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i’m matt james

professional event producer

  • 27 years event-planning experience
  • Winner of 30 industry awards
  • Clients include:
  • Elton John,
  • Stella McCartney,
  • Sarah Jessica Parker,
  • Kevin Spacey……and more

welcome

Matt James professional event planner
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01 ELMO birthday PARTY invitations

Below are some suggestions for invitations to go with Elmo birthday party ideas:

ADVICE FROM A PRO

Matt’s tip

Matt James professional event planner

“I think it’s important to create a big first impression, which is why I always try to include some sort of 3D object tied to the printed invitation with ribbon.

This is a little trick that’s often used by professional party planners to make invitations stand out.

It doesn’t have to be anything expensive, just some cheap novelties, and you can use it re-enforce your party theme. For example, kids sunglasses or a flip flop for a beach party, a toy dinosaur for a dinosaur party, or an eye patch for a pirate party.

People just love to receive unusual invitations; it really captures their imagination and gets them excited about the party.

Click here to check out some examples of 3D object invitations from my party invitations page (opens in a new tab)”.

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edible ELMO party INVITATIONS

A cute 3D invitation you could use with these Elmo birthday party ideas is to send an Elmo cookie. These come individually wrapped in cellophane bags and tied with ribbon, either on a stick or without. Check them out here.

All you need to do is attach a printed or handwritten tag with all the party details on and send them out as your invitations. Alternatively, use the printed tag style invitation, shown below available here, which can be personalized with your party details.

Alternatively, if you prefer to make the cookies yourself, you can pick up an Elmo cookie cutter here.

elmo cookies
elmo VIP pass
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PERSONALIZED ELMO INVITATIONS

There are many different personalized Elmo birthday party invitations available, such as the ones below. Check out this supplier here and also this one here.

personalized elmo birthday invitation
elmo 1st birthday invitation
elmo 2nd birthday invitation
elmo 2nd birthday invitation
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ELMO POM-POM INVITATIONS

I came across this Sesame Street pom-pom tutorial (below, from Craft Passion) and I thought they’d make cute 3D Elmo party invitations. I really like the way she has incorporated a key chain holder too.

You can pick up the pom pom maker, eyes and yarn here. If you’re not into crafts, you could easily make something similar for your Elmo birthday party ideas by purchasing pom-poms and following the tutorial to add the eyes and mouth.

elmo pom poms

To turn these pom poms into invitations, write your party details onto a small tag and attach to the pom-pom key ring to finish your 3D Elmo party invitations.

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INVITATION WORDING

Whichever invitation you choose for your Elmo birthday party ideas, here are some tips for the wording:

  • Use the heading ‘La la la la la la la la…Elmo’s World’
  • Write all the text in the third person, just as Elmo speaks (ex, ‘Elmo wants you to reply to…’)
  • Write the invitation from Elmo and Dorothy (his pet goldfish)
  • Mention that there will be lots of pizza, bananas and crayons (all Elmo’s favorites)
  • To give an extra element to your party theme, tell your guests: ‘the party will be brought to you by the letter (insert first letter of child’s name) and the number (insert child’s age)’. You can then follow through with this in some of the party theme ideas below.
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02 Elmo party drinks

Below are some themed drinks in keeping with the Elmo birthday party ideas:

ADVICE FROM A PRO

Matt’s tip

Matt James professional event planner

“Always create a signature drink for your party—it’s one of the easiest things you can do to make your party unique.

If your party has a theme, think about what flavors you can use in your signature drink that will convey it.

Don’t forget about styling and presentation too. You could serve drinks in individual bottles, jars, or novelty containers, add your own labels, use themed ice cubes, decorative straws, or drinks picks, or add a simple garnish.

A sprig of berries or a single flower head on the rim of a glass can make a simple cocktail look really stylish”.

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DOROTHY’S PUNCH

Make any blue drink, such as this Blue Bubblegum Soda (below, by Jana at Cherry Tea Cakes) and serve in mini plastic goldfish bowls, available here, with straws.

Then pick up a mold to make goldfish ice cube’s to represent Dorothy (add a couple of drops of coloring or orange juice to the ice cubes but test them first to see how much they change the color of the drink as they melt).

mini goldfish bowls
elmo goldfish ice mold
blue bubblegum soda
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elmo’s face punch

Any red juice drink is perfect for your Elmo birthday party ideas because you can call it Elmo Punch.

