Happy Donkey Birthday!

While people don't normally think of a donkey as a fun character, they really actually are! Just think of Donkey on Shrek, Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh, or the classic game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey! Donkeys are fun, so why not have a donkey birthday party for your one year old?

There are lots of invitations featuring donkeys, so you could go ahead and choose one design for your donkey birthday party. You could also make one using downloadable images from the internet and mashing them together to create a 3D collage. Just print out a background, let's say from the Shrek movie, for the cover of your invitation. Print out pictures of Donkey and cut them out, too. One way to create a 3D effect is to paste 3 cutouts together, each one slightly offset to the other in the same direction, so each is a bit offset to the right, left, up, or down. This is then glued into its final place on the background. An easier way to do that is to take one image and stick a thick strip of card to its back and glue that in place on the background.

Donkeys are gray, but it's a rather sad color for a birthday party. Add some happy colors into the mix like pink, green, blue, or yellow. Use balloons and streamers in these colors to decorate the party area. A nice touch is to use extra donkey printouts you made for the invitations to decorate the balloons themselves. They'll stay put with a strip of double-sided tape up the back. Bring in some potted plants to create a forest effect so the donkeys will feel at home.

Set the kids' table with a blue tablecloth and cover that with a darker blue topper. Use shiny pink ribbon to stand in for the ribbon on Eeyore's tail and attach them to the corners of the table. Use pastel tableware for each place setting and tie them all together with bows of gray ribbon. At the center, you could place a plush toy of Eeyore or Donkey and have them sitting on green tissue shavings to simulate grass. Tuck in a few paper flowers in pastel colors and your table is set.

The cake table is decorated similarly. Use a light gray tablecloth and accent it with blue or yellow streamers. At each point where the streamer is cinched, tack on a pink bow. Elevate the birthday cake, perhaps with a clear acrylic stand so it's less visible. A pretty idea for birthday cake is to sandwich one large cake to a smaller round cake to simulate a hill. Either cover the cake with green fondant for grass or use green sanding sugar on spots after swathing the cake in green buttercream. Set a donkey figurine on top (there is one available for Eeyore) and decorate the cake with sugar flowers.

Shrek's choice of menu is not very appetizing, so let's stick to Winnie the Pooh. Pooh Bear tea is something that children take to very easily, and no wonder. Choose a mild flavored tea, like Irish Breakfast, and cut it with a splash of condensed milk. Served with carrot cupcakes, honey-butter sandwiches, and a plate of sugar cookies, it's a perfect light children's tea.

Of course, one of the games must be Pin the Tail on the Donkey. You can purchase that anywhere or make a version of your own classic! A donkey pinata is also the classic shape for the Mexican fiesta. This can be the highlight of the party, ending in a mad scramble for candy all over the room.

There aren't many donkey favors around, unless you count Eeyore again. However, you can find miniature pinata favors in donkey shapes, and any child that can go home with one of those would be very happy.