We celebrated Wesley's third birthday on Sunday with friends and family. I love a good themed party. Wesley has been in love with Mickey and Minnie for over a year. Last year I went back and forth on Elmo or Mickey, and I ended up picking Elmo, thinking it would be easier. It wasn't. There are TONS more Mickey and Minnie birthday supplies readily available! I was able to get most of my supplies from the Dollar Tree!

This little man LOVED his party!

I tried to keep the decor simple. I staged Wesley's Mickey and Minnie, though he didn't tolerate them being on display very long.

I went with simple red plates for dinner and black plates for snacks.  I used a couple wooden puzzle figurines that we already had around as decorations, too. I found the plates and napkins at Dollar Tree. SCORE for cheap party supplies! The cupcakes were so fun. More on those in a minute.

I usually try to do a small party favor for the kiddos who are in attendance. Wesley LOVES Pez, so I ordered a box of Mickey Mouse and Friends dispensers from Amazon. I probably could have displayed them in a pretty bowl, but I thought the Pez box fit with the decor.

I found some Mickey straws at Dollar Tree, too, and pulled out the red cups from the Costco cup stash.

Last, the table was set with a table cloth (also from the Dollar Tree). I tore out some pages from a Mickey coloring book we already had and lined them up in the middle of the table with some crayons for guests to enjoy.

The little grin and look of wonder on this little guy's face says it all. It was a simple party. We served hot dogs, fruit, veggies, and chips, and he said it was the best party ever. 

Now, back to the cupcakes...

I took a cake decorating class about 4 years ago, and it always is in the back of my mind to up my cake game a little bit. I try to always make homemade frosting. I use the Wilton recipe. It is really so easy, turns out so white, takes coloring well, and holds up well. The recipe makes more than enough frosting for two dozen cupcakes. I also use all shortening, not half margarine half shortening.

I've made cake from scratch in the past, but last year I started making my cakes with a mix. I just sub melted butter for oil and milk for the water. It tastes pretty much homemade when you do that. 

The cupcakes were pretty simple. I did a funfetti mix, making the substitutions I mentioned above. I put my Wilton frosting in a bag with a tip on it, grabbed some mini Oreos, and went to work.

Piping the frosting in the bag adds a little semi-professional look. 

I added two mini Oreos on top.

Then, I ended up adding some sprinkles. Wesley really wanted Mickey AND Minnie cupcakes, so adding some pink in helped (and pleased the little girls in attendance to the party). 

Voila! Yummy cupcakes! Super cute. Super easy.

What do you think?

I'm linking up with The Creative Corner, Mama Shares Monday, Motivation Monday, Motivational Monday, and Let It Shine.