Fill these mini plastic goldfish bowls with red juice, then add small googly eyes, a nose, and a mouth cut from cardstock (or drawn on with a Sharpie) so that each goldfish bowl looks like Elmo’s face.

mini goldfish bowls
elmo face circle
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BANANA SMOOTHIE / MILKSHAKE

Elmo loves his bananas, so make up a batch of these Banana-Nutmeg Smoothies (right, from Martha Stewart) or just buy some banana milkshakes and pour them into these Elmo party cups, available here.

banana smoothie
elmo cups
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ELMO JUICE BOXES

These Elmo’s Punch juice boxes, available here, would also look cute lined up on a dessert table. Pair them with these personalized Sesame Street straws, available here, or these cute Elmo straws, available here.

elmo 100% juice punch
sesame street straws
elmo straws
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Matt James professional event planner
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eLMO THEMED WATER

Use these personalized labels, available here, to give regular water bottles an Elmo make-over.

elmo water bottle labels
sesame street water bottle labels

Alternatively, these personalized Elmo water bottles, available here, are only $5 each and can double as favors / place setting cards.

elmo water bottles
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03 elmo party food

Here are some of my favourite recipes to give you inspiration for your Elmo birthday party ideas:

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Elmo’s favourite food

Everyone knows Elmo’s favorite food is pizza, so check out this video from Sprout for how to make Elmo’s Funny Face Pizza Pies. This recipes uses a sliced bagel as the pizza base, but you could also swap for a traditional thin pizza dough if you prefer, like these ones (below left, by Renee Waters Photography on Flickr).

elmo pizza

To make bite-size pizzas, use this Elmo Cookie Cutter (below, USA only) to shape them

elmo cookie cutter
elmo cookie cutter

Alternatively, for a sweet take on pizza try this kooky Pizza Cake Recipe (below left from Taste of Home), or this Fruit Pizza (below right, by Betty Crocker). I’m sure you could make a fruit pizza of Elmo’s face by using strawberries, red grapes, or raspberries for the face, blueberries for the mouth, and half an apricot for the nose. Leaving two circles of the cream cheese frosting uncovered for the eyes with a blueberry or black grape for the pupils to complete his face.

pizza cake
fruit pizza

ADVICE FROM A PRO

disclaimer

Matt James professional event planner

“As a professional party planner, I’m lucky enough to be able to collaborate with some amazing chefs to create menus for my events.

As I’m no chef myself, and cannot create dishes from scratch, I’ve searched the web for recipes that I think would work well for this party theme.

All credit goes to the talented people who have created these recipes, so please click through to their site for full details, ingredients, methods, and in some cases step-by-step tutorials”.

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Elmo’s Red Veggie Alphabet Soup

Here’s a great recipe that’s perfect for Elmo birthday party ideas: Elmo’s Red Veggie Alphabet Soup (below, from the Dr Oz Show). Soup might not sound like an obvious party food but it just comes down to how you present it.

I often serve soup in small shot glasses as canapés at my professional events. Try serving it in mini plastic fish bowls, available here, with googly eyes and a cardstock nose and mouth so that the red soup makes up Elmo’s face when poured into the bowls.

To make it more attractive to the kids you can always add a small triangle of grilled cheese sandwich balanced on top (as demonstrated below right by Mandy Heaston for Pillsbury).

alphabet soup
tomato soup shots
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Elmo and big bird crackers

Get these organic crackers shaped like Elmo and Big Bird to serve with cubes of cheese, or these ‘Letter of the Day’ vanilla cookies. Both available here.

elmo sesame street crackers
cookie monster sesame street crackers
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elmo bento

Here’s a couple of cute Elmo bentos for inspiration. Below left (by Sarah at Bentoroffic) uses raspberry Jell-O powder over a sandwich for the face, small mozzarella balls and olives for the eyes, a dried apricot as the nose and a mouth cut from berry fruit leather.

The other (below by Lovebones on Flickr) is made of a hamburger bun with cream cheese and shredded carrot, egg and olive eyes and mouth and a kumquat nose.

elmo bento
elmo bento
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elmo snacks

Other snacks based on Elmo’s face that you could make are these PB&J Sandwiches (below left by Jill at Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons) which used peanut butter and jelly, half a clementine for the nose and marshmallows and grapes for the eyes and mouth.

You can use the Elmo cookie cutter, available here, to make the shape more defined.

