Annalise's Taco Twosday - Llama & Cactus Party!

Ya'll, I did it again. I went all too momma Pinterest crazy for this little girls birthday. But one thing led to another and then I've spent too much. But, it was perfect and I loved every bit of it. A birthday for a two year old was way more fun than a one year old and I imagine it will keep getting more fun. Except for the fact that my sway over how things look and what the theme is will decrease as the years go on.

Also, thanks again to my brother and sister-in-law (Alex & Ivy Photography) for making all my Pinterest dreams come true!

Goody Bags

I made the llamas with my Cricut! So fun and cute! They come with the Cricut Design studio subscription, but you could also download a free SVG of llamas (but not as cute).

Cake, Cupcakes and Cookies

Ok, are these cookies not the most amazing cookies EVER?! My sister in law made them and boy were they delicious and adorable. The cutters are from Amazon which you could get here. But you'd also have to have the skills - and good luck with that.
Cactus/succulent cupcakes are my favorite so I couldn't resist, even though it was overkill on the dessert side. I've used a variety of Pinerest pins and blog ideas for inspiration over the last year. Cake is a 3-tier 6-inch round.
Also, the cactus balloons were all thanks to my lovely mama. You can find a tutorial for them here.

Taco Twosday Bar!

Yummy is all I can say about this meal! This list of fixings I had along with the links for recipes.
Ground beef with just the generic taco seasoning from Walmart
Shredded chicken with my FAVORITE Instant Pot Recipe. Find it here.
Taco shells - soft and hard.
Shredded cheese
Lettuce
Salsa - which my mom makes from a seasoning packet found in the produce section It's "Concord Food Salsa Seasoning Mix" and it will knock your socks off.
Olives
Black beans
Guacamole - not going to lie I think my recipe is the very best. Find it here.
Sour cream
Limes
Cilantro
Nacho cheese
Chips - Jaunitas are the most authentic tortilla chips that you can find but I also love the Walmart brand lime chips, so I had both there.
Drinks: pink lemonade and various soda
I got the most adorable cactus plates from Amazon and they were a stellar deal. You can get them from Amazon here.

I also got some really cute and impractical llama napkins from Amazon which you can find here.
The Taco Twosday sign I designed on Canva (my favorite free graphic designer) and you can download it for FREE below. Just right click and hit save!

The cactus pinata came from Hobby Lobby.
I placed various food items inside terra cotta pots to go with the cactus theme which I got from the dollar store.
Lastly, the backdrop I used pink tissue paper. The best deal I found for it was on Amazon here. And the letters for "Oh La Llama" I cut out with my Cricut.

Activities

I got the inflatable cactus ring toss game from Amazon, but honestly, would not recommend. It didn't stand up well and was maybe just too old for our age group.
The maracas I would HIGHLY recommend. They were a huge hit! I got Easter eggs from the dollar store at Easter time and used Walmart party supplies plastic spoons and then we taped them all together with some adorable cactus washi tape I got from Amazon and you can find here.
Literally ALL the kids loved it, and it made for a pretty quick but fun activity.
The pinata was fun... until it wasn't. My sweet and sensitive 2 year old was DEVASTATED when we broke it open. But it made for some fun until then. I got the pinata from Hobby Lobby and used a 40% off coupon so it made it only like $8 I think! I filled it with gold fish, animal crackers, fruit snacks and other toddler appropriate snacks.

Cake Time!

Sweet girl tried SO hard to blow out her candles, thankfully her cousin Weston could help her!

And the rest of the photos!!

And just like that another year is over! I can't believe she's two. If you ask her she'll say "mime two!" And it's the cutest thing ever. I'm so glad some of our family and friends could make it out, even in the midst of covid-19 to make it a special and memorable birthday! We love you sweet girl! You make life the most fun and I love finding things that will bring you joy.

- Ashley