Leap Year Lily Pad Cupcake Holders (with Frogs on top!)

Beyond Presents and Pinatas...

Candidly, I'm one of those moms that has a very nostalgic side.  I dread parties that are nothing more than cake and circumstance (well, if it's purely cake, I guess I can live!:-).  And I just love it when things MEAN something to everyone involved - the children and the parents. 

For one thing, I love to make and eat cake that tastes fabulous (nothing quite like forgetting to eat before attending a children's birthday party and finding yourself desperately choking down a piece of store bought icing...er, I mean cake!).  Frankly, I don't care what a cake looks like (in fact, one year I cheated with boxed mixes and made up a cake that looked like a bomb went off - but it tasted fabulous! - that 'recipe' is below, if interested), but it should make grown ups excited to be at the party, too! 

The other thing I love to do is create favors that allow children to participate in the making them.  It's all about the process, if you ask me - plus, it's THEIR special day!  You just don't need lots of money and lots of entertainment and hoopla to genuinely thrill a child.  Kids love time with us and making favors is a great way to spend time and build birthday excitement and self esteem in the process.  To the right is one favor idea that is fun to make and practical too.  In the case of the pottery painting party, I had the girls help me cut out muslin squares and lace trim for the "artist's handkerchiefs" I stitched up.  We finished these off with quotes from famous artists, hand written around the border of each - and the girls filled each one with a wrapped sandwich, treat and juice box and tied the corners together.   At the party, we set one in front of each child's work area and told them they were very fortunate...as, throughout history, REAL ARTISTS were lucky if they had a stale piece of bread tied up in one of these! :-)   As for the aprons - the girls packed them with crayons and other art supplies when it came time to say their good-byes.  These aprons have provided extended use for the children that received them and that, too, pleases me.  It's nice, in such a throw away society, to have such lovely keepsakes.  When people 'flip a house' they put all their money into the kitchen and bath - when you throw a party, do the same with your cake and favors!  

How To Make Cupcake Holders

Supplies needed:

plastic cups

pipe cleaners

hole punch

glue gun

felt / cardboard / paper or anything you decide

HOW TO:

Cut out whatever shapes you like for the base (we've used hearts for Valentines, clovers for St. Patricks, stars for Fourth of July, etc.).  Felt is nice if you're taking these to a classroom - it flops so that you can fit a bunch closer together, in a box or plastic bin.

Use your hot melt glue gun to stick the plastic cup down to the base shape (be careful not to be too heavy handed with the glue as the cup can melt...and use all safety precautions with this activity, especially if you've got kids in the room - btw, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND a product called Burn Free - I always keep it in the cupboard - it's painful at first but, the next day, you'll see an utterly amazing recovery!). 

Punch holes in either side of the cup, up near the rim.  Thread the pipe cleaner through each hole, at either end - twist to close and be sure no sharp end is sticking out. 

Decorate the outside of the cup as you please (in this example, we put fun frog facts on a strip of paper and applied it to the outside of the cup).

Pop in a cupcake and top it with whatever fits your theme!