A "Blazing" Good Party

My second born's newest obsession is all things monster trucks especially "Blaze and the Monster Machines." So, it only felt right to make that the theme for his 4th birthday.

An end of August birthday in Las Vegas is difficult, to say the least. This was probably the last birthday party for this little guy that we will have at our house. Next year, I'm thinking we need a water bounce house or maybe just, Chucky Cheese. ha We had a great time but entertaining 4-year-old's for any space of time can be a challenge! I came up with a very tight schedule to keep them occupied. This schedule included pizza, silly string, water balloons, painting, tattoos, a pinata and, of course, cake and presents! Side note, I found a fire truck pinata at WinCo for $10 and glued on a Blaze logo.

I had a fun time gathering decorations for this party. I found most of them at Party City (pictured below) and, my favorite place, the Dollar Tree. I kept this party a bit smaller than usual since this son gets nervous around crowds. Because of that, I was able to do some fun things like, attaching a monster truck (from the Dollar Tree) to each invitation, which, of course was a huge hit!

The goodie bags turned out very cute! I was able to find Blaze play packs at the Dollar Tree. I opened those and put them in clear plastic bags, added a few extra goodies and tied them up with a cute tag!

HOW TO PERFECTLY FROST A CAKE

My favorite part of this party was the cake and cupcakes. I have discovered a new love of cake making! With the right tools and techniques, it is much less frustrating! Who would have thought? I found these cute Blaze candles so I decided to do a plain chocolate cake and make it look like dirt with Oreo crumbles on top. I wanted the cake to be tall so I made it 4 layers. There really are no words for how frustrating it is when you start frosting a cake and it crumbles in front of your eyes! I found a fuss free way to perfectly frost a cake and IT. IS. AMAZING! Here's how it works:

1. Cut a piece of cardboard to the exact shape and size of your cake. I used the cake pan as a template for this. Cover the cardboard with wax paper which is also cut to the exact size.

2. Place the cardboard on a wire rack. Place the wire rack on a cookie sheet.

3. Once the cake is completely cooled, I use a piece of long thread to cut the curved top off and make it flat. Place the first layer on the wax paper. Spread a layer of frosting on just the top and add the next layer of cake. Repeat this until all of the layers are in place.

4. Open your can of frosting (yes, I'm talking store bought!). Remove the aluminum seal. Place the frosting in the microwave for 30 seconds.

5. Mix and pour over the cake. Use a knife or spatula to spread. Do not over fuss! Let the frosting fall naturally at first. Repeat this process as many times as you would like. I did this twice for a round four layer cake and it was perfect!

*I wish I had taken better pictures and videos of this. I think I will do a video tutorial of this technique soon!*

I found these adorable Blaze figurines on Amazon and knew I wanted to use them as cupcake toppers. I can always count on Hobby Lobby to have the few things that I can't find anywhere else! They had an adorable racecar party section. I pretty sure I did a happy dance when I saw it the checkered cupcake liners and checkered flag banner! Their party section really is phenomenal!

I bought this Wilton cupcake tool at Joann fabrics for 5.99, to make a flame out of the frosting. It was cheap and easy!

I think they turned out pretty cute!