Well, what a month it’s been! After completing Harvey’s Lego Birthday Party, I jumped straight into planning Hugo’s 7th birthday party around the theme of Willy Wonka. We’d recently finished reading Charlie And The Chocolate Factory together, and Hugo’s head was full of golden tickets, chocolate waterfalls, and strange little singing Oompa Loompas.
Of course, I knew I had to share the original 1971 movie with him, and when Mr Wonka invited his guests into the edible garden at the heart of the factory, the look on Hugo’s face was exactly how I felt when I watched it as a child – you just really, REALLY wanna be one of those kids gorging themselves on edible toadstools and lollipop flowers! I knew I had to try and recreate the magic of the chocolate factory for Hugo somehow for his 7th birthday party.
I’m all about the original 1971 Wonka movie, with its awesome retro aesthetic and the brilliance (brilliance, I tells ya!) of Gene Wilder. There is so much to love about the book, and even more to love about how it was adapted the screen. There was no question for me that I wanted to emulate the look and feel of the characters and props from that movie.
So, here it is! I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures as much as I enjoyed creating it all.
Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination…
Here’s the invitation that went out to all the kids. Nearly all of them turned up on the doorstep clutching their tickets for entry….so cute!
The dessert buffet table…
I completely winged it making these little toadstools after grabbing a bunch of ingredients off the supermarket shelf and toying with a general idea of what I wanted to achieve. At one point during the assembly of them, it looked like they might be a total disaster! But instead, they turned out to be a big hit at the party! Yummo!
Once again, I had the birthday cake made by the very talented Lisa from Cakes & Biscuits By Lisa. I based the design on a large Wonka Chocolate Bar (to match the invitations), and Lisa executed it perfectly in fondant icing over a delicious chocolate mud cake. It tasted divine and looked fantastic!
Designing these cupcake toppers had me giggling like a lunatic very late one night.
My home-made cookie pops!
What’s a chocolate factory without chocolate bars!
This is the snack table the kids indulged in before a sit-down lunch of hot food and fruit platters. As you can see, it’s a bit of a shrine to the one-and-only fabulous Mr Willy Wonka.
What do you do with the leftover melted chocolate from making marshmallow toadstools? Rummage around for some plastic spoons and make chocolate spoonfuls! Waste not want not.
Everlasting gobstopper bunting!
It’s Hugo Wonka the birthday boy! I found Hugo’s hat in a bargain store and painted it red (was originally pink) and I found the retro jacket in an op shop. It was originally white, so I popped it in a bucket with some purple dye and Wonka’s your uncle! Hugo didn’t take it off all day.
Some fun from our Wonka Photo Booth.
At the end of the party, one very happy little birthday boy and one very tired purple-haired mummy.
And there you have it! Our very own Wonka Chocolate Factory.
Party Credits
Party Styling and Food:Crackers Art
Wonka Cake: Cakes & Biscuits By Lisa
Party Prop Design: Crackers Art
Printing of Backdrop: Purplex Design & Print
Party Invitation and Printables: Crackers Art
Photography: Crackers Art
Ohhh… I LOVE this party!!!!I do so hope that the backdrop and egg-dicator will be part of your printable set!!!Any chance you would share how you made the marshmallow toadstools???And you are so right…nothing beats the original flick…time to round up Grandpa Joe and some vermicious knids for our next party methinks 🙂
That is one of the most spectacular parties i have ever seen. I am curious about your toadstools though … can you give me any details about how you made them? And i LOVE the spoon idea … fantastic!Sally
Thanks so much Kristy! I love your enthusiasm. :o)I am still developing the printables and there will be some slight modifications but I will most likely make a lot of the props available as printables.And yes – I will share how I created the marshmallow toadstools. :o) I'll write a separate blog post about it.Thanks for your lovely words!Cheers,Sarah
Thankyou so much Sally. That's a lovely thing to say!Yes, as mentioned in my comment above, I'll write a separate blog post about how I made the toadstools. :o)Cheers,Sarah
Ok what a coincidence! I just finished a Lego party in March and am doing a Willy Wonka party for my class May 22. I want you to get moving on the wonderful wonkiness for your Etsy shop. I must say you are one amazing artist!!! I would love to buy,beg, borrow, steal your backdrops – too absolutely amazing!Thank you for the inspiration. I'VE GOT TO GET MOVING!!!!
THUD! I just found your blog. That thud is me fainting after I saw this party. Holy schmoly woman! You are all kinds of "Awesome with a capital A"-I've seen some Willy Wonka parties on the web and they seemed too much. But yours? PERFECT in every way!!!
Hahaha…thanks Lisa. Your comment made me smile! I especially like the use of "schmoly". ;o)I love how much you appreciate this party! Your comments are fab – thanks.Cheers,Sarah
I LOVE THIS!!! ♥
Thank you so much! 🙂
Love your ideas!!! We are doing a Willa Wonka party for my daughters 1st birthday! You did a GREAT JOB!
Thanks so much! I’m sure you’ll have a ball — we sure did. Such a fun theme! 🙂