us to the last rule...

8. Make things easy on yourself. It's more important for you to relax and enjoy your own party than to make things elaborate. That's why I kept the food simple, bought some of it and used the slow cooker this year. It did a lot to reduce the stress! And if you follow the previous rules, your guests are bound to enjoy themselves anyway. I know mine did, and so did we all!