by Kelly of Sweet Moment’s Co
When planning a child’s party, it makes things easier if you have a theme in mind as it will help guide you when choosing partyware, décor, entertainment and food.
There are many themes you can choose from including Mermaids, Unicorns and Bunny Rabbits or you can go with a colour theme such as mint and gold or the ever popular, pink and gold.
Inspiration on choosing a theme can come from many places. Here are some examples:
- -Movies: popular kids’ movies like The Little Mermaid, Peter Rabbit and Cars can help you pick a theme to base your party around.
- -Season: the time of the year can be your inspiration. Summer is great for Ice-cream themed parties, Autumn can be themed around picnics, Spring can be a themed around tea-parties etc.
- -Colours: your favourite colour combinations can be an easy way to theme a party.
- -Gender Neutral: if you want to keep the theme gender neutral, some great party themes include “Carnival” or “Circus” a Pizza Party, or a colour scheme of mint and gold or silver.
Using some of the above examples, I will show you how easy it is to plan your party around that theme using some party decor available at Sweet Moments Co.
MERMAIDS
Partyware Lay the table with Shell Dessert Plates with matching Shell Napkins along with iridescent party cups.
Decor String up a Mermaid Garland as a backdrop for the dessert table and scatter the table with seashells and starfish. If you’re feeling creative you can make your own table centrepieces using a fishbowl; put blue/purple glass pebbles on the bottom of the bowl and add some plastic plants normally used for fishtanks, pop in a small mermaid doll and fill with water. For something quick and easy, simply layer the fishbowl with sand and seashells.
Entertainment Dig for buried treasure – fill a clam shaped baby’s pool with sand and bury plastic jewellery in the sand. Provide little beach spades for the kids to dig up the buried treasure.
Food Make ‘seaweed skewers’ by threading grapes onto wooden skewers. Use a star cookie cutter to cut fruit or sandwiches into “Starfish”. Make “Seashell Pasta Salad” using the shell shaped pasta. Rock candy becomes “Coral” and blue cordial in a glass drinks dispenser becomes “Sea Water”. For an easy way to decorate the cake, top with Mermaid themed toppers or use our Mermaid Party Kit for cupcakes.
The finishing touch is a Queen of Mermaids Shell Crown for the Birthday girl.
BUNNY RABBITS
Bunny rabbits are a popular theme for baby showers, christenings and Birthday parties due to their symbol of innocence. The recent release of the movie Peter Rabbit has made it even more popular!
With a standard bunny rabbit theme you would normally use a combination of white, pink and gold or silver. For this example, I’ve provided more of a Peter Rabbit theme using a combination of blues and greens with items from Sweet Moments Co.
Partyware Lay the table with Blue and Silver Confetti Dessert Plates with matching napkins and cups. Co-ordinating Blue & Silver Confetti Cupcake boxes add a decorative and functional touch and can be used as a takeaway gift box for cupcakes or, by simply removing the insert, can be filled with lollies or a small gift. Beech wood cutlery adds a lovely rustic outdoor feel.
Décor Drape the dessert table with a pastel blue tablecloth and decorate with small white flower pots filled with greenery like white daisies. Use an old gate or fence posts (left natural or painted white) as a backdrop and showcase cupcakes baked in Baby Blue Baking Cups on decorative cut wooden logs or wooden crates.
An easy and inexpensive way to highlight the Peter Rabbit vegie patch atmosphere is to fill wooden crates or wicker baskets with vegetables like cauliflower, radishes, potatoes and of course….bunches of carrots.
Entertainment Along with bunny rabbit ears used as photo props, you can get the kids to do a hopping race, pin the tail on the bunny or provide bubble wands for the kids to play with.
Food Small ceramic flower pots filled with carrot and celery sticks, and broccoli and cauliflower florets is healthy and on theme. “Bunny Tails’ can be made using marshmallows on a skewer dipped in chocolate and sprinkles.
