Time to get Tangled!

Our family came over on Saturday afternoon to celebrate Jaden turning four years old. When asked what kind of birthday party she wanted this year, Jaden obviously picked Rapunzel!  See her invitations here.  I always like to make a big deal about the birthday cake. I do what I can to make it perfect for the party.  This year, I knew I wanted to make Rapunzel's tower.  Disney's Family Fun magazine gave a suggestion, but I changed it up a bit and came up with this:

My princess LOVED her Rapunzel cake!

It really wasn't hard at all.  First, I bribed Dad and Gramps to help me with the base.  They screwed a dowel rod onto a board.  Then, I covered the board with foil.  I baked a chocolate cake in a 9x13 pan lined with parchment paper.  This made removing the cake from the pan so much easier!  I cut the cake in half and placed it on the board with the dowel coming up out of the center.  Then, I made Rice Krispie Treats and Mom helped cut them out of the pan in the shape of a circle.  We used a small drinking glass to do so.  Then, I simply pressed the round treat down over the dowel, stacking them to make the tower.

I topped the tower with a muffin.  That is supposed to be the house part of the tower.

Next, I piped green vines up and down the tower.

Then, I sprayed a waffle cone with purple spray icing and placed it on top of the muffin.  I held the cone in place with icing.

Then, I piped a yellow strip down the front of the tower to represent Rapunzel's hair.

Then, Mom brought some flower cupcakes to place around the cake.  I also made a paper Rapunzel and Pascal to sit near the cake.

Jaden absolutely LOVED it!  Just a word of caution, Rice Krispie Treats settle a lot.  I originally made the cake on Friday afternoon but come Friday night, I had to completely remove the tower and make a new pan of Rice Krispie Treats because it was settling so much and basically crumbling on itself.  The second tower was made about 30 minutes prior to the party and held up great!

I made paper lanterns to represent the lanterns that were set off in honor of the lost princess in Tangled.  I found a tutorial on Disney Family Fun's website and modified it a little to make larger lanterns. I used two 8.5x11 pieces of paper instead of one.  Instead of folding the paper into fourths, I folded each in half and glued them together.

I showed the lanterns to J last week and she immediately said, "Just like in the Rapunzel movie!"  Excellent!

I also made a bunting out of paper just like the buntings that decorate the village in the movie.  When Jaden was watching the movie after her party, she saw the buntings in the village and noticed that they looked just like ours!  She also made flags... You can see one in the lower left corner of the above photo.

I wanted to make the food go with the theme of the party.  In Tangled, Rapunzel's mother brings her her favorite hazelnut soup.  I found a recipe for hazelnut soup but it sounded like a lot of work so I made Chicken Tortilla Soup instead!  It was a big hit!  Here is the recipe:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (can be frozen)

1 box chicken broth

1 packet taco seasoning

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn

1 jalapeno pepper

Mix chicken broth and taco seasoning together in slow cooker. Add chicken and veggies. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. One hour before eating, shred chicken. Continue to cook on low for one hour.

I also made a spinach artichoke dip and served it with Hawaiian bread, crackers, and fresh veggies.

Hot Artichoke & Spinach SpreadIngredients:

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayo

1 package vegetable soup dip and mix

1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained

1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

½ c. shredded Parmesan cheese

In a medium bowl, thoroughly combine cream cheese, mayo, and soup mix. Stir in spinach, artichoke hearts, and mozzarella cheese. Spread mixture in 2-quart baking dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges.

Then, when I saw Kristen's Tasty Tuesday post about her ham and broccoli braids, I KNEW I had to make them for J's party... I mean come on, braids?!  Perfect!  I modified her recipe slightly and they turned out EXCELLENT!

Ham & Pineapple Braid

Ingredients:

2 c. cooked, cubed ham

1 can crushed pineapple, drained

1 T. dried parsley

1 T. Dijon mustard

½ c. sour cream

1½ c. shredded cheddar cheese

2 cans (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent roll dough

(Pillsbury now makes crescent roll sheets! They are great for this recipe.)

Chicken & Broccoli Braid

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast, cooked and cubed

1 c. chopped broccoli

1 small onion, chopped

1 T. butter

1 T. dried parsley

1 T. Dijon mustard

½ c. sour cream

1½ c. shredded cheddar cheese

2 cans refrigerated crescent roll dough 

Sausage, Onion, & Red Pepper Braid

Ingredients:

½ lb. sausage, browned and drained

1 c. chopped red pepper

1 small onion, chopped

1 T. butter

1 T. dried parsley

1 T. Dijon mustard

½ c. sour cream

1½ c. shredded cheddar cheese

2 cans refrigerated crescent roll dough

Preheat oven to 350º. Saute meat and veggies (for chicken and broccoli, and sausage and pepper only) in butter.  In a large bowl, combine filling ingredients; Stir well. Unroll crescent dough. Use a knife or scissors (pizza cutter works well) to cut 1-inch wide strips in toward the center. Don't go all the way to the middle though. Spread the filling down the center of the dough. fold the strips over the filling, alternating strips from each side, to form a braid. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

I didn't realize until typing this out just now that these were each supposed to make two braids!  No wonder mine look so stuffed :o)

A great time was had by all! 

Jaden passed out bookmarks to her party guests that looked like Rapunzel's tower.

She also got a TON of presents!!  There were Barbies... 

...and princesses! 

T even got a few presents to open! 

The favorite of the day: Rapunzel and Ariel dolls! 

Shane-O... Let's just say that I can't WAIT until that boy has kids!  Among other awesome gifts (including an Ariel slip 'n slide!!), my loving brother introduced Miss J to SILLY STRING!  Don't worry, he showed her how it worked later...

Then, we surprised her with a... 

BIG GIRL BIKE!!

It was a great party :o)

So yeah... about that Silly String...

It was a lot of fun! 

Earlier in the day when Jaden got home from swimming lessons, she went into her room to find another present from Mike and me... 

She was so exhausted from her party!  It was nice to have a brand new bed to crawl into :o)

Thanks so much to everyone that helped make this day special for my little girl.  She had the time of her life!  In fact, she called us into her room shortly after we tucked her in just to say thanks again.

Happy Birthday Miss!!

Jaden's second Tangled party can be seen here.

I'm linking this fun party idea to all of my favorite linky parties!