Oliver is 5 - Godzilla takes Tokyo!!

Although we had been thinking about what "theme" to have for Oliver's rapidly approaching birthday this year, nothing was set in stone. An impromptu trip prior to his birthday left very little time to plan much of anything. His first four birthdays had had a lot of thought put into them, with invitations, goodie bags for the guests, games and prizes, a homemade meal for all the guests, and neat homemade cakes...but not this year. Well, except for the cake part. We just didn't have the energy, or, quite frankly, the money. We would do things the simple way. Quick, and easy. Although there was very little notice, we called Oliver's little neighborhood friends, and invited them over for pizza and cake...he is happiest when surrounded by his gang of kidlets.

Back to the theme. Let me preface this by saying Oliver is ALL BOY. He loves anything having to do with monsters, creepies, and all things scary...just not "too creepy" as he puts it. Since 3, he has been fascinated by the old Godzilla movies, and all the associated "monsters." From Fire Rodan to Mothra, Biollante to Mecha King Ghidora, and Ebirah to Hedorah, the boy is an expert at identifying and naming all the monsters of the Godzilla movies. So, naturally, we decided on a Godzilla Cake. I spent some time on google to get ideas. Yes, apparently there are many Godzilla fans out there, young and old alike! I took a few different ideas I liked and meshed them into my own, trying to keep it easy enough for me to do somewhat quickly, with what I had in my own kitchen. I spent one day making some cakes. I then put this baby together the next day, in the 3 hours prior to the guests arriving at our house. No...there was NO stress! Aaack! But, it got done, it looked pretty good considering the small amount of time I had, and, the best part, Oliver was totally thrilled with it! What else could a Momma ask for?

No, Mr. Godzilla is not made of fondant. I am not a total sucker for punishment! He was a very large figurine bought for the purpose of the cake. A perk was that he could also be used as a birthday present afterwards! I did make some fondant and used it to cover the rectangular tupperware container, covered it, and decorated it as a building. This container was what held some water and dry ice to create the smoky effect as Godzilla smashed down parts of "Tokyo." There were also a boatload of candles to create the effect of a city on fire. All the square buildings were cakes, as was the taller "pagoda" in the back. There was a crashed helicopter, some water, and a city street with rubble along both sides made from crushed Oreos and 'Nilla Wafers.. Godzilla's fire breath was a piece of paper I cut and colored, and taped in his mouth. All the buildings were frosted and spray-painted.

Oliver shows his age as he beams with excitement over his cake!


A couple photos of the birthday boy.

No games necessary. All the kids played out back until it was time for presents and cake. Some shots of Oliver & Friends.

Oliver and his girlfriends.

Oliver pauses to take a Birthday Call from Meme.

Oliver and Maddie

Present Time. With the economy the way it is, no gifts were necessary, but everyone was still so generous and Oliver received so many nice things. Games, balls, transformers, puzzles, some brainy-type games, a remote-control car, and some building sets. Enough to keep a little boy busy for a long while!

A quick picture with his cake before the Cake Lighting

Oliver & Company with the Godzilla Cake

Ryan, Zack, Layton, Tommy, Oliver, Karissa, Sierra, Amanda, Lindsay, and Maddie

Oliver takes a good gander at his mission. He said he forgot to make a wish because he was trying to figure out how in the world he was going to blow out ALLLL those candles!

With a little help from his friends, all the candles were finally blown out, all that hot fire had made plenty of melted mess, and the kids were ready to dive in!

Picture with Mom.

Picture with Dad.

And the aftermath.

Oliver's fifth Birthday party was a Monster-Stompin' smashing success! Oliver stills talks of his "Triple Marvelous" cake, and how fun it was to have all his friends over. To see more pictures from Oliver's Godzilla Birthday, click on the link.