To the BATCAVE...

For a BATMAN Party!

This was a F-U-N party to plan.

A Birthday Bash to celebrate kiddo's 8th b-day.

It was a GRAND time.
It was a BATTY time!

Even though I was really far behind on planning because of a nasty virus that knocked me out for several days and the kiddo.... I was able to get things together and pull-off a fun party. Here is how it played out:

First off, because of said nasty virus, I was not able to hand-make or mail out invitations. Instead I went for the Evite invite. Not so creative, yes. Simple..... YES! And that is what I needed at that point in time. But, the wording got across what I wanted to express. You know, to set the stage for what the party was going to involve:

Calling all SUPERHEROS:

Batman is great.

And, kiddo will be turning eight.

Get to the BatCave in a flash.

To celebrate with a Birthday Bash!

The Joker has made an escape.

So be on the lookout as you make your way...

To Gotham City where we will all unite....

and GOOD always defeats evil -- in The Fight!

Cake and Ice Cream will be served to all SuperHeros!

In the location portion of the invite, I listed it as "Wayne Manor". I'm telling you, a fun invite is always the start of a great party! It was hard for me to let go of the fact that I did not "make" the invites.... but I needed to move on to bigger and better things --- THE PARTY!

I always like having the entrance to our home express the theme of any party. Not only does it add an element of surprise, but it is letting everyone know.... THIS IS GOING TO BE F-U-N!

And this party was no exception!

My awesome hubby went out early the morning of the party and picked up 2 dozen black and yellow balloons to flank the door. Nothing says "Birthday Bash" like balloons.

I cut out glitter bats for the doorway and I made black and yellow banners {one set had already fallen off the door when this picture was taken}. I printed off little bat signals and placed them on the banners and a few other items throughout the decorations. The "Keep Calm and Call Batman" I pinned here. You can also see some of my other Batman Inspirations on that board.

Once the guests walked through the door, they were greeted by two constant things that we do in the Double-Wide in the Sky for a party.

#1: Dress according to the THEME!

My hubby is always a trooper when it comes to this, but this year we all got these pretty cool Bat Signal  shirts. Each of ours was a different style, but the same logo. Here is my handsome {and trooper} hubby.

#2: We always have a Playlist going according to the THEME!

Although the party was in the afternoon, I always find it nice to have items of substance {i.e. protein to balance out all the sugar we will eat later on....}. Plus, it provides as a nice gathering place as we await all the guests to arrive. This party included adults. We kept it small on the kid front with a few close friends and family. We had a table for the kiddos to color {Batman coloring sheets --- of course} while us adults munched on some goodies and chatted.

I had the main dining room table set up with the cake and some extra party favor bling. Kiddo had a fun time handing out all the Batman Bling. We were quite a stylish bunch!

I picked up these little Batman, Batgirl, Robin and The Joker figures on Amazon. The Batman made for an AWESOME cake topper. Plus, we were able to do something really special with The Joker {keep reading for that fun surprise!}.

Robin is so cute....

My color scheme was simple and elegant. Black, Yellow and White.

I used my white milk glass and porcelain serving ware.... Like I always do {I'm telling you, it is SO versatile}! This was "Wayne Manor", so I added the vintage brass candlesticks I found at a flea market. I also used the tableskirt {that is also SO versatile} that I use for my other parties. This time I added bat cut-outs all over the skirt. Just for fun!

The cupcakes were made from a recipe I picked up awhile ago. I should create a post with the recipe because they are always a hit. I just change up the color when I need to, but the taste is the same: a rich velvety white cake with a yummy cream cheese frosting.

I had found some Batman confetti at Party City. I thought these Bat Signals would be perfect for the water bottles.... and THEY WERE!

I made a simple punch that turned out to be quite refreshing!

1 2L Bottle of Diet 7up

1 Can of Pineapple Juice

3 cups of cold water

1.5 cups of Country Time Lemonade Mix

Mix ingredients together and add a bucket of ice.

A great "Lemonade Punch" for the kiddos and to make an adult version.... just add Vodka. And that's EXACTLY what we did, we kept a chilled Vodka bottle out for the adult guests to add at their pleasure.

I created a document with different size Bat Signals which I used in the decorations, gift bags, wrapping gifts, our fun game and thank you cards.

Here are the pages if you want to use them as printables:

I used the smaller image on the hanging decorations.

After we had a chance for all the guests to arrive, munch on some goodies, drink some good drinks and mingle a bit..... we had a call come in from Commissioner Gordon!

The Joker had escaped from Arkam Asylum! And his friend, The Riddler had also escaped and was leaving clues throughout Gotham City of where The Joker might be hiding!

So, Batman enlisted other people to help him out. Bat Capes and Bat Masks were handed out to the kiddos. They dressed up, the teams were set {Girls vs Boys}, we were handed our first clue and off we went to find THE JOKER!

How fun is that.... right?! A scavenger hunt for The Joker. The phone I had picked up for a cheap price and I painted it with some red acrylic paint {notice the paint drip marks}.The clues were all the same for both teams, just placed in different order throughout the hunt. I wrote the clues on the Bat Signal postcards I created with the above print out.

Since we live in a high-rise, it is always quite a challenge to come up with clues and hiding places.... but, it is also quite fun. So, these were some of the clues and hiding places:

Clue: "Fear would hit me like a wave. If I was ever found near the car in the Bat Cave"
Hiding Place: On the back of our SUV in our parking spot in the parking garage.

Clue: "You open me up and some times it can be a thrill. Other times, all I may have are bills."
Hiding Place: Taped to our mailbox in the lobby area.

Clue: "Mr. Freeze seems to have a very cold soul, but even he might be warmed by some of the cute dogs who drink from this dog bowl."
Hiding Place: Underneath a dog bowl at one of our building entrances.

Clue: Can he really be at Wayne Manor? Check under the bat covered table and make that criminal sadder!
The Joker's Hiding Place: Underneath the cake table!

The Joker was captured!

And who won.... you may ask?

Well, this year.... it was The Boys.

After the scavenger hunt we had cake and ice cream and then opened gifts. Kiddo was thrilled with all the wonderful things our friends and family showered him with.... he really was appreciative of their kindness {and so am I}.

I didn't have the time to make bat shaped sugar cookies, so instead I did some quick chocolate chip cookies and I packaged them up in wax paper and these gift bags as a little good-bye gift for our guests to take home.

What a FUN party. What a sweet memory.
We only have the one kiddo.... so, I figure I better live up these birthday celebrations.
They grow up so quickly.

I plan to link up at the following:

WEDNESDAY: Savvy Southern Style, My Girlish Whims, Lil' Luna

THURSDAY: The 36th Avenue, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Confessions of an ADD Housewife, Embracing Change

FRIDAY: Tater Tots and Jello, Serenity Now, At the Picket Fence, A Little Knick Knack, The Shabby Nest, Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons, Between Naps on the Porch

SUNDAY: Under the Table and Dreaming, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Mandatory Mooch, Twig Studios

MONDAY: Home Stories A to Z

TUESDAY: Not Just a HouseWife, Tip Junkie