He's 8 already!! He's had this theme picked out since his last birthday party and while Pikachu is pretty adorable, I was a little stuck at first on how I should execute this party. Of course I took to Pinterest and found a bunch of super cute ideas for desserts and some decor but I didn't want to just have the character(s) everywhere. I'm not big on character parties, but there are ways to do them without having the character just thrown everywhere (like Lenox's Mickey party seen here) i.e. plates, cups, backdrop, etc. So I wanted to find a way to make it look like Pokemon/Pikachu without it being everywhere.
I was pretty obsessed with the backdrop I ordered for Jaya's last birthday party (see it here) and so I thought it would be cute as a backdrop for this party too! I wanted to go with a more color block look instead, and so I DIY'ed this one because it was more affordable and pretty simple to do. If you are looking to create a similar backdrop all you need is plastic fencing, I bought this one off of Amazon (although you might want one with larger squares), plastic tablecloths (I got mine from Walmart and Dollar Tree, I also used a metallic fringe backdrop from Walmart as well to give a different texture), and a rotary cutter like this or scissors. The rotary cutter made it a lot faster to cut the tablecloth. I cut mine into 2" strips and then just looped them through a square of the fencing and pulled through to make a knot. I trimmed the strips into varying lengths as I went and I used Command Hooks to hang on the wall.
While looking for inspiration for the backdrop I saw a photo with a similar fringe look and paper pinwheels in the corner and thought it would be so fun to make them look like Poke balls! Also on my search for inspo, I came across a DIY Pikachu balloon with paper ears which I had to try! I decided to add a "tail" to mine with tissue paper tassels as well, and I used a jumbo 36" balloon to make it really stand out!
I'm also pretty obsessed with felt ball garlands and when I got the cake topper from Fancy Free Finery I knew I had to add a garland with black felt stars to match the topper! When I came across actual Pokemon inspired felt ball shapes I about died! I ordered them and coordinating round felt balls and strung them all together to make a garland and it just made the perfect touch to the backdrop!
How cute is this topper from Fancy Free Finery?! I knew I wanted to more of a simple cake with a cute cake topper since I was planning on having Pikachu cookies and a couple other inspired desserts but thanks to Covid-19 I had to scrap the cookies (as well as the Poke ball strawberries because I couldn't find strawberries in the grocery stores!). I was still determined to make this "party" happen and so I added custom sprinkles from Sprinkle Pop to add a little extra to the desserts and I love the result!
Other desserts were Poke ball cake pops and Peep Marshmallow Pikachu's! I used edible food markers to make the cheeks and tips of Pikachu's ears.
Since this party was already rescheduled once, we didn't want to reschedule again due to the pandemic, I set up what I had and we had family and friends on a Zoom! meeting to sing happy birthday! He got gifts and had cake and said he had a great party! Which is all that really matters in the end! Glad we got to still celebrate this little Pokemon trainer even if it was a little out of our norm and if you have a little one's birthday coming up during this time I hope this inspires you to still celebrate!
Let me know if you have any questions below!
XO,
