Krypto the Superdog — by Guest Mom Sara Stratford

My daughter has been planning her Krypto the Superdog birthday party since January, and it’s finally happening on Saturday. The invitations have been mailed, and the pinata purchased. I love the ideas Design Mom readers come up with, and wanted to get feedback on the activities I have planned and hopefully add to them.

I thought as the guests arrive, we’d have episodes of Krypto playing on our TV. Each guest will be given a Krypto collar to wear, handcrafted by me from elastic and Superman rings I purchased online:


Once everyone has arrived, we’ll go into the kitchen to make Krypto doghouses. I stole this idea from my friend Angie. I’ll make them out of graham crackers ahead of time, and have cans of frosting with candy in bowls on the table for the kids to decorate. We did a test run of the houses over spring break, by making Easter bunny houses. Here’s how they turned out:


After the houses are done, we’ll head to the dark, scary basement to hunt for kryptonite sticks. I bought these glow sticks and sunglasses from Oriental Trading, and we’ll hide them ahead of time. The kids will have to wear their sunglasses while they search for them downstairs:


Then we’ll play a few games, like “I have a Little Present”. I also love the game where you tie balloons onto each child’s leg and they try to pop each other’s balloons... or if it’s warm I might fill the balloon with water and do a balloon toss. After the kids tire of the games, we’ll come back to the table to eat. I’m thinking pizza and some veggies, and some kind of super juice to drink. Of course we’ll also serve up Scooby snacks.

I’m planning to make the cupcakes, using the old tried and true Magnolia Bakery recipe:

Cupcakes
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons regular flour
1/2 cup milk

1. Cream butter and sugar. Add the vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time.
2. Mix the flours, then add the milk, in thirds (a third of the flour, then a third of the milk, etc).
Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes.

Icing

1 stick unsalted butter
4 cups powdered sugar
3 - 4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all together, adding milk until you reach desired texture.
Frost cupcakes with liberal amount of frosting after they are completely cool.

I bought fondant in primary colors, and am planning to cut out dog bone shapes to top each cupcake. Luckily I found the perfect sized dog bone cookie cutter a few months ago. I had also considered getting this dogbone shaped cake pan, but decided cupcakes were easier. Does anyone have any better ideas?

After they are done eating, I’ll have a Krypto treasure hunt ready for them. There will be clues all over the house that will end up outside where the pinata is hanging. I got these dog dishes (25 cents each!) from Ikea to put the bounty in when the pinata bursts.


I have a tendency to over plan, but I’m worried I won’t be able to fill the entire two hours. What other ideas do you have? If the kids have a dog dish full of candy and prizes, a kryptonite stick and sunglasses, the dog collars, and their graham dog houses, do I need to do goodie bags too? I’d really love to hear your input.