We had a wonderful day celebrating Naomi’s 1st birthday and it was exciting to see it shared on Kara’s Party Ideas!
In this post I will share more pictures and details to explain where I found various products as that is the focus of my blog/business – helping you source items for your children’s parties! I used some truly wonderful vendors when planning this party all of which I can recommend.
We did not have this party at home – and I only had 2 hours to set up at the venue. So learning from my previous parties I decided as far as decorating to mainly focus on the Dessert table and the Favour table. Besides this I had some helium balloons placed on the food and drinks tables for quick and easy decorating but didn’t have a kids table or too many other props/sections to decorate.
The theme for Naomi’s 1st birthday was a Carousel theme with colours of mint green and purple with gold.
It did take me some time to find a carousel look that I LOVED as far as printables – I found it finally at Fairydust Stylish Stationery and Toni was great to work with in designing the backdrop and other items. As the venue had brick walls I decided to go with a printed backdrop as it was the easiest way to cover up the brick.
Here is the dessert table I setup and the backdrop which I absolutely loved which was designed by Fairydust Stylish Stationery and great quality printing by Little Dance Invitations
The ruffled tablecloth was hired from Tiny Tots Toy Hire in Sydney, along with a few other items – great service as always!
Sweet items:
Since the backdrop was quite detailed I opted for a simpler cake design to compliment the backdrop.
Cakes by Sharon did a beautiful job creating something that worked in with the backdrop and other decorations such as the pinwheel items.
The jade milk glass cake stand is hired from Sweet Celebrations in Sydney and the wooden riser is from Saffy & May
Minnie from Minnie’s Sweet Creations created the perfect chocolate coated oreos – some with pinwheel design, as well as the mini carousel horse cookies with gold touched heels.
Macarons with some gold sprinkling were from Her Macarons and so many guests commented that these were the most delicious macarons they have ever tasted!
They were placed atop cake stands from Leo & Bella
I also had some fruit cups on the table as well as 3 acrylic candy jars from Just Party Supplies (so kid friendly!) filled with choc beans, persian fairy floss and meringues.
I bought some melamine white platters from Occasion by Design – again another kid safe option!
I used gold straws to look like carousel poles in the fruit cups. The candy scoops and gold straws were from Little Dance Invitations.
The gold glitter tablerunner you see in the photos – I purchased from Hunt and Style who have quite a gorgeous selection of table runners! I also purchased gold glitter ribbon from them which I used throughout the party.
Decorations
I love pinwheels and they fit in with a carousel and carnival theme. Samantha from Dunne with style created paper rosettes with pinwheel centres which I used as part of the backdrop. She also created pinwheels and gold glitter glass bottles on the table. The pinwheels were gorgeous in colours of green and purple!
Party Favours
Here is a photo of the party favour table. The carousel horse garland created by Hanging Pretty was one of my favourite items – the detailing was gorgeous on the horses!
The green wooden cake stand I had purchased for a previous party from from Leo & Bella and the wooden name was from Little Sweet Styling
Most of the children coming were around 1-4 years of age so I decided to go with ribbon wands for party favours as the entertainers I was having were incorporating ribbon wands into their show as well. I wasn’t sure how they would go down with the little boys but I have to say the boys were having more fun with them than the girls! The ribbon wands were made by Dunne with Style in colours to match the theme. They were setup in lilac acrylic vases from Simply Sweet Soirees
For the older children I ordered some chalk favours from Chalk Chook! These included stars as well as other shapes (animals, cars etc). I packaged them in the most adorable Carousel Horse favour boxes from Bespoke Party Products.
I also had some chocolate bars packaged with wrappers from Bespoke Party Products for the adults who were coming without kids as I like to send them home with something.
Another lovely item made for me by Dunne with style were these purple and green lola fabric poms! They sat inside a ferris wheel cupcake holder which belongs to my sister in law. I also attached another spare carousel horse from Hanging Pretty to the cupcake holder:. You can see a better photo of the ribbon wands and chalk favours here:
One of my favourite items was this personalised canvas. It was designed by Sweet Bee Creates on ETSY and printed at Harvey Norman. I love personalised items and enjoyed thinking of all the bits and pieces to incorporate into this canvas. Here are a few shots of the birthday girl as well:
Here is our little Naomi playing around with a tulle pom from Pom Pom Princess (which was from a previous party)
A few other bits and pieces from the party
Purple and gold garland from Penny Lane Studio – this ended up being hung behind the high chair and gift table.Love the way each piece swung in different directions.
