When birthday time comes along, every mom wants to do the absolute best for her kids. Influencer and entertaining expert Melissa Johnson of Best Friends for Frosting did just that, in a major way. Melissa celebrated her son's ninth birthday with an epic surprise birthday party. The theme was "Icee Sips and Target Trips," and it was truly incredible.
To make the party possible, Melissa coordinated with her local Target, with which she has a longstanding history. "A few months ago, Charlie made a joke while we were shopping at Target and said 'What if I had my 9th birthday party at Target? Just kidding, I know that would never happen…' and that’s when the idea came to mind," Melissa explained.
"This was the SAME exact Target I have been shopping at since I was 5 years old. I walked this exact Target days before becoming a first-time mom to push myself into labor. This is the same Target I worked at for 3 months when I was 16. Fast forward 17 years later, and this was the same Target I rushed to see the Target ad I was in last December’s Martha Stewart Living Magazine. I guess you could say this exact Target store location and I sort of go way back!"
Influencer and entertaining expert Melissa Johnson of Best Friends for Frosting pulled off an epic surprise birthday party for her son, Charlie. Melissa approached the store's director, Joe Forbes, with her idea and was thrilled when not only he but his whole team were on board with the plan.
Melissa and the helpful Target employees set up a section of the store on the day of. Charlie showed up later, expecting a regular trip to Target with his grandma when he was surprised by all of his friends in red shirts and beige khakis!
The store even printed them all custom name tags. It totally completed the look and made the kids feel like they were legit Target team members. The custom Target-themed party hats by August Root were another nice touch that got the kids ready to celebrate.
The Target employees helped Melissa style an old Vineyard Vines display stand into a coffee bar, stocked with caramel Frappuccinos. The drinks were Melissa's go-to beverage when she was pregnant with Charlie and an awesome treat for the moms at the event.
The Target-themed dessert table included cookies shaped like Icees, polka-dot number 9s, and the Target mascot dog by Konfections & Konfetti. Megan’s Bake Shop also stepped in with an awesome custom three-tiered cake that featured a name tag for Charlie, Target logos, and the Target dog!
A super cool 9-shaped balloon from Ready Set Confetti stood next to the stacked dessert table, which was adorned with a red-and-white balloon garland. Loose balloons were also scattered around to add to the festive effect.
That's not all the decor Melissa had planned. She also got a wonderful Target party sign, courtesy of Paper Lane Design. She also got an awesome doormat that reads "probably at Target," thanks to Linden Fields.
One of the highlights from the event included a scavenger hunt throughout the store. During the 10-step scavenger hunt, the kids got to build paper towel towers, have a dance party with TVs adorned with signs for the birthday boy, and look for toys in the aisles.
For a lot of the kids, the highlight of the scavenger hunt was a silly string fight that they got to have in one of the store's aisles. "I cannot believe that was real life! Charlie is still talking about it 2 months later!" Melissa noted.
The scavenger hunt ended with the kids finding Bullseye, the Target dog. The store manager contacted corporate to get the costume, which one of the team members graciously agreed to wear for the celebration.
For lunch, the kids got to visit the Target snack bar and stock up on their favorite treats! The snack bar was stocked with red and blue Icees, bags of popcorn, and pizzas for all the mini-Target team members to enjoy.
Last but not least, all the kids got the chance to add to their Target-themed goodie bags by picking an item from the dollar bin section. There was another surprise in it for Charlie. He got to ring up all of his friends!
"He was seriously grinning ear to ear, and I was so happy we could pull it off for him!" Melissa said in her blog about the event. "Fast forward 2 months later and Charlie says this party was the #1 best memory from Summer 2019! It was one of the wildest ideas we’ve ever pulled off, but I am so so thankful we did to celebrate Charlie!"
This beyond-epic party seems like an awesome way to celebrate any birthday, let alone a kid's last single digit one. Melissa even came up with ideas for parents looking to throw a scaled-down version of the event at home, which you can find on her website.
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