Disney Planes & Cars Party Ideas
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From the moment the Disney Planes movie previews roared across the screen, my kids have been begging to see what they called ‘Cars Planes!’ They are huge Disney Pixar Cars (the movie) fans, so it makes sense they are chomping at the bit to see Planes as well. To gather excitement (as if they needed incentive), we had a few friends over for a Planes Playdate filled with toys, treats, and laughs as they got to play with their favorite characters from Cars and ‘meet’ the new Planes too.
When it comes to party ideas, I go for easy and simple. Each of these Planes party decorations and snack ideas took less than 10 minutes each to assemble. I started with the basics: paper goods and tablecovers from Walmart. Then, I cut apart an old atlas and taped them together to create a map wall. Since I’m not sure if we’ll need the atlas again (do you still use atlases?), I only cut out states we’ll probably never drive through (so sorry, South Dakota, I know you are a lovely state!)
Those white pom pom ‘clouds’ came from Walmart, as did the Cars ‘Lightyear’ blimp with race car bunting. Tons of impact for only a few dollars!
I had a few red frames on hand, so I used them for table signs. As Lightning McQueen would say, Ka-chow!
Tiny ‘Air Mail’ envelopes worked as signs for the names of the food.
What’s a party without some party food? I whipped up some Dusty’s Dippers (a modified idea from my veggies and hummus snack post). Those clear plastic cubes for the dip were also found in the party section at Walmart. Even the adults loved them.
Cloud Cupcakes topped with cotton candy set the mood for a fun filled party. They were so easy: store bought cupcakes plus cotton candy– it stuck right onto the frosting! HINT: add the cotton candy just before serving otherwise it will melt onto the cupcake. Not that I know anything about that. But, yeah, I know all about that. 😉
Someone cut out the cotton candy middle man and went straight for the gold.
Dusty Sky Parfaits were a hit, too! It’s simply Jello layered with Cool Whip and topped with sprinkles. I made the Jello in separate containers the night before and let it set. The next morning I scooped it out and layered it with Cool Whip for a high flying snack.
Of course, the Dusty Sky Parfaits needed spoons. I glued paper plane cutouts onto wooden spoons. Then I used a Sharpie to add the lines and make them even zippier.
Cheese cubes are another easy party food idea, so adding some handmade cloud toothpicks made them even more enticing. My kids went nuts over these In-flight Appetizers.
The entire reason for the party was to p-l-a-y. You should have seen the excitement when we brought out the Cars and Planes toys. As you can see from my Google+ album, I was like a kid in a candy store shopping for Disney toys at Walmart. The Planes toys are brand new in stores, and of course were a big hit.
Even our youngest guest found a favorite Plane to love (don’t worry, he was well supervised!)
But don’t count out the Cars toys. Those will always be a favorite for as long as my kids are, well, KIDS. With Planes merchandise moving into stores, Cars toys might become more scarce. In other words, check them out now before they are gone– this is coming from the mother of a desperate toy-seeking Tangled obsessed daughter; trust me, grab it while you can! Another note: if you happen to have a Rapunzel bike you no longer need I know a girl who’d happily take it off your hands. 🙂
Kids stopped by Baggage Claim on the way out to claim their party favors: a special Cars toys, just for them. SCORE!
We also gave them a large Planes toy of their choice. Oh, those smiles!
What a fantastic way to spend a Sunday– hanging out with friends, playing with toys, snacking on easy-to-make party food. Playdates are easy when you combine the three things together. And the big surprise will be taking the kids to actually see the movie this week. I can’t wait to see their faces, now that they’ve ‘met’ the characters.
Have you seen the Disney Pixar Films Planes movie yet? Do you have any Cars fans revving up your household? How about the Planes Party ideas– did you see any you’d use, or have any ideas to share?