Smurf Cupcakes and Family Night Ideas!

As a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community, this family date night shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study to share fun dinner and movie night ideas using featuring Tyson Batter Tenders & Smurfs 2.

By now, you guys know I love any type of theme night, right? With some creativity, a bit of DIY skill, and just a little extra time, any mom can create a really fun family date night on a budget. And for me, the easiest way to put together an easy family day {whether dinner or playdate} is to base my theme around a super fun family movie. {A couple recent examples: Monsters U lunch, Little Mermaid crafting party} This week, I decided to do a fun movie date night featuring the new Smurfs 2, and those totally yummy Battered Chicken Tenders from Tyson. Some of you might remember me whining – er, mentioning – that I’ve had the flu for 3 days now. But even being under the weather, this was an easy little evening to put together, and the kiddos had a blast. I think I’m feeling better already… :)

How fun is this, right? But – ya win some, ya lose some. We picked up the new Smurfs 2 movie – Abby is SUCH a fan of the first one. Then I bought some fun blue cups with straws, and filled them with blue “smurf-berry” punch. {It’s just blue punch in a jug from the non-refrigerated juice aisle.} I made a quick dinner, and cupcakes for dessert. Abby told me that I’m “the best mommy EVER!” Definitely worth getting out of bed with a head cold.

This is my Chicken “Papa Smurf-esan” Pasta that I made for dinner. I know, I know – could I be any cheesier with the name?? I couldn’t help it :) The kids got a kick out of this, and it’s incredibly simple. Cook any type of noodles just like you normally would, then add blue food coloring to magically turn them blue. {The light in my kitchen made them look a little yellow-y, but trust me – just a bit of blue food coloring will turn them a great shade of blue in real life!} I topped the Smurfy noodles with some of the Battered Chicken Tenders {which by the way, are so crunchy on the outside, and seriously thick real cuts of chicken inside. Love-love.} Then I added a big spoonful of pasta sauce on top {matches Papa Smurfs red hat, get it?} and topped it all with some yummy shredded Parmesan cheese. And dinner is smurfed! Er, I mean served….

For dessert, I made cupcakes. Because I love cupcakes. These ones were created with a white cake mix, with these cool Wilton Color Burst Batter Bits I found at Walmart. You just mix ’em in, kind of like tiny sprinkles? Baked ’em up, then topped them with red frosting, and white M&M’s. Ta da – Little Smurf house cupcakes.

When you bite into them, they get even Smurfier – see how the little blue Batter Bits turn out? I’d never used these before, but they’re definitely on my baking list to stock up on. I can think of SO many ways to use these… I’m going to be doing a big football party soon, and I’m thinking you could mix your two team colors of batter bits for team cupcakes. Super fun.

And of course, what would movie night be without the movie? I’ve seen a few friends who found Smurfs 2 in a fun collectors edition box, with a Smurf plush – but alas, not at my store. But they were right in the middle of doing major restocking for the holidays when we shopped – so hopefully you have better luck! But all stores should have it in both the regular DVD set, or the Blu-Ray & DVD combo pack, which also comes with a digital download. And remember – Walmart is a total one-stop shopping. I bought everything from the Battered Chicken and dinner ingredients, cupcake mix and decor, to the drinks and snacks. {And got sweet deals.} I call that – Awesomesauce.

More Fun Ideas: Smurf Printables, Smurf Games Ideas, Smurfs 2, Tyson Battered Chicken.

Do you have theme nights or family date nights? I’d LOVE to hear some of your favorite ideas. We don’t often have a babysitter for Abby – and I have my nephews {7 & 10} a lot on the weekends, so most of our date nights are family-style. But that definitely doesn’t mean they’re not fun!