My boys turned 3 last week!

Wow, I have two three-year-old boys. When did that happen?! Everyone kept annoyingly telling us that it goes by so quickly, but during that first crazy year with twins, I kept thinking, When? When will it go quick? But sure enough, once we were out of the woods, it has gone quickly! At least now when I look back or see how big they are in their three year birthday t-shirts.

To celebrate their third birthday, we went with a Disney's Finding Nemo theme for their pre-k birthday party from favors to cupcakes.

Finding Nemo Birthday Party Favors 

I couldn't find official licensed gift bags, so I purchased these general fish themed bags on Amazon. For the gifts inside, I ordered bubbles, fish shaped prisms and Finding Nemo character stickers from Oriental Trading Co., plus individual bags of Goldfish Crackers as a snack too.

I then used my HP Envy printer to print out round stickers with my kids names on them and a Dory and Nemo image to seal the bags. Easy peasy and a bit more personal that way.


For a fun party activity, you can print out these free Finding Nemo Coloring Book Pages from Mom Junction and put out orange and blue crayons for the kids to color with. Simple and cheap. Or fold and add the print outs directly to the goodie bags.

Easy Finding Nemo Birthday Cupcakes

Now here is where I really had fun. I'm not a fancy or patient baker, but I was really pleased with how these turned out. I purchased aqua blue Pillsbury Funfetti cake mixes and orange easy frost icing to re-create the blue waters and color of Nemo and Marlin. I then topped off with a Goldfish Graham Cracker cookie fish. Voila! Finding Nemo-inspired cupcakes. My boys were really excited about these and kept talking about their Nemo cupcakes for school.

Presents

What to get a pre-schooler who has everything? That was the question. My boys have so many toys, cars and balls, that I didn't want to just add more to their playroom. Instead, we gave them each one really nice present that will also help with their continued learning and development - a LeapFrog Epic - a kid-friendly tablet for ages 3-9.


They would occasionally play with some coloring apps on our iPads, but we didn't really want them using those yet, which is why we opted for these safer digital experiences that focus on learning. We also can't wait to take these traveling with us!

The touchscreen LeapFrog Epic is Android based, so game cartridges are not compatible with this device. Instead, you download new content wirelessly just like you would for grown-up Android tablets. Out of the box, the Epic includes 20-plus apps (Wi-Fi, a parent account and device set-up are required to access all included content).  The idea of apps for little children might sound scary, but every app is Leapfrog-certified to ensure there are no in-app purchases, no harmful third-party ads and only age-appropriate experiences. The parental controls also let you manage what, when and how long each child plays too.

We also added Finding Nemo content to the device by downloading a Nemo Reef Builder game on to the LeapFrog Epic.

Disclaimer: As a LeapFrog Mom Ambassador, I receive products, promotional items and educational material to use and share as I see fit.