Part 1: The Mud Pie Bakery Party

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Making mud pies is a classic kid activity, full of creative, dirty, outdoor fun.  That outdoor kid activity gets transformed into a fabulous birthday party theme in the Mud Pie birthday party.

Mud Pie Bakery birthday party setup in a backyard, including aprons and chef hats as party favors.

When I was a little girl, I had a book called Mud Pies and Other Recipes by Marjorie Winslow.

Vintage Mud Pies and Other Recipes book by Marjorie Winslow at the Mud Pie Bakery Birthday Party

In fact, the well-worn copy here (only $1.95 according to the price on the cover!  Geez, am I that old?) is my actual childhood copy.  It's an incredibly earnestly written real cookbook--except for the fact that the ingredients are things like "torn flower petals" and "freshly gathered bark."  I adored how this book took me and my backyard mud pie experiments seriously, and spent many happy hours with it when I was a kid.  It was out of print for many years, but is now available once again.  What better inspiration for a party?

Aprons, party bunting, chef hats, and desserts set up on a wooden potting bench for the Mud Pie Bakery Birthday.

And so I came up with the Mud Pie Bakery party.  A celebration full of good, clean (dirty) fun.  

Play cooking equipment in fabric bags as party favors at the Mud Pie Bakery birthday party.

I like small parties, because it allows me to do things that would be cost prohibitive (at least on my budget) if there were more guests.  

Ikea child sized pots and pans set for the mud pie birthday party.

For example, in this party, I gave each family a set of Ikea Duktig play pots and pans and utensils and a copy of Mud Pies and Other Recipes.  (Incidentally, this is one of my very favorite gifts to give kids for birthdays and Christmas).  The pots and pans are really wonderful--only $10 and made out of sturdy metal that can take a LOT of muddy, rowdy play. 

Two little girls wearing chef hats and aprons, opening fabric gift bags at the mud pie birthday party.

I had some extra fabric left over from my other crafts (I always buy too much), so I made drawstring gift bags to wrap the gifts for the kids.  (Thanks to one of my readers, Claire, for that inspired suggestion!)  what a great way to use up leftover fabric and create a beautiful package that fits in with the rest of the party perfectly.

Party bunting for the Mud Pie Bakery party made out of fabric and twigs.

I think my favorite craft project from this party (of course there's a tutorial coming up) was the banner with its twig lettering.

Letters on fabric bunting made out of twigs.

Nope, not a fun and rustic font--the letters were made from actual twigs.  I used to make stuff like that all the time when I was a kid.  This whole party was a nostalgic trip back into my youth.  

Colorful fabric chef hats for the Mud Pie Bakery birthday party.

No bakery would be complete without chef hats.  Fun, puffy, calico fabric chef hats, to be precise.  The contrasting fabric flowers on the bands of the hats are actually removable hair clips--another fun little takeaway for the guests.  

Four girls wearing chef hats and aprons for the mud pie bakery birthday party.

Mud pie themed lunch at the mud pie bakery birthday party.

Before the girls could raid the sweets table, we had a simple picnic lunch.  

Boxed lunches wrapped in DIY fabric ribbon.

I just love using these kraft boxes designed for restaurant carryout.  They're inexpensive, and so versatile.   Making pre-packaged lunches not only makes serving food at a party a breeze, but add a simple ribbon and it makes sitting down to lunch feel like opening a present.  I swear that my children eat at least twice as much food if they get to eat it out of a box like this as they would otherwise.

Plastic spoons and forks labeled "Rakes and Shovels" at the mud pie birthday party.

Little girl opening a prettily wrapped boxed lunch.

Bread sticks wrapped in waxed paper for the lunches at the mud pie birthday party.

I wrapped all of the food in waxed paper.  It was in keeping with the vintage vibe, and the kids loved unwrapping each element as well.  Who knew bread "sticks" could be so much fun?

Boxed lunch at the Mud Pie Bakery Party.

Girl wearing a chef hat and apron eating a sandwich.

Fabric-wrapped water bottles were placed by each lunch box, but we also served "muddy milk" and "rainspout tea" (which is actually a recipe in the book!).

Chocolate milk labeled "Muddy Milk" at the mud pie bakery birthday party.

Little girl drinking chocolate milk.

Apron decorated with an applique mud pie for the mud pie birthday party.

After lunch, it was time to don aprons and get messy.

Vintage Mud Pies and Other Recipes book by Marjorie Winslow on an easel made from twigs.

Glass jars filled with dirt and leaves for the Mud Pie birthday party.

These jars full of dirt, sticks, and sand made easy centerpieces for the table, and provided easy ingredients for the kids.

Children's hands scooping out sand from a glass jar to make mud pies.

Little girl wearing a chef hat and apron making mud pies.

They weren't limited to just those three ingredients, of course; the girls had a delightful time foraging in the garden for other ingredients.

Child making mud pies at the mud pie bakery birthday.

Little girl wearing a chef hat and apron making mud pies.

Little girl making mud pies

Little girl making mud pies

Little girl wearing a chef hat and apron making mud pies.

Little girl wearing an apron making mud pies.

Little girl wearing an apron making mud pies.

One of the really lovely things about this party is how much fun ALL the girls had, age 4 through 9.  They all enthusiastically made mud pies and had a wonderful time.  So often we have parties with a large age range (we almost always invite siblings and families to come to our celebrations), so whenever I stumble on an activity that works well for a large age range, I get really excited.  Don't judge.

Four little girls wearing chef hats and aprons holding mud pies.

Whew...I think that's enough for one post.  I'll cover the dessert table details tomorrow!

Nicole Wills, creator of Tikkido

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