Welcome to Flashback Friday, a new series on The Merchant Baker where I share creative projects we worked on before the blog began. Expect candid home photos and stories about decorations, costumes and cakes that were made with more enthusiasm than planning. I’ll admit some shots aren’t professionally staged, but they capture the fun and creativity behind each project.
I know Throwback Thursday is popular, but Fridays fit our schedule better—hence Flashback Friday. If you enjoy seeing imaginative family projects, read on. If you’re here for recipes, don’t worry: more of those are coming next week.
My husband and I tend to go all out on birthday parties and Halloween costumes. Sometimes this is because our kids suggest big ideas we try to pull off; other times a late-night burst of creativity sends us assembling decorations, sewing costumes or decorating cakes well after midnight. We balance each other—one of us comes up with a concept and the other figures out how to execute it.
Our kids don’t flip-flop on costume ideas the way some do. Once they latch onto a theme they stick with it—no amount of convincing usually changes their minds. At one point my son entered a Pac-Man phase and wanted to be the entire video game for Halloween—not just Pac-Man himself, but the arcade game. My husband embraced the challenge. Because this project required little sewing, it became his creative task.
He built the costume using yellow foam core as the shell and printed game graphics to cut and glue onto the front and sides. He scavenged a joystick from the house and ordered push buttons online. To make it feel authentic, he used small sound recorders—like the ones sold for stuffed toys—to capture the arcade noises, so pressing the buttons produced the recognizable game sounds. For the “screen,” he printed an image of the game onto transfer paper and ironed it onto a black shirt. Inside the costume he added shoulder supports and padding so it would sit comfortably while being worn.
The result was a hit. Kids at the school fall festival tried to play the costume, thinking it was a working game, and my son loved the attention. He even won the costume contest, which delighted him and irked our daughter a little.
Months later, his Pac-Man obsession continued and he wanted a Pac-Man themed birthday. This party would be off-site, so our focus narrowed to a striking cake and thoughtful goody bags rather than full venue decorations. The cake was a bit of a feat and deserves its own write-up in Part Two, so here I’ll describe the goody bags.
Early on we used to fill party bags with small novelty toys and candy—fun for a few minutes, then tossed. Over time we decided goody bags should offer something useful and memorable. For this celebration we made custom shirts using a bleach-resist technique that’s easy to scale for a group.
We chose colorful shirts and my husband cut Pac-Man characters and letters from sturdy cardstock to use as stencils. A piece of heavy cardboard was placed inside each shirt to prevent the bleach from soaking through. Using a one-to-one solution of bleach and water, he lightly sprayed over the cardstock shapes. For two-sided designs he sprayed one side, then the other—starting with the side he wanted to be lightest, because bleach continues to lighten fabric while you work.
When each shirt reached the desired shade, we submerged it in cold water to stop the bleaching process—gloves recommended to protect your hands—then repeated the process for the remaining shirts. After a thorough rinse we washed them in the machine, using a color catcher to prevent dye transfer. Once dry, we had a bright assortment of shirts suitable for both boys and girls.
To finish the goody bags we included a bubble wand—because kids always love bubbles—and attached a printed thank-you tag. Giving each guest a shirt felt like concert swag: something wearable and lasting. Many of the kids wore their shirts to school the Monday after the party, which was exactly the kind of lasting joy we hoped for.
This was our third time making shirts for a party, so the process was efficient and predictable. Seeing everyone wearing the same Pac-Man shirts made the celebration feel cohesive and special, and for my son it was the gift that kept on giving. Party on, Pac-Man!
