This past weekend, we took advantage of this rare "Halloween Saturday" and partied all day! We celebrated our Walter's 2nd Birthday with a Boo Brunch at our favorite local park, went home to rest, and then continued the festivities with trick-or-treating in our neighborhood!
W was spiderman for Halloween, so I kept with that theme for a spooky cake! Chocolate cake vanilla buttercream, and marshmallow web.
This web was a fun & sticky project... but simple! Place a bag of mini marshmallows in a microwave save bowl, microwave for 1 minute, stir the marshmallows fast until it forms a paste, then string between your hands and pull it across the cake. Repeat this until the cake is covered with marshmallow strings.
We reserved the same park shelter we used for his first birthday last year- click here to see those pictures! We truly lucked out in terms of the weather, 65 and sunny!
^^ I made these webs by melting white chocolate, placing the chocolate in an icing bag, cutting a tiny hole in the tip of the bag, and piping the pattern on wax paper. Let set at room temp for an hour, and easily remove.
We were excited to host a "Boo Brunch" at the park and landed on a menu of apple crisp yogurt parfaits, deviled eggs, clementine pumpkins, white chocolate strawberry ghosts, and a biscuit bar.
Hosting a brunch can be difficult since most breakfast items need to be served hot! Eggs, pancakes, bacon, bagels, french toast, oatmeal... you name it.
We landed on these dishes because they still maintain a brunch-feel and can be served cold or at room temp.
We made the biscuits and roasted and sliced the turkey & ham the day before the party.
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| Biscuit-building toppings! |
These Apple Crisp Parfaits were so good. The day before the party I peeled and chopped honey-crisp apples and sautéed them over medium heat with coconut oil (or butter), cinnamon, and brown sugar until the apples were soft. I kept them in an air-tight container in the fridge over night, then layered them with plain yogurt and granola in the morning.
** Layering for just before the party. If you layer too early, the granola will become soft.
^^ Pumpkin clementines. Another prep ahead item... the evening before my sister helped peel the clementines, and chop small pieces of celery to use as the pumpkin 'stem'.
We dipped the strawberries in melted white chocolate and placed mini chocolate chips for the eyes and regular size chips for the mouth... strawberry ghosts. Place on wax paper (for easy removal) and refrigerate over night.
^^ And brunch isn't complete without coffee!
^^ Apple Cider Punch: apple cider, apple juice, ginger ale, and sliced honey crisp apples. This punch could easily be used for Apple Cider Mimosas by topping your glass with champagne... but alcohol wasn't allowed at the park!
Crisp, bubbly, and refreshing!
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| Little Miss Roma... the Roma Tomato! |
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| W loves his oldest cousin, Ty! |
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| Teething Tomato... |
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The best part of having a Halloween Birthday Party was seeing all the kids (and some parents) in costume!
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| Chocolaté and sprinkles for my boy! |
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| Princes Ella! |
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| Auntie Alex was a huge help putting everything together! W loves having her home! |
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| Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Sullie Bear! |
Walter's abuela (my mom) made the most adorable pumpkin piñata! We filled the piñata with individual goodie-bags to avoid confusion since there was a wide range of ages. The kids hit in order of age/size, it busted open, and everyone grabbed a goodie-bag!
Since the kids were going trick-or-treating later on, I decided to fill the piñata bags with non-candy items: play-doh, spider-rings, glow-sticks, bubbles, and stickers.
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| W's beloved Pa |
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| W's grandma! |
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| Cousins! |
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| Superman loved his costume & took full advantage of the swings! |
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After nap time, we went trick-or-treating.
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| His face after his first house... realizing what trick-or-treating really is! Candy! |
Most families who are participating in handing out candy set up chairs in the driveway. This house had Halloween movies playing on a projector too!
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| 3 amigos! |
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| Uncle Kevin... Nacho Libre for the night. |
^^ And he ended the night with a lollypop in each hand...
On Halloween night, the neighborhood builds a tiki bar around the corner from our house! So after trick-or-treating you can grab a hotdog or burger with your kids... and an adult beverage for the parents! The tiki-bar party continues after the kids go to sleep- most of our friends take turns at the tiki-bar with their spouses. And a few of us are lucky to have a baby-monitor that reaches the corner!
We ended the night down the street at the Harrisons, our life-long family friends. Chili, grilled oysters, caramel apples, and chocolate covered pretzels. It's safe to say this was Walter's most fun (& sugar) packed day yet! We had a blast sun-up to sun-down and can't wait to share Halloween with our new addition next year!
Happy Birthday, W!
xo,
Monica
