"Army Man" Birthday

Last week my baby turned five.  How that's possible, I'm still not sure!  We decided against doing a party (to make life easier...) and yet between making our house appear festive, baking 22 cupcakes for school, and a big cake for our family and a few friends it still felt like a lot.

J. told me he wanted an "Army Man" birthday.  Not sure exactly what he was picturing... here's what I came up with:

For school, just some Army men (ordered from Amazon for cheap) on green cupcakes.  Done. 

Can I just say, freezer paper stencils are the best?  No more dropping $25 on a customized, monogrammed shirt that he'll grow out of in 2 months.  A $4 Hanes t-shirt, some freezer paper, a printer, some scissors, and brown paint and we've got an Army man shirt!  (The back has his name and a 5) 

These super cheap foil hanging decorations are also life-savers.  Amazon has everything.  

The Hubby may have critiqued my battle configuration... but I think the cake was cute.  The pieces on top came from the same tub as the cupcakes with plenty leftover for J. to open as a separate gift.  

In case you're looking for a new recipe, I absolutely LOVE this one for white cakes!  I used it for both the cupcakes and the actual birthday cake.  

Look at that happy birthday boy!