Fill wicker baskets lined in gingham fabric with sandwiches, sausage rolls and mini quiche. You could even use old picnic baskets to add to the ‘outdoor’ feel. For the cake, Silver Glitter Blue & Green candles add some sparkle and ties the colours together.
We hope you can see how using a few various items you can really bring a kids party theme to life, along with using theme based activities and food!
You can find all the above party supplies and more for various themes at the lovely online party boutique Sweet Moments Co.
Head to their website to begin your party planning!
Today I am delighted to share with you my daughter Leah’s 1st birthday – a floral flamingo themed party! You may have already seen this on social media as it was from February however I have finally got around to blog about it now that the whirlwind of the Celebrate conference day is over (which by the way went really fabulous!).
I love a flamingo theme but rather than go tropical, I decided to go with something very floral and pretty as I wanted to create something unique and special for Leah’s first birthday!
Unlike with my first child where I probably planned everything over 9 months…Leah’s party was planned more in the last 2 months before her party!
However everything really came together on the day – from the table decal on the acrylic table…to those amazing balloons…and that flamingo cake! Leah just looked SO adorable (if I do say so myself!) in her cute dress and flamingo party hat!! She was so happy and enjoyed all the attention and balloons!
I chose all vendors from the Life’s Little Celebrations network for the party and Shelley from Paperface Party styled it all on the day so beautifully along with styling the florals! The balloons by Party Splendour framed the whole setup beautifully. Vanessa Verchiani photography was amazing at capturing the setup AND photos of family and friends and Leah which we valued so much. I absolutely loved the way the table decal designed by Eve and Co (printed and applied by Jo’s Signs by Design) looked on the acrylic table from Sweet Heavenly Events – and I wished I could have taken it home with me to put in her room!
At the end of this post you will find all the links to the vendors involved:
Do you think first birthday parties are a bit OTT these days? I know some people do….but my view?
It’s their first birthday! It IS special! No they won’t remember it…and no they won’t care! And no it doesn’t matter HOW you celebrate it…do a small bbq, do a big bash, do an afternoon tea, do a garden party….anything and everything is fine! Just make sure you do celebrate it because a first birthday is not only a celebration of your child…it is a celebration of all you as parents have enjoyed and learnt and overcome in the first 12 months with a new baby. Lets not underestimate the joys and the challenges you as parents have experienced in the first 12 months..adjusting to new sleep patterns, recovering from pregnancy etc. So take the time to celebrate your child AND what YOU as parents have achieved!
I absolutely love being creative in this way and it isn’t something I get to do often – so I really enjoyed being able to put this together! My other kids will have much simpler parties this year as Leah’s first birthday was the larger celebration. So I was certainly happy to indulge a little bit for Leah’s party. So my advice? Don’t feel guilty whether you’re doing something big OR small for your child’s party! You know your true intentions and heart and what is best for your family…so celebrate it how you want to!
Now…back to the party pics!
I love this shot of Leah in front of the setup. We ensured we got some photos before the party started and she got tired – which is a great tip for any first birthday party to ensure you get some photos of a happy birthday child!
This high chair was a last minute decision…and one I am SO glad I made! It really made such a sweet spot for photos of Leah!
The flamingo cake by Quincy Lane was something special! I wanted something unique and I love the brushstrokes and the flamingo head cake topper (by Eve and Co)
Desserts included flamingo cookies, flamingo macarons, lollipops and meringue kisses. The details were really incredible and full credit goes to the talented vendors:
All the florals on the day were also by Paper Face Party and the colours were just stunning! Yes they were all real but with spray painted copper leaves!
The kids table with the pink tiffany chairs from Tiny Tots Toy Hire and balloons from Party Splendour looked amazingly cute!:
I found the most perfect floral flamingo partyware at Ruby Rabbit Partyware which is where I sourced all the partyware for this party including the lovely tablecloths for the kids table (I always find it hard to find tablecloths which are disposable but still still cute…I know, first world problems!)
