Every year they get older. Gifts and personalities get more complicated and they grow to unrecognizable proportions. Last year we had a Minecraft Birthday Party and while he’s still a lover of all things Minecraft he’s found a new love. Music. Ever since our first real concert he’s been hooked. So this year a rock n roll birthday party seemed to be the way to go.

Just two weeks after that first concert we stood on the sidewalk outside of the music school with his newly acquired electric guitar taking what is believed to be the first of many photos of him rockin’ out. I went to Office Max and had this turned into an 18 x 24 poster for decoration at his party. We’ll use it later for decoration in his new tweenage room makeover.

For party favors we compiled a list of his favorite songs and burnt them onto CDs to give out to his friends.

I designed some custom artwork for the cases making them a functional and commemorative token of their rockin’ night with the birthday boy.

I wish I’d have thought to make an insert for the back as well with the song list but alas, I always seem to have the best ideas at the last minute.

But I feel pretty good about the invites! Exclusive VIP Passes with birthday invite on front with additional party info on the back. Plus they doubled as something fun the kids could wear to the party. They definitely felt like VIPs for the night.

One of the most fun things for me was to make his birthday cake in the same pan my mother made my 16th birthday cakes in. He has an electric guitar but I have an acoustic one. He wanted the cake to look like Mom’s guitar which is good because I may have had trouble turning out an electric guitar from an acoustic pan.

The microphone cupcakes were equal parts cute, easy and delicious.

And another last minute (and therefore unaccomplish-able) idea was having some cute song lyric cupcake toppers. Am I the only one hoping for a party theme do-over so I can do all of the things I though of too late?

I ordered the guitar cookies from the local CAKE Bakery. Typically I do it all myself but I since I had some other fun plans for the party decorations I wanted to take some of the load off and have something hired out for a change.

It was an explosive party from beginning to end. But you can’t have a rock n roll party without rock n roll, now can you?

And good rock n roll requires good hair.

A great set of drums and a drummer who knows how to rock them.

{This particular drummer is the drum teacher at his music school.}Guitars, amps…

and a lead singer with a voice bigger than he is. Then…

When I envisioned this party I knew it had to have some great lighting and the first thing that came to mind was giant marquee lights. It took a couple of days to get these ready but they were so worth it.

We had the party at his Dad’s martial arts studio which has a perfect industrial look, like it was made not just for Taekwondo but Rock n Roll, too.

The DIY Marquee letters were the perfect backdrop for the band.

And, by some miracle, even though the auto focus on my lens just decided to stop working, I was still able to get some pretty great shots in low light, full manual and manual focus. THAT might have been my biggest accomplishment of the night!

Since I know pictures of rock n roll don’t include sound, here’s is a little clip of this great band who literally blew our minds with their awesomeness.

{When you hire a band for a kid’s party you hope it’ll be good. But you don’t expect Deep Purple incarnate.}

It didn’t take long and the kids were rocking out.

And this kid couldn’t stop smiling!

It was fun to see the “drum teacher” in action.

For some, it was their first concert.

And it was such a cute sight watching them enjoy it.

For others it was their own personal concert.

And he certainly felt special!

I made Event Staff t-shirts for me and Dad. I wanted to make the event as realistic as possible but they also doubled as a way for the kids to know who their chaperons were, but in a fun way.

And speaking of realistic and fun, it’s good to have friends willing to play significant roles in your children’s birthday parties. Our “bouncer” did help us watch the door and keep the kids safe but he also added one of the most realistic and impressive aspects of the party.

The evening ended with Happy Birthday on the electric guitar and a photo with the band – Rising Tide.

And then, just when we started to lament the end of the party, we had a surprise guest. A good friend stopped by for a little late night jam session. My child is still having trouble deciding which was the best part but one thing’s for sure, we rocked this party out!

I’ve done many themed parties. This one might have been my favorite. The only thing that could possibly have made it better was if I really had become Madonna like I thought I was going to in the 2nd grade!

Check out our other themed parties:

Minecraft Birthday Party

Country Fair Birthday Party