I'm going to use today's post to pat myself on the back. My husband and I co-created an elaborate, cost-effective first birthday party for Olivia last weekend. The color scheme was pink and orange - a very hot combo now - and the theme was princess (I know, cliched, but couldn't help but indulge).
Here are some of the ideas we came up with (or were inspired by someone else) that worked really well that you might be able to incorporate into your next posh party.
1. The invitation sets the tone. Instead of doing the normal blah-blah invite, we jazzed it up with this copy: Princess Olivia is turning one. You're invited to her palace for a party. Date. Time. The (insert last name) Castle. (insert street number and name) Court. The Kingdom of (insert city). Regrets only.
2. I made a birthday banner using felt and letter stencils. The felt was cut into triangle flags on which I put a letter of a different color. All the flags were strung together with yarn and hung on our mantle. We'll keep this and use it every year.
3. As a keepsake, instead of a guest book we created a time capsule for attendees to write notes to Olivia to open on her 50th birthday. We provided slips of paper that prompted with "Dear Olivia" and "Love." The time capsule was an old paint can my husband cleaned up.
4. Little kids swinging bats frightens me. For a pinata, we found a company, Celebrate Express, that makes bat-less princess version that has ribbon hanging from it. One of the ribbon rips the pinata open for the candy to fall out. Each kid took a turn pulling a ribbon until the "right" one was chosen.
5. Crown and tiara making as an activity went over really well with the kids and adults. My mother in-law came up with this idea and bought all the supplies. She had the pre-shaped foam and foil paper for the shapes. Then she had all kinds of decorations like gems, letters for names, and even boa trim.
6. I turned Olivia's highchair into a throne by using removable foam mounting squares to secure pink netting around the trey. I decorated the netting with rhinestone gems.
Okay, have I bragged enough? We had a blast at the party and hope our guests did too. Many of the things we did were homemade and saved us a ton of money. Maybe you'll be inspired by my ideas. And if you have ideas you want to share, be sure to post a comment!
Pics from the party can be seen in the slideshow to the left.
Posts
3 comments:
For our little girl, we found a Cinderella pinata at ShindigZ. They also had cute tiaras and lots of very unique and personalized decorations to make for a perfect princess party.
The party was a hit and Olivia was a true princess, just like her mom!
The princess party was a great success. Everyone had a wonderful time. I so enjoyed watching all the children. The set up was perfect as well as all the decorations and activities! You both deserve a huge pat on the back. It was fun for the young in age and for those of us who are only young in heart!
Post a Comment