You can also see the gorgeous white high chair hired from Sweet Celebrations (this photo doesn’t do it justice as I ran out of time to decorate it as I had planned !) which was so sweet and a lovely place for Naomi to sit at the start of the party when guests were arriving.
Also a lovely Carousel I bought for Naomi which I found in the party colours as well which I placed at the party near the party favours.
The actual party went well – Naomi was a bit sick on the day and so was very clingy and not quite in a party mood. Goes to show it doesn’t matter how much you plan, some things you cannot control – I just tried to go with the flow and carry her during the party as much as I could when she wasn’t with a relative.
However her sister and the other kids enjoyed the day and that was (and always is) my favourite part of the party – watching the kids have fun as they were entertained by 2 entertainers (A tin soldier and a ballerina) with songs, games, face painting and balloon animals.
Of course there were things which went wrong & things which didn’t go to plan – always the way at kids parties!
However at the end of the day – the birthday girl enjoyed her cake and received lots of love, wishes and cuddles from our wonderful friends and family – and that is what we will always remember.
Thanks for reading and sharing in some of Naomi’s 1st birthday celebrations!
I hope you enjoyed the first post in this series by Events by Nat with some great styling and business tips.
This post we hear from the talented Johanne from Mum’s Little Party Secret who not only offers party styling but also runs an online party store and has fantastic party hire items in Queensland (which you can see below).
She has shared some great party planning tips for mum’s as well as some business advice for other mum’s in business!
Party Planning and Styling Secrets
1. Themed parties are still a popular choice for birthdays. Old time classics like pirate and fairy parties are still number one favourites for younger children. When creating a themed birthday party choose a theme that is of interest with your children and age appropriate. If your children are old enough – discuss this with them and encourage them to be involved in the planning process. Consider asking your guests to come dressed in costume. A great way for little imaginations to run wild.
2. Don’t get caught into the trap of decorating with over commercialised cartoon characters. Instead choose a colour scheme that represents your theme. Say for example a Pirate Party; you could use the traditional black, red & grey with skulls and crossbones or for a softer touch, light blue, red and grey with cute pirate characters. Decorate with bunting, hessian and pirate style props.
3. Personalise your party where possible. You can personalise pretty much everything – bunting, cupcake picks, napkin ties, straw flags and even drink bottles. Personalise with your children’s names and age celebrating or even personalise with your guests names. This is a great tip when labelling drink bottles. No little mix-ups. A personalised thank you message attached to take home gift bags is always a nice touch.
4. Organise age appropriate games for your little guests. We suggest 2 or 3 games. This will still allow enough time for play time.
5. When it comes to food, keep it simple and again age appropriate. Make you children’s favourite foods and sweets. Keep a balance of healthy options as well as little treats. Favourites are cupcakes, cake pops, fruit kebabs, jelly cups and of course lollies. An important tip is to check with parents for any food allergies.
6. The number one tip that we can offer when planning and styling your next birthday party is to remember who the party is for. Transport yourself back to childhood and remember what you used to love. Join in and enjoy the day with your children. You will not regret it. Celebrate their lives together and together you will create magical memories.
Business Advice for Mums in Business
1. Have a 5 year plan and balance your time. Realise everything can’t get done in one day and sleep is important.
Have strict times that you work to and from and don’t deviate from this.
If you let your business take over your life you will miss out on the most important thing – spending time with your family.
Thank you Jo for sharing such important and valuable party tips and business advice!
I’m starting a new series on the blog where some of the professional event stylists and vendors on the Children’s party directory share their top party planning & styling tips as well as business advice for managing a business along with a family and other commitments.
Launching this series is the very talented Nat from Events by Nat in Sydney who I had the pleasure of meeting at Confetti Fair. She has styled some of the most amazing parties including my personal favorite – the enchanted Fairy party below.
Here are Nat’s styling secrets and planning tips:
#1
Plan well in advance – this will give you time to obtain items online and from overseas without stressing whether they will arrive on time or not.
#2
Be as creative as possible – There is no need to spend an arm or leg on party decor.
Try crafting some of your own decor. For example look at online tutorials on how to make a paper rosette or flower. Use these tips and tutorials to craft your own. This will add that personal or unique touch to your next party.
Pinwheel christening – Events by Nat
#3
Be Inspired – I often get most of my inspiration from objects rather than the internet or other parties. I never have a set plan on where I want the styling to go. I often work with items I come into contact with.