These Babybell cheese Elmos (also by Lovebones on Flickr) are cute especially when served with Goldfish Crackers straight out of fish bowls to resemble Dorothy.

elmo sandwich
elmo babybell
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cut it out elmo

If you’re incorporating a specific letter and number into your Elmo birthday party ideas (as per each episode of Sesame Street) you can also use alphabet cookie cutters, available here, to shape sandwiches, pizza, cheese slices, fruit slices and jello. Or buy Alphabet Chicken Nuggets.

alphabet letters cookie cutters
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elmo’s banana delight

One of Elmo’s favourite foods is banana, try making these cute PB&J Banana Dogs (below left, from Smuckers) or for something sweet, these Frozen Chocolate-Covered Bananas (below right, from Eating Well)

pb&j banana dogs
chocolate bananas
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Elmo’s cupcakes

For other sweet treats, decorate cupcakes to look like Elmo’s face by either piping the frosting with a star tip and using fondant for the features (like these below left, by Charmaine at Charmaine’s Pastry Blog), or use sprinkles for the fur (like these below right from Cutest Food)

elmo cupcakes
elmo cupcakes

Here’s a great video tutorial for how to make simple Elmo cupcakes by dipping them into shredded coconut tinted with some red food coloring. The video also shows you how to decorate Cookie Monster, Big Bird and Oscar cupcakes.

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elmo cupcake toppers

Alternatively, for a quick fix you can just buy these fondant Elmo cupcake toppers, available here, or you can even get these cute fondant goldfish ones to represent Dorothy, available here.

elmo edible cupcake toppers
goldfish cupcake toppers

If you prefer to simply decorate some cupcakes you can use these Elmo cupcake toppers (more designs available). Check out all the options here.

elmo cupcake rings
personalized elmo cupcake toppers

…Or have these personalized cake toppers, available here, made with the birthday boy or girl’s face. Too cute!

personalized elmo cupcake toppers
personalized elmo cupcake toppers

There are also these cute crayon cake toppers, available here, and Elmo cupcake liners, available here.

crayon cake toppers
elmo cupcake liners
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elmo cake pops

You could also try making these Elmo Cake Pops (below from Bakerella).

elmo cake pops

Cake pops can be a bit of a hassle to make though. You have to bake the cake, crumble it, then mix frosting into the crumbs, roll into balls, then freeze a little to harden…and all that’s before you start to decorate them.

For a quicker option, use one of these Cake Pop Makers, available here, to make simple cake balls in approx 5 mins, then just cover in frosting. It’s great value at around £20. Alternatively, pick up one of these Cake Pop Baking Pans, available here.

cake pop maker
cake pop baking pan

Of course, you could just buy some Elmo cake pops (below left) or Marzipan Treats (below right), both available here.

buy elmo cakepops
buy elmo lollipops
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elmo macarons

…Or try these super cute Elmo Macaroons (below right by Highlander and Islander at Hi Cookery).

elmo macaroons
elmo macaroons
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elmo jello

Use an Elmo cake pan, available here, to make this Jigglin’ Elmo Jell-O (below left from Wiltons), or make this Fish Bowl Gelatin recipe (below right, from Martha Stewart) but serve in individual goldfish bowls, available here, with just a single gummy fish to represent Dorothy. 

elmo jello
fishbowl gelatin
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elmo cookies

If you’re not one for baking, you can also buy these Elmo cookies, available here, or Elmo chocolate lollipops, available here.

elmo cookies
elmo chocolate candy
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elmo’s favorite things

Elmo also loves his crayons, so include these in your Elmo birthday party ideas by making these Edible Pretzel Crayons (below, by Kim at The Partiologist). Alternatively, you can buy something similar, available here.

edible crayons
crayon candy
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elmo fruit faces

For something more healthy you could make Elmo Fruit Faces like these (below right, by Smita at Little Food Junction). Although to make them entirely out of fruit (rather than with vegetables) I’d suggest using some apricot for the nose, apple or pear for the eyes, and black grapes for the mouth and pupils.

elmo fruit face
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04 elmo’s birthday cake

Whether you’re making a birthday cake from scratch or just decorating it, below are some suggestions to go with these Elmo birthday party ideas:

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elmo cake pan

This Elmo cake pan, available here, is a really easy way to turn out an impressive looking birthday cake. For extra presentation, serve it on a tray with lots of crayons scattered around it.

elmo cake pan
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edible image cake toppers

Or if you’re not the baking type, you can just place one of these personalized edible images, available here, onto any cake.

elmo edible cake image
personalized elmo edible cake image
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edible image cake toppers

Alternatively, use this personalized Elmo cake topper (other designs available) with the birthday boy or girl’s name. Check out all the options here.

personalized elmo cake topper
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05 food and drink styling

Below are styling and decoration tips to create a themed buffet / dessert table to go with these Elmo birthday party ideas.

