Fresh Beat Band Birthday: Partyware and Decorations

As I scoured the world for Fresh Beat Band decorations, I was sadly disappointed. The few resources I found pointed me in the direction of the Bright Dots party theme, which would have been perfect.....if they had more than just the cups available. Unfortunately, cups alone do not a party make.

I searched my local party store, and nothing was perfect. There were plenty of other themes available, but nothing that screamed "Fresh Beat Band". After searching for awhile, I decided to check my friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart. While they didn't have Fresh Beat Band-themed supplies, I did find lots of colorful partyware that fit the theme perfectly. They even had square plates, which goes along well with the colorful squares that show up in the show and materials constantly.
 

Rather than picking up a single color for the partyware, I chose to get each piece in a different color. I think this will actually turn out better anyway because by mixing all the colors, they match all the colors in the show. We also bought balloons in a variety of colors as well.

I also plan on taking advantage of the free printables Nick Jr. has available on their website. They provide printable posters for each character along with a printable memory game that I'm planning on using as tags for the goody bags I'm giving to the kids who come. I also decided to make my life a little harder and make my own hanging musical notes out of cardboard.

We recently bought a new treadmill which came in a HUGE cardboard box. It seemed like such a waste to just throw the box away, so I thought, why not use it to make some free decorations rather than spending lots of money on flimsy ones? The cardboard papercuts aside, prepare to put some time into this one if you decide to make your own cardboard notes. And whatever you do, use a box cutter, not an X-Acto knife. Not like I tried that or anything..... If you suck at free-hand drawing most things like me, just ask a talented friend to draw them for you. I'm planning on painting them black and hanging them from some fishing wire.

My daughter seems to think all the decorations we bought for her party are supposed to be new toys for her. Maybe we should have gotten her cups and plates instead of toys for her birthday?

Note the band-aid on her left knee. She fell and scraped her knee a over a week ago, and ever since then, every time you mention her scab she'll begin to whine and hold her knee. She's working on perfecting the art of manipulation.

I can't believe my baby girl will be 2 in 4 days. Is it too early to start crying?