Black-and-white-Michael-Jackson-cat Party! (Super mega lots of photos!)

 Okay, so I did think about trying to split this into multiple posts.. but meh. I will post all but Mol's costume in one post - it's just easier for both of us! Will just take a little longer to load..

Our sweet Otto turned 4 on Sunday!

Hi day was filled with lovely presents and lots of special treats, including a bit of a shindig with some friends and whanau.

Otto is such a creative wee soul, so when we talked about what kind of party he might like, I shouldn't really have been so surprised when he declared that he would like a 'Black-and-white-Michael-Jackson-cat' party. Those things all go together, right?!

Actually, it turns out they DO.
Who knew there were so many pictures of Michael Jackson holding cats!? While preparing for this party, I found 6 pictures, at different stages of his life, featuring felines!
(Otto was born 4 days after MJ passed away... kindred spirits?)
I, naturally, printed out all of these pictures, and made them into a fabulous bunting. I think it will need to be hung in the boys room when I take it down from the lounge wall.

We kept the other decorations fairly basic, too. Black table cloth, white plates, $2 shop lanterns, black+white balloons. We got out all the Michael Jackson records we have, and they provided the soundtrack for the party.

 I thought about trying to have black and white themed food, but I realised this was just not going to work. And, honestly, (my) kids prefer good old kiwi party food. Sausage rolls, cheerios, lollies, hundreds and thousands biscuits, chips etc. We had cheese and crackers, mandarins and mini sandwiches, too.
I printed out pictures of MJ, and popped them on kebab skewers, to decorate the table.

Otto chose his cake from the cake book - a cat.
(More specifically, a cat that looks like our cat, Porridge.)
I must say, it wasn't what I expected him to choose (the cat part of the birthday party theme came post-cake choosing..), but I was really pleased he didn't pick out something really difficult! Cake making is really not my strength! I had a bit of fun putting it all together, but it is certainly no prize-winning cake. Heh.

Our guests donned their black and white gear, and we dressed in costumes.
Abraham was an All Black (named Meow'a Nonu! Haha), I was a cat, Mollie a raccoon (a post about her outfit coming soon) and Otto and Aesop were Michael Jackson himself.

My dear boy looked so ridiculously sweet (albeit quite serious) in his little tux.
We had a bit of a scare, when the courier delivered his suit to the wrong house on Thursday morning. Luckily, with the help of a mutual friend, the woman in the house where it was delivered, tracked me down and got it to me on Friday. Phew! Small towns do pay off sometimes!
Otto was so pleased with how he looked - quite certain him and MJ were twins.
All his friends at the party decided to call him 'Little Michael' : )

We had such a great time!
Happy birthday, Otto Schnotto! We love you so much x