ADVICE FROM A PRO

Matt’s tip

Matt James professional event planner

“I always think it’s a good idea to concentrate the majority of your decorations around a buffet / dessert table as this will create a focal point in the room.

Party decorations often have to compete with existing room decor, so they can get a bit lost if spread too thinly. I think you’re far better off creating one really well themed feature wall that everyone’s eye will be drawn to.

You can then use a few general decorations around the rest of the room to tie everything together.”

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elmo DESSERT TABLE ideas

I love this picture (below from the Sesame Street website). There’s just something about the green grass and daisies against a sunny sky background with clouds, butterflies and a rainbow that just sums up the innocence of Elmo. So, if budget permits, take this as inspiration for your buffet / dessert table display and create something similar to this one below.

elmo birthday party ideas
elmo dessert table backdrop

Pick up a sky scene setter, available here, with cloud sticker add-ons, available here, to act as a backdrop and spell out Elmo’s name in cotton wool as in the picture (or cut out of polystyrene and melt the edges with a lighter for a softer finish if you’re more handy at crafts).

Then add a few 3D butterfly stickers, available here, to the sky backdrop.

cloud stickers
butterfly flickers

Then cover a green tablecloth with tissue grass mats, available here, and sprinkle a few plastic daisies around to break up all the green. You could also use some of these ladybug food picks to add a splash of color to the grass if you want.

tissue grass mats
daisy decorations
ladybug cake picks

Finish the scene with this giant Airwalker balloon, available here, as a centerpiece, along with a toy goldfish in a bowl.

elmo skywalker balloon

Or use these 2ft tall Sesame Street cut outs, available here, to add some height to the table.

sesame street cut outs

Alternatively, you could have a personalized Sesame Street sign made, available here, and hang this over the dessert table, or use this freestanding Sesame Street personalized lamp post, available here.

personalized sesame street sign
personalized sesame street lamp post

Then use a mixture of square and rectangular clear plates and bowls to present food on (clear plates will allow the ‘grass’ to show through). I recommend these disposable Premium Plastic Plates, they’re great value and look so much nicer than regular paper party plates.

plastic party plates
square plastic plates
clear plastic bowl
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elmo DESSERT TABLE 2

If the budget for your Elmo birthday party ideas doesn’t allow for this much dressing you can create a cheaper dessert / buffet table display similar to this one below:

elmo birthday party desert table backdrop

Create a ‘wall’ of red balloons to act as a backdrop by fixing them to vertical strips of this adhesive balloon decorating tape, available here.

Then hang a big Elmo face balloon, available here, in the center.

Use a white table cover with a red table runner (you can just buy a disposable red paper tablecloth and cut this down to size to act as a runner).

balloon decorating tape
elmo balloon
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elmo DESSERT TABLE 3

Another way to create a cheap display is to use streamers as the backdrop, like in this example:

elmo party desert table backdrop

Twist and hang a mixture of red, white, and orange crepe paper streamers, available here, in tight vertical lines from floor to ceiling (below left from aesthetic outburst. blogspot.com) or use a mixture of red, white, and orange tissue paper garlands, available here, hung vertically (see below right from Martha Stewart Weddings for inspiration) to create a backdrop.

Use an orange tablecloth with a red runner (or some red faux-fur if budget permits) and premium plastic white or clear serving trays.

crepe paper streamers
paper garlands

Alternatively, you could hang these paper circle garlands, available here. Although I would suggest hanging them vertically, rather than arranging them in horizontal swags as shown in the picture below.

paper dot garlands
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BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTER…

Another alternative that works with these Elmo birthday party ideas is to dress the food table with brightly colored objects and toys (see suppliers 5 & 6 for cheap novelties) beginning with your chosen letter (ex, if your child’s name begins with D use rubber ducks, daisies, dolphins, etc). You could also group things according to your chosen number (ex, if your child is turning 3, have 3 rubber ducks, 3 daisies, 3 dolphins).

Complete the scene by hanging a personalized Elmo party banner above the table. Check out all the options here and also here.

happy personalized 2nd birthday banner
personalized happy 2nd birthday elmo sign
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BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTER… (idea 2)

Similarly you could use cut-outs of letters and numbers on the wall as a backdrop (make or cover each one using a different texture ex, grass, foam, balloons, etc).

