{DIY Window Cling Stickers}

We are, obviously, huge fans of The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. Sweet Pea never tires of that story or its follow-up, The Gruffalo's Child. In The Gruffalo, a clever, little mouse manages to outwit all of the animals in the deep, dark wood that are trying to eat it by making up a tall tale that ends up surprising even the mouse. The mouse's quick wit and the author's hilarious and creative rhymes make for an instant family favourite that is quoted and retold endlessly. 

For Sweet Pea's Gruffalo birthday last week, since her birthday presents didn't arrive in the mail in time, I thought I'd have a go at making her some Gruffalo DIY window cling stickers to use for retelling the story through play. They were easy to make and actually work really well! ...

{Gruffalo Birthday Party}

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A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood...

Sweet Pea had her 3rd birthday last week, and since her absolute favourite story of all time is The Gruffalo, by Julia Donaldson, what could be better than a Gruffalo themed birthday party?

Now my tummy's beginning to rumble...

Naturally, we had a Gruffalo's feast menu: 

Roasted Fox (sausage rolls)

Mouse on a Slice of Bread (turkey sandwiches)

Fruits of the Forest (strawberries)

Scrambled Snake (jello, set then scrambled)

and Gruffalo Crumble with Owl Ice-Cream on the Side

(you won't want to miss our super easy Gruffalo Crumble recipe!)

Cakes are definitely not my forte, so I made it easy on myself:

a simple chocolate cake with white chocolate frosting, and a store-bought, personalized, edible Gruffalo cake topper that I ordered here. All I had to do was peel it off the backing paper and lay it on top. Because I used butter cream frosting, I decided to make a marzipan backing for it in case the butter caused the topper colours to run (it's made of a very thin layer of icing, printed with food colouring). Then I just placed the whole thing on the top of the cake.

For the sides, I printed some pictures of the Gruffalo and stuck them onto a piece of green construction paper. Then I stuck the paper onto a backing of baking paper the same length and width, wrapped it around the cake, and taped it together in the back.

His eyes are orange, his tongue is black,

He has purple prickles all over his back.

For games and activities, we made Gruffalo masks that I printed from here, read The Gruffalo story while huddled in the Gruffalo's cave (I placed all our large houseplants in a semicircle around one corner of the living room to make a den and we sat in the middle), we had Gruffalo hunts (taking turns hiding Sweet Pea's little toy Gruffalo), and played pin the parts on the Gruffalo with this large, felt Gruffalo I made (which we can use as a Gruffalo felt play board afterwards).

I had originally planned to also use our DIY Gruffalo Puppet Theatre, but in the end we didn't.

I also made some DIY Gruffalo window clings to decorate and play with (separate post to follow).

Oh help! Oh no!

It's a Gruffalo!

And I made some attempt to turn our kiddie table and stools into toadstools - though I ran out of time to attach them better, so they ended up being a rush job. 

And for her birthday present, we got some Gruffalo t-shirts made for her at our local t-shirt printing store. She LOVES them - definitely her favourite gift!

In the party favour bag were some bubbles, a little toy, and some Gruffalo printables from here (in addition to the masks, we included the DIY finger puppets, colouring sheets, and mazes).

She had so much fun, and was soooo excited to be having a Gruffalo party!

Happy birthday, big girl!

If you're interested in throwing a Gruffalo party, I also ordered these items and highly recommend them:

{Gruffalo Crumble Recipe}

Like Mama Pea Pod for birthday party ideas? Please consider throwing a vote our way in the Red Tricycle Most Awesome awards for Birthday Party Ideas! Thanks so much! x

Sweet Pea turned 3 this weekend! 

We celebrated with a Gruffalo birthday party! Details to come, but right now I have to share the recipe for the Gruffalo Crumble we served for dessert (naturally, with owl ice-cream on the side).


This recipe was so easy and quick, I think it could easily become a weeknight dessert at our house. And definitely one that the kids can make. And soooo delicious - for once, something that the whole family agrees on!

Gruffalo Crumble

You will need:
5 bananas (peeled and sliced thickly)
350g (12 oz) frozen (or fresh) berries (I used mixed red berries)
250g (9 oz) cookie crumbs (I used plain digestives smashed up, but graham crumbs would work; I think gingersnaps would be good to try, too!)
140g (5 oz) brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
140g (5 oz) melted butter

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
• Stir the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon into the crumbs until well coated.
• Lay the bananas and berries in a shallow casserole dish and top with the crumb mixture.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until it starts to brown.
• Let stand at least 10 minutes, then serve with owl ice-cream ;-)

"Now my tummy's beginning to rumble!"

If you're looking for Gruffalo things to make and do, you might also be interested in these posts:

DIY Gruffalo Window Cling Stickers
Gruffalo Birthday Party
DIY Gruffalo Puppet Theatre

{Easter Craft for Kids: Fluffy Chicks}

A cute and easy Easter craft for kids! 

***

Make these fluffy chicks in just a few minutes with some basic supplies you probably have already.

All you need are some pompoms, some googly eyes, some felt, and some glue.

***

1. Stick two pompoms one on top of the other.

2. Stick some googly eyes on the top pompom.

3. Cut the felt to make the base with feet and a tiny triangle beak and glue those on, too.

***

That's it! 

If you cut the felt for them, even toddlers can make this craft easily.

For preschoolers, try drawing the felt shapes and letting them try cutting the felt themselves.