Olivia's Fairy Fest Birthday Party

Several months ago I asked my Olivia what she wanted the theme for her fifth birthday party to be. She immediately responded by telling me that she wanted a fairy princess party--so we set out to create an event that would be extra magical and, as Liv and I sat around the kitchen table giggling and dreaming up ideas that afternoon, Olivia's Fairy Fest party began.

Flower crown by Think Pink Bows and Dresses from My Princess Penelope

Pancakes and Pajamas Party

One of Olivia's favorite foods are pancakes so we decided to throw her a Pancakes and Pajamas party for her fourth birthday.

For the first time, ever, I decided to scale back and throw a small party for Livie Girl's birthday.  We invited three of her closest friends and enjoyed a really simple, fun breakfast filled with sprinkles, bows, and lots of giggles.  Honestly, I consider this party to be one of the most successful that I have ever thrown.  Small and simple was so much more manageable and every attendee had so much fun!

Four big ones for our beautiful birthday girl!

The Invitations (1) were fashioned to look like sleep masks.  I designed the double sided invitation, had them printed at a local print shop, then attached the ribbon with brads and tied a simple bow in the front for the finishing touch.

The Tableware (2) was purchased at our local Honk's One Dollar.  I bought plain pink, green and purple plates, napkins, utensils and cups to add variety and tie in the colors from the bow garland.  The little party noise makers were also purchased at Honk's in a pack that included polka dots, stars and other darling patterns.  I used my go-to white serving dishes for the food display.

The Pajama Bottoms (3) were made out of fabric from Home Fabrics from the $1 fabric section.  It took only a yard of fabric for each pair of pajamas so they were such an inexpensive, darling favor that each girl got to take home with them.  I purchased the pattern and elastic from Walmart for around $5 bringing my total for favors at around $10.  Not bad!  *My only recommendation is to not start the sewing the night before!

The Bow Garland was made out of leftover fabric from the pajama bottoms.  It took probably about 1/4 yard of each of the fabrics and it was something that I whipped up pretty quickly (in comparison to the pajama bottoms) with my trusty glue gun!

The Menu consisted of lots of little mini pancakes with sprinkles mixed in the batter, apples, bananas and milk/juice.  It was SO simple and I couldn't believe how huge of a hit it was with all of the girls.  I think each girl consumed at least four pancakes each.  

 Emery + Olivia  |  party favors  |  eating breakfast with friends

Having so much fun with the noise makers!

Olivia's birthday guests and opening gifts

I had so much fun planning and throwing this party and we pulled it all off well under $50.  The girls had so much fun enjoying one another's company-- this is a party we'll always remember.  So glad that we could celebrate four amazing years with this special girl!

Tea Party with the Girls

Olivia and Emery attended a tea party a few weeks ago at their friend Lulu's house.  The party was so simple and lovely.  The decorations and treats were so sweet.  These girls had so much fun!

 Menu:

Juice (in place of tea)
Strawberry Shortcake 
Pastries

Games & Supplies:

Bubble Wands

Decorations:

Tea Cups & Saucers
Floral Tablecloth
Decorative Trays 
White Serving Dishes/Cake Stands
White Pitcher
Simple Fresh Flowers

Tip:

Collecting white dishes is a great idea because white is sure to make any table spread look beautiful because of the simplicity and uniformity.  White goes with everything and will suit almost every occasion, too!

Tips for Planning the Perfect Birthday Party

Our little Emery is two years old!  This girl keeps us smiling, running nonstop and very busy with her adventurous, curious, and spunky personality.  I can't imagine life without this little stinker!  

We just finished up a whirlwind birthday weekend full of nonstop partying and I wanted to share with you Emery's friend party!

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

We had so much fun planning and putting on this party for our darling Emery.  She has loved animals for a long time and I knew the theme "Party Animals" would be perfect.  These kids were a riot and we had so much fun watching them run around in their animal masks, play with balloons, stomp on bugs--and nothing was cuter than watching them sit on the front porch feeling like a million bucks in these hilarious sunnies!

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

I have had a flood of people ask me about my birthday parties and I wanted to share with you some tips on throwing a fantastic toddler birthday party!

My Top Tips on Planning the Perfect Toddler Party 

Theme.  Picking a theme can be very fun, but keeping it simple and not going overboard with the theme is key.  The rule of three can be a good rule of thumb.  For instance, at Emery's Party Animals party, I mixed in a few animal print balloons with an array of other bright colored balloons, the animal masks dressed up the kraft paper lunch boxes, and the party favors were the animal glasses.  These three items were the perfect amount of "animal" without it being too much.  

Decorations.  Decorations are my favorite part but, again, keeping it simple is always a good idea.  Think less is more.  I always try to have one or two statement displays at my birthday parties.  For example, this can be a backdrop with streamers, garlands, and the food spread.  Don't go crazy with the decor and stress yourself out, mamma!  Been there.  Done that!

Simple Menu.  Those of us with toddlers know that they don't eat a lot.  And having too many options and too much food is most likely going to go to waste.  Even though a great variety can be very cute, keeping things simple and practical with toddlers is usually best.  Think outside the box and try something different.  Emery's doughnuts were a hit and easy to clean up because they were a finger food!

Keep Activities Short and Simple.  It can be very hard to get kids to cooperate, especially if you have a large group.  Most birthdays that I plan I try to incorporate favors for the kids that they can play with and enjoy during the party (ie: bubbles, hula hoops, jump ropes, etc.).  Make sure that the activities are age appropriate and be flexible if the kids decide they don't want to participate.  That happens a good majority of the time at my house.

BABY SHOWER WITH 6TH STREET DESIGN SCHOOL

Kirsten Krason of 6th Street Design School definitely has to be on my list of favorite people.  It's hard to believe it has almost been four years since we met and worked together--we were both just starting out in our careers!

Kirsten approached me a few weeks back about helping her design invitations for a baby shower she was throwing.  It was so fun to work with her on these and we're excited to share the printable goods with you today.

*The fonts I used for the invitation/labels are: Lady Rene, Copse, AmerType Md BT, and the swashes are Liebe Ornaments.  Hope you take advantage of downloading the free ones {Copse & AmerType Md BT} especially!  They're fantastic go-to fonts!!

Directions:

1) Click on link underneath image to download.
2) Place text on top of the labels/invitation.
2) Print.
3) Enjoy!

Click here to Download