Plan Ahead
Up to 2 Months Before
- Bake cake for Snowman Cake or Skate Cake; tightly wrap unfrosted cake and store in freezer.
Up to 2 Days Before
- Make Poppy the Penguin (unless the kids are making it at the party).
- Make Frosty Grapes (see Party Guide); freeze.
- Make Snowy Ice-Cream Cones (see Party Guide); store covered at room temperature.
The Day Before
- Make Sweet and Crunchy Snack Mix.
- Bake Snowy Shovels.
- Frost and decorate the cake (unless the kids are decorating it at the party). If making Skate Cake, follow the Variation for decorating as an ice skate.
The Morning Of
- Cook chicken for Chicken Quesadilla Sandwiches; shred and mix with cilantro mixture. Cover and refrigerate.
- Make Mint Cream Topping for Alpine Mint Hot Chocolate; cover and refrigerate.
- Fill Snowy Ice-Cream Cones with Sweet and Crunchy Snack Mix.
As Party Guests Come Inside
- Make and serve hot chocolate.
- Serve cones filled with snack mix and Snowy Shovels.
About 15 Minutes Before Meal
- Assemble and cook quesadillas.
Party Guide
Plan Ahead
- Skating, skiing, sledding, making snow angels and building snow people--that's the fun stuff winter parties are made of! Pick one or more activity that suits the ages of the guests and weather conditions.
- If it's very cold, be sure to plan the party for the warmest part of the day, and ask guests to come dressed for outdoor play.
- No snow? Create a sweet option by letting kids make and decorate Poppy the Penguin and decorate the Snowman Cake or Skate Cake.
More Great Cake Recipes with the Snowman Theme!
Invite with Mittens
- Create mitten invitations using card stock. Trace around a child's mitten or a mitten cookie cutter. Cut out the shape, and add the party details.
Make Jack Frost Edibles
- Frosty Grapes: Wash clusters of grapes, but do not dry. Dip the wet grapes into sugar to coat them. Set the clusters on a plate, and freeze until serving time.
- Snowy Ice-Cream Cones: Mix 1 cup powdered sugar with about 1 tablespoon water, adding water 1 teaspoon at a time, until mixture is just a little thinner than peanut butter. Dip the top edge of flat-bottomed ice-cream cones into the powdered sugar frosting, then immediately sprinkle with edible glitter (available at cake-decorating supply stores and gourmet cooking stores) or colorful sprinkles; let dry. Serve the Sweet and Crunchy Snack Mix in the edible snowdrifts!
- Snowdrifts on Cocoa: When serving Alpine Mint Hot Chocolate, refer to the topping as "snowdrifts" and let the kids add the snowdrifts to their cups of hot chocolate. (Be sure you've made plenty!)
Party Pictures