Feature Friday: Master Chef Junior Party
Happy Friday my friends! Can you believe it's the first day of December? I'm in a serious time warp. I feel like we started school just last week! But now we are most definitely into the holiday season and Christmas will be upon us before we know it. I love all the family time around the holidays and cooking with my children has become a fun tradition. A Master Chef Junior Party is a great way to teach kids basic kitchen skills, have a great time, and produce a really tasty treat!
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Master Chef Junior Party Theme
My friend Kim hosted this party for her son's 5th birthday. {who happens to be my son's best friend!} He is a big fan of the MasterChef™ Junior television show and since they started doing cooking lessons with their Dad once a month, all three boys have gotten pretty good in the kitchen. Garrett even showed off his newly acquired knife safety skills for the camera!
Master Chef Party Invitation
This cute little chef's apron invite was designed by Kim and cut by my Cricut Explore Air. Such a simple way to play up the theme and made it really fun for the kids to receive! *I now have the Chef invitation available in the SHOP! Message me for a custom logo.
Welcome to the Party!
Guests were greeted with a “daily special” sign to welcome them to Chef Garrett's kitchen. It was simple to create using a chalkboard background and font, then printed at Costco photo.
Get the party started with fun photos of each guest after they don their chef hats and aprons! Love the rolling pin and pizza pillow props!
Master Chef Party Decor
I was able to style this party for our sweet friend. Gathering up wooden and red kitchen instruments was a fun and easy way to communicate the cooking theme. Classic red and white gingham check was the element that tied the party theme together from invites to favors.
Chinese take out box favors were displayed around a wooden toy oven in red and white. Editable Favor labels available in the SHOP.
And this chandelier, inspired by an Anders Ruff party, was the perfect way to create a focal point without a backdrop, on the kitchen island. 
The EAT marquee is a versatile sign and totally nailed the theme for this one! The Chef hat and apron banner is now also available in the SHOP and is quickly becoming a bestseller. And who doesn't LOVE the empire red KitchenAid!? I'm not surprised that it's also a best seller!
The simple table set up was perfect to give each guest their own space and allow for mess making….I mean cooking! Each guest received a chef hat and apron to wear for the duration of the party. Custom placemats also available in the SHOP, just send me a message.
Master Chef Menu
You can't have a Master Chef Junior party without a cooking challenge! For food the guests each had their own secret ingredients under a personalized baking pan. 
Exotic “secret” ingredients such as:
- Dough
- Pizza sauce
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Olives
- Pepperonis
- Green peppers
- Mushrooms
I wonder what they could make with all this?
PIZZA! Having the ingredients pre-portioned was a great way to streamline the activity. Kids were able to choose which toppings they wanted, add as much or little sauce and cheese, and have a pizza lunch JUST the way they like it.
The kids had a blast stretching out the dough. The birthday boy even designed a monster truck shaped pizza! 
While the pizzas were cooking it was time for gifts and then time to EAT! My son reported that it was best pizza he's ever eaten. Hmmm….I think there might be something to this kids cooking thing.
Create a Cake
After eating their pizza guests each chose a Funfetti™ cupcake to decorate. With a choice of vanilla or chocolate frosting and SIX different candy toppings the kids were able to get quite creative.
Case in point, here is my son's finished monster cupcake! It's a good thing Kim snapped a photo because this bad boy did NOT make it home!
Lessons Learned
Kim is super organized and thorough so the party ran really smoothly. As mentioned previously, having everything portioned and ready for each guest was a great idea. Any time you are dealing with kid activities it's a good idea to pre-cut or even partially assemble pieces to stay within the time frame and reduce frustration for smaller guests. And of course, the older they are the more independent they can usually be. The only party hiccough was the very large size of the chef hats! It was easily fixed by folding in the back and using paper clips to attach. After that simple solution, everything else was perfect!
Party Sources
If you're interested in hosting a Master Chef Junior Party, pizza party, or just want to cook with the little ones, you can find everything you need to recreate the party here:
Amazon
- EAT Marquee sign
- Wooden utensils for chandelier – this is a large pack but I have since used the utensils for several events
- Chinese Take out boxes {also in RED} – you can use these as party favors for any theme as well as storing actual leftovers!
- Wood Kitchen Toddler Toy – This oven is similar to the one shown but natural wood instead of red and white
- Wooden Cutting Food Props – you can make a sandwich with these toys and practice cutting with a wooden knife
- Introductory Real Baking Set for Kids – a great set for kids who really want to help in the kitchen
- Empire Red KitchenAid – Because WHY not red!?
Dollar Tree
- Metal baking pans
- Portion cups with lids
- Chef hats
- Play kitchen utensils for party favors {summer seasonal}
Michaels
- Pizza Pillow – usually up front in their impulse purchase bins!
Oriental Trading
World Market
- Tall wooden salt and pepper shakers
Zurchers
Halfpint Design
- Chef Hat and Apron Banner
- Take Out Favor Box Labels
- Chef Apron Invitations
- Custom Graphics – for custom party supplies contact us via our HalfpintPartyDesign Etsy Shop
- Styling and Photography
Feature Summary
I love when a party can be fun and educational. The kids had a blast making the pizzas and decorating the cupcakes. I am inspired by the kitchen education going on Kim's home. She mentioned in passing wanting her young boys to learn to cook so they could take turns helping at home, and later care for themselves in college. “When they get married there's no guarantee their wife will know how to cook. Plus it's nice to have their dad teach them these skills.” I love that the boys are getting several life lessons here. Cooking isn't just for girls…or moms. To keep us alive, it's a necessary skill for everyone. Now, I need to up MY mom game and start letting my kids “help” my husband and I more in the kitchen! How will you incorporate cooking into the holiday season and all throughout the year?
Can I feature your next party?
Have a party you’d like to share? Let us know! We’d love to show off all your hard work. I feature a new party on the first Friday of every month. With YOUR help I might be able to have a feature every Friday! What do you say? Are you ready to join the Parties With A Cause family? I sure hope so.
Until next time,
What a cool and unique party idea! I would never have thought of it, but my son would probably have loved something like this when he was younger!