We love Elephant & Piggie books at our house, and we are so excited to partner again with Disney-Hyperion on a sponsored post to celebrate 10 years of the series! Be sure to check out a few of our other posts over the years: here, here, and here! (we are long time fans!)
We decided to celebrate by throwing a little birthday bash in celebration of the 10 years of fun! Along with the celebrations, I decided to honor another end to a school year for my kids with some gifts and surprises for them! They have really worked so hard, and come so far this year! Each one of my kids have fallen in love with reading, and I am such a proud mom catching them curled up to a book!
Norah was so excited to be my little helper for the party, she painted the baskets for the party favors, and helped to cut out the adorable Elephant and Piggie pieces for the paper lanterns! She even helped me shop for all the treats! I love seeing her following in her old mother’s footsteps and really enjoy this sort of thing. She gets so into it, and it was a lot of fun to work together on it!
With it being a birthday celebration and all we decided to make a cake, but not just any cake, a rice crispy cake! I thought it would be a fun substitute for your typical birthday cake! It was complete with lots of ooey gooey marshmallows, and super tall candles! Personally, I think that is the secret to the perfect rice crispy treat! The marshmallows, that is! With extra mallows, and a few other tricks, along and another special secret ingredient I always have up my sleeve!
(Be sure to catch the recipe below with all the details!)
We also put together a little assortment of snacks, treats, drinks, and little sandwiches for the party, and discussed a few of our favorite Elephant & Piggie books! It has been so fun to see my youngest Thomas reading the books by himself this year, and it is always fun to see older brother help out and read to him as well! They especially loved the newest book in the Elephant & Piggie like reading series- The Good For Nothing Button Book! So so cute, and I love how it promotes the power of imaginative play!
With so many good ones, if you are looking to add to your collection, here are our Top 10 Favorite Elephant and Piggie Books:
- I Really Like Slop (Thomas’ current favorite to read!)
- The Thank You Book
- I Will Surprise My Friend
- I am Invited to a Party
- There is a Bird on My Head
- Watch Me Throw the Ball!
- A Guy Took My Ball!
- We Are in a Book!
- I’m a Frog!
- Let’s Go For a Drive!
If you are in need of a fun activity to keep your kids occupied while they are out of school, and want to keep reading at the top of the itinerary, feel free to throw a little fun Elephant & Piggie themed bash on your own! How fun would that be for the kids?!
Be sure to check out the FREE Downloads to help with your party, including the adorable cut outs for the Elephant & Piggie paper lanterns!
- 10 Years of Fun! Elephant & Piggie Anniversary Badge!
- Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! Activity Kit and coloring pages!
- Instruction Guide for DIY Elephant & Piggie Paper Lanterns and Templates!
Also, be sure to visit and follow:
Visit: PigeonPresents.com
Twitter: @The_Pigeon and @DisneyHyperion
Follow: @DisneyBooks on Instagram
Like: @MoWillems on Facebook
Hashtag #MoFun
Happy Reading!
Don’t forget to check out my favorite rice crispy treat recipe below, I’m divulging my secret ingredient and steps for the best rice crispy treat!
Rice Crispy Treat Birthday Cake Recipe
(*You can also half the recipe below to make regular rice crispy treats)
Ingredients
2 of the 16 oz bags of mini marshmallows
1 cup of the colorful mini marshmallows to add at the very end. *Optional
12 cups rice crispy cereal (I love the Trader Joe’s Brand!)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (my secret ingredient!!)
Spray Oil (I used organic spray canola oil)
Directions:
Spray an angel food cake pan all over the inside with spray oil.
In a large heavy bottom stock pot, melt the butter over low heat. Once the butter has melted, allow for the butter to start to brown just a bit. This will create a nice deep nutty flavor that brown butter produces. Once the butter is browned just slightly, add the marshmallows. Leave the heat on low and stir the marshmallows constantly until all of the marshmallows have melted. Once the marshmallows have melted, add the vanilla bean paste. Remove from heat, then add the rice crispy cereal one cup at a time, and stir well. Add enough rice crispy cereal for it to be coated well with the marshmallow, but still have enough marshmallow. You don’t want to put too much cereal. I tend to like it on the marshmallowy side! Once it has cooled for just a minute, you can even add a cup of mini marshmallows and mix it in. I did the colored ones for the cake! It left a few nice chunks of marshmallows!
Scoop the rice crispy mixture into the angel food cake mold. Spray a flat wooden spoon with oil spray, then use the back of the spoon to press the mixture firmly into the mold. Allow the mixture to cool. Once it is completely cool, carefully push the mold with the rice crispy cake out of the angel food cake pan, and place onto a cake stand. Sprinkle with some birthday sprinkles right away! And, there you have it! A super easy “Birthday” Cake!
Enjoy!