We just had to use this Flamingo prop also from Tiny Tots Toy Hire but of course dressed her up in a floral crown by Paperface Party!:
I chose to have a milestone board created for Leah and kept it small so I could also display it in her room after the party…and Eve & Co designed a gorgeous board with rose gold foil and such pretty details.
For favours I used these gorgeous rose gold favour bags from Ruby Rabbit Partyware finished off with favour tags by Eve and Co:
A few other details by Eve and Co which cannot go without sharing – starting with the invitation design which brought the theme of the floral flamingo to life!
It was carried through into all the details as seen above such as the table decal, cake topper and the party hat for Leah which is also now displayed in her room:
A few other flamingo touches at the party I couldn’t resist like this jumbo flamingo balloon from Party Splendour, and fun flamingo glasses for the kids from Ruby Rabbit partyware:
For entertainment at the party we had a ball pit from Tiny Tots Toy Hire and a puppet show which included a flamingo puppet! It was great fun!
We truly enjoyed celebrating Leah and this milestone! Being our 4th child we’ve been able to relax more as parents with a newborn and thanks to her being such a easy going baby…it truly was SUCH an enjoyable first 12 months with Leah.
Vendor Credits:
Click on any of the below links to find the vendors used for Leah’s Floral Flamingo party:
Life’s Little Celebrations: Concept & Coordination
www.lifeslittlecelebrations.org
Styling & flowers: Paper Face Party
http://www.paperface.com.au/
Photography: Vanessa Verchiani Photography
https://www.facebook.com/vanessaverchianiphoto/
Stationery: Invitations, Table decal, Party Hat, Milestone print, Favour tags: Eve&Co
https://www.eveandco.com.au/
Balloons: Party Splendour
http://partysplendour.com.au/
Partyware (tableware, favour bags, flamingo glasses, kids party hats, favour bags) : Ruby Rabbit Partyware
https://www.rubyrabbit.com.au/
Flamingo Cake & meringue kisses: Quincy Lane
https://www.instagram.com/quincy.lane/
Macarons: Arelio Sweetbox
https://www.areliosweetbox.com/
Cookies: SweetP Cakes and Cookies
https://www.facebook.com/SweetPCakesandCookies/
Lollipops: Delleicious.by.elle
https://www.facebook.com/delleiciousbyelle/
Props: Acrylic table, cake stands, high chair – Sweet Heavenly Events
http://www.sweetheavenlyeventshire.com.au/
Props: Kids tables/chairs, flamingo prop, ball pit – Tiny Tots Toy Hire
http://www.tinytotstoyhire.com.au/
Acrylic table decal – printed and applied: Jo’s Signs by Design
https://www.facebook.com/JosSignsbyDesign/
Puppet Show: The Party Puppets
http://www.thepartypuppets.com/
Thanks for taking the time to view my daughters first birthday party! I hope it inspires your own flamingo or first birthday party planning!
A Woodland kids party theme is like a Burberry trench coat in my book – a timeless classic. It’s one of a few themes that can transcend through generations and be updated with the smallest of tweaks, making it a favourite of ours here at Life’s Little Celebrations!
Woodland party inspiration. Props and styling from Sweet Heavenly Events Hire, Sydney
One of the more popular adaptations of this kids party theme we’re seeing across our favourite Instagram accounts is a focus on the rustic and natural elements of an enchanted wood. Bringing the outside in with wooden features, green moss and pops of vibrant red toadstools – it’s an adaptable theme for any kids party, and we’ve found some perfect woodland party supplies from our LLC Vendors to help bring it all together.
The cutest of animals can be incorporated for this kids party woodland theme…from foxes and deers…to bears and raccoons….it’s a great chance to have a bit of fun with some of the partyware and woodland party supplies that is available for this theme at the moment! Remember to CLICK on any image below to be taken to the relevant business!
Woodland Party, Paper Face Party
Woodland Party Invitations
Cute woodland animals, fairies, toadstools and foliage make a great starting point for your invitations and setting a woodland scene. We love