The best example is look around your home and see what items you think you can use. Remember the item does not have to be party related. Sometimes you can use a book as a riser. Another example is the pasta jars you buy from Coles or Woolworths can be used as vases.
Madagascar dessert table – Events by Nat
Business Advice:
I start full-time work next week. Not only do I have my styling business to juggle, I now also have the added stress of full-time office work and juggling my family.
My best tip would be make sure you are surrounded by supportive people and do not hesitate to use the support. Also, make sure you are extremely organised with lists of items you need to buy and a Diary/Planner handy.
I know everything I do would not be possible without all of the above.
Ocean Swirl Nautical party – Events by Nat
Thank you so much Nat for sharing your thoughts and wisdom for with us!
Make sure you join the Events by Nat facebook page to see more of Nat’s amazing work!
Children’s party themes are never black and white. As children evolve – ideas for their party theme evolve as well to reflect their personality and interests.
Some of you have older children who themselves are constantly changing their mind about what they want for their birthday party theme.
My eldest Rebekah is only 2.5yrs so although she doesn’t really have an opinion on a theme, I try and match her theme with her interests and personality.
For her 2nd birthday it was an “I’m a little teapot” theme as she loved nursery rhymes and playing with her teaset.
I was thinking of a storybook theme or a care bears theme for her 3rd birthday as she was showing interest in both of those. However recently she has become obsessed with being a ballerina and wearing a tutu every.single.day.
So plans have changed to a ballerina party. This is such a popular theme for little girls and I had wanted to do something a little different, but my tutu wearing daughter would love nothing more than this party theme – so a ballerina party it is (which has grown on me now and I’m enjoying planning it!).
However I was trying to think of a slightly different take on it and was going to make it a “tulle and tassels” theme.
However my daughter really has no idea what tassels are (is she really my child?) but is loving bows! Something to do with a bow song by the new Wiggles. So now I’m thinking of a Ballerina and bows party.
Anyways you get the drift. Either way it will be a ballerina party.
In the end I’m trying to follow her lead when it comes to a party theme and what I think she would be excited to see at her party.
I need to decide on a colour scheme and this image of a coral, peach and blush dessert table is inspiring me at the moment:
We’ve just finished celebrating Naomi’s 1st birthday and I really was not going to start planning her 2nd birthday for a while now. However this Dreaming Collection from Kikki.K has really inspired me
I am loving rainbows, clouds and balloons right now. They remind me of sunny and carefree days in childhood. Who knows what this theme would be called but I am just loving the idea of planning a party based around whimsical images like these.
I am loving the colour combination as well of mint, orange and fuschia:
Is it weird to get a party theme inspiration from stationery?
Well I also felt inspired for this theme when I saw this cute “Milky” t-shirt with rainbows and clouds being sold at Little Red Chick in Sydney:
Milky Summer 2013 collection – Little Red Chick Party Boutique
Too sweet!
I also saw this invitation the other day which caught my eye from Penny Lane Studio and also got me thinking that something with clouds and balloons would be really cute:
Balloon day party invitation – Penny Lane Studio
I will wait and see as Naomi gets a bit older if there is any particular theme based around her interests or personality. In the end she is the ultimate inspiration for her own birthday party theme.
However at 2 yrs old the theme could really be anything and I figure what little child doesn’t like clouds, balloons and rainbows?
It reminds me of this gorgeous “WISH” party by Frog Prince Paperie (click the image below to see more). Whimsical and magical!
“Wish” themed birthday party by Frog Prince Paperie featured on The Hostess with the Mostess
So that is where I’m at with Naomi’s 2nd birthday which by the way is 11 months away so I am way ahead of myself here!
Sometimes I find if I start planning things in detail too early I get ‘over’ the theme before the birthday party even arrives. But these are just some of the images which are inspiring me at the moment.
How have your children’s party themes evolved over the year?
How many times do your children change their mind before their birthday? Do you have a cut-off date before the party that the theme can not be changed?
With 200,000 monthly views, I was excited to be able to contribute an article to the latest issue of Kid Magazine. See page 30 for my article focusing on what to consider when choosing suppliers for your next child’s birthday or other celebration.
View it here:
My article explains some of the things to consider when choosing suppliers in various categories when planning a party. Cost isn’t the only factor of course – my article explains more & I hope you enjoy it.
The article also highlights some things which are important to keep in mind as a business provider (eg: customer service, having customer photos and testimonials on your page etc)
To view the best selection of party suppliers in Australia, visit the children’s party directory!
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