Here’s what Dawn said about planning the party- “I have always dreamed of styling a little girl’s birthday party someday, and after we adopted our daughter in 2008 that dream became a reality. I knew I wanted to do a Little Red Riding Hood party in my parents gorgeous wooded backyard.
I took my daughter into the woods, and photographed the birthday invitation myself with the inside reading “Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go…”
The main dessert table was set under an arbor. I covered the table in burlap with a moss table runner. The focal point of the table was the amazing cupcake stand that my father made from tree trunk slices. Apothecary jars full of delicious red apples, wood bowls filled with woodland treats, and apple juice served in apple shaped bottles.
The girls made made mini “snowglobes” with baby food jars, moss, sticks and a tiny deer tucked inside. A photo booth was set up in the woods, which was the highlight of the party.
My Little Red Riding Hood never saw the big bad wolf that day!!”
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Burlap Apothecary Jars Cupcake Liners Striped Paper Straws Tissue Pom Poms Lanterns #8 Candle Chinese Favor Boxes
This super creative BOOKWORM THEMED FOURTH BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Angela Jackson of Taffie Wishes.
I love so many things about this party! The bookworm theme is perfect for a birthday party, baby shower, or play date! A few of my favorite elements in this party are:
The bookworm and apple shaped cookies given as party favors
Here’s what Angela said about planning the party- “My son Isaiah recently turned 4 and is mid-way through his first year of Preschool. Seeing how much he enjoys going to school and learning new things, I decided to throw him a Bookworm themed birthday party. We invited a few of his little friends who are also in their first year of school, plus their moms – for a play date party!
I set up my dining room to look like a fun, kid friendly library – complete with plenty of balloons, colorful books, and a comfy reading nook. Each child was asked to bring their favorite book. When the guests arrived they were given a bow tie / hair bow clip and a pair of ‘reading glasses’ to wear.
The children’s activities included coloring bookmarks and ‘writing’ their very own story (with the help of a package of stickers and the writing skills of the moms!). We also had story time, when we read the books the children had brought and the stories they wrote! It was so cute to hear what those little minds thought up!
We shared a light meal of meat cheese & crackers, fruit and vegetables – which were served in brightly colored paper bowls. For desert, each guest was given an individual dirt cake (complete with gummy worms) in lieu of a cupcake or piece of cake. Other treats included cherry sour balls and adorably decorated sugar cookies.
At the end of the party each child gathered up their favors in a beautiful personalized book bag.
This was a small party which was quite simple to put together, and the children LOVED it! I would recommend this party theme to anyone with young children!”
Event styling: Taffie Wishes
Personalized canvas book bags: Taffie Sweets
Bookworm Cookies: Sugar and Flour
Linen Bow Ties/ Hair Bows: Handmade by KP
Ice cream cups, polka dot treat / nut cups, and wooden spoons: Kara’s Party Ideas Shop
Paper Straws: In The Clear
Additional items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Baker’s Twine Milk bottles Clear Cellophane Bags Balloons Bookworm Reading Glasses
This is what Melissa said about planning the party- “My daughter Kate recently turned two and I took two of her favorite things as inspiration for the party: The book “Pinkalicious” and anything with Gold Glitter. She has favored the “Pinkalicious” book since she’s been tiny. Our copy of the book is torn to shreds! I didn’t want to use the character in the book for the main design but instead used my sweet Kate. I photographed her in a gold princess crown and and dressed her in a shade of pink. Then I worked with the color in designing the invite.
At the party, guests got to enjoy a variety of Pinkalicious treats that you’d see in the story. Two of my favorites were the pink cupcakes complete with gold dust and the Pinkalicious strawberry cake. For the party favors, the girls received gold or glitter star wands just like Pinkalicious in the story. For the extra pink/glitter touches throughout the table, I incorporated pink/glitter ribbon on the mason jars and designed pink and glitter water bottle labels. I love the chevron design of the backdrop and was so excited to stumble across that paper. It added the touch of modern I was looking for. The paper tassels at the top were so easy to make and polished off the background. Pinkalicious Kate and her friends had a sparkly fun 2nd birthday party!”
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Balloons Cupcake Liners Chevron Paper Bags Mason Jars Paper Straws
This precious LITTLE PRINCE THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Rogeria Britto of Sweet Memories Parties Design!
Rogeria said this about planning the party- “I had such a great time designing and styling this party! I am originally from Brazil and even though I live in Orlando – Fl for a long time, I have always wanted to work on this project, since The Little Prince is my favorite childhood book. In Brazil, this is a popular theme and last year I finally had a client asking me to design her son’s first Birthday Party using this amazing book as inspiration. The party was for around 90 people so it explains the amount of sweet treats and party favors! Brazilians usually celebrate “big”! I tried my best to represent all the characters on the tables and I used papier mache to make his little planet that also worked as my focal point. I just love handmade party stuff! One of the things I really think that works very well in kids parties, is to have small tables and chairs for them to sit and eat, that’s why I also incorporated their own sitting area! I know this isn’t something new, but when I see how happy they get when they find those small tables set up just for them, it makes me smile!”
Vendors and Credits:
Pictures- Marta Selmo Photography
Cake and sweets- Sonia Formby
Little Prince handmade doll- Ilma Brescia
Design, style and party favors- Rogeria Muller de Britto
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Striped Paper Straws Cupcake Liners Clear Cellophane Bags Electroplated Mini Spoons Ribbon Paper Lanterns
Up next is this fabulous SHREK + PUSS IN BOOTS THEMED FIFTH BIRTHDAY PARTY submitted by Amber Gannon. Wow, what details! Amber did a wonderful job! I hope you gain a lot of inspiration and ideas from this darling party…
Amber said this about planning the party- “This Puss in Boots 5th birthday party was a dream for Callum and his friends. Because the theme is not common, creativity was key! We went with a very spanish theme for the food table and main decor. The chili bar, grilled chicken swords, quesadillas and magic bean cups were fun enough for the kids and sophisticated enough to please the adults, too. The golden eggs (pineapple sprinkled in edible gold glitter) were a major hit! A little something for everyone…
For drinks, I wanted to offer something a bit healthier than juice or soda, so I made a flavored water with raspberries and limes. In the custom Puss in Boots Hat adorned cups, the kids didn’t know the difference. I did, however, indulge them just a bit with dessert. Since my son doesn’t prefer plain milk, we went with little shots of chocolate milk lined in edible gold glitter.
For the desserts, I wanted a much lighter look with more of a nod to the Jack in the Beanstalk part of the story. The bar was covered in twinkly, fluffy clouds to go with the beanstalk cake. The dessert bar featured cloud meringue cookies, beanstalks, beanpoles, magic beans, paw print cookies and of course, the cake!
Perhaps the most enjoyable part of planning this party was creating the party favors. I love a great take-home favor that isn’t “trinket trash.” With the help of Callums grandma, we custom made each cape that was paired with a black mask and a sword, of course. The kids went crazy for them and wore them during the party. It totally set the mood. The adorable parting gift was a little package containing a magic bean. A small pot, bag of dirt and individual message bean were included with instructions of how to plant their seed. It turned out so cute! This party was such a blast! The kids had the best time and are still talking about it!!”
Re-create this party:
Custom Printables: Squared Party Printables
Food / Desserts / Cake: Amber Gannon
Photography: Erin Harper Photography
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Striped Paper Straws Candy Sticks Jute Twine Milk Bottles Sword Picks Mini Cocktail Containers Brown Paper Bags with Windows Apothecary Jars Paper Plates, Napkins
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