Or for 3D effect you can buy some of these cheap 8″ paper mache letters and cover them in things like glitter, feathers, sequins, polka dot stickers etc. Then arrange them over a wall or create a curtain by suspending them on vertical strips of string / ribbon from floor to ceiling.

paper mache letters
craft letters
block letters

Alternatively, you can buy ready-made Sesame Street 3D letters, available here.

personalized sesame street banner
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06 food styling & presentation

Below are some food styling and presentation tips to go with these Elmo birthday party ideas.

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t is for treats

If you’re not including the ‘Brought to you by the letter…‘ theme above in your Elmo birthday party ideas, you can still include some Sesame Street-style letters by making labels for each dish that reads ‘C is for Cookie’, ‘P is for Pizza’ etc. Just don’t use labels like this if you’re dressing the table with objects that all start with a particular letter otherwise you’ll just confuse things.

Serve candies, cookies, and cakes using:

elmo cake stand
elmo treat pail
elmo treat cups
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print outs and cut outs

You can also use these printable Sesame Street food labels, available here, to add some extra styling to the dessert table. These can also be personalized with your own text (below right).

sesame street food labels
printable sesame street labels

These Elmo cardstock cutouts, available here, and Cookie Monster cut outs, available here, can also be attached to food containers and treats to make them look more special.

cookie monster cut outs
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07 table styling

Below are ideas for styling the main dining table in keeping with these Elmo birthday party decorations.

ADVICE FROM A PRO

Matt’s tip

Matt James professional event planner

“If it’s a kid’s party, don’t feel as if you have to shy away from using movie / cartoon character-branded tableware.

I see a lot of kid’s parties that are so immaculately styled they look more like adult parties. It’s obvious the parents have designed it for themselves, rather than their child.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a professional party planner it’s to design the party for your audience, not yourself.

The reality is kids want their favorite characters to have a strong presence at their party; they don’t see this as too commercial, for them it’s just fun.

Obviously, it’s important to get the balance right, so don’t go overboard. Character plates and cups work well if combined with a solid color table cover and napkins”.

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elmo tableware

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to dress the table, there are lots of great Elmo themed tableware kits, available here, including Elmo paper plates, napkins, and table covers.

elmo party plates
elmo party tableware

There’s also some easy Elmo high chair decorating kits available here for younger children.

elmo high chair decorating kit

If you prefer to pick and choose some branded items to mix with some solid colors, I’d recommend you stick to a palate of red and white with a few touches of a third color, such as orange or yellow, as an accent. An all-red table is just too heavy.

So perhaps use a red table-cover with a white runner down the center to break it up, or a wider red runner with a white under-cloth. You can see how red, white, and yellow works well together with these Elmo party cutlery sets, available here.

elmo party cutlery
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elmo fur

If budget permits, use some long pile red faux fur as the tablecloth to give a soft Elmo-like feel. If your budget won’t stretch to covering the whole table, just use a red or white tablecover then create a runner down the center out of fur.

artificial elmo fur
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flowers

Red Gerberas (below) are the perfect flowers to use for kid’s Elmo party as they have a simple daisy-like appearance. So pick up a couple to arrange in small Mason jars on the table. You could also surround the Mason jars with crayons standing upright and tied in place with ribbon.

artificial gerbers
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elmo centerpiece

For a centerpiece, use a cheap Elmo plush toy (which can double as a birthday gift), available here, or this Elmo foil balloon, available here, along with a toy goldfish in a bowl (or see the food ideas section above for how to make a Jello goldfish bowl). 

elmo plush toy
elmo decorative balloons

Alternatively, there are lots of Elmo cut out centerpieces available here.

elmo centerpiece
elmo party centrepiece
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elmo place settings

For place settings,make these cute Crayon Place-card Holders (below, by Katherine Marie Photography)

crayon place card holders

Alternatively, put one of these cute goldfish treat packs, available here, at each place setting.

goldfish party favors
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PAPER LANTERNS & TISSUE POMS

I always think it’s important to hang something above the table too, it really helps to define and enclose the space. So use a cluster of paper lanterns, such as the ones below by Martha Stewart, and add Elmo’s eyes and face using cardstock. Check out budget-friendly lanterns here, or regular lanterns here, or more decorative lanterns here.

You can also pick up cheap battery mini LED lights here to pop inside and make the lanterns glow without having to worry about power cords.

Alternatively, for a more feminine look use tissue pom-poms, like the ones below by Martha Stewart. Check out budget-friendly pom poms here, or decorative pom poms here, or a wider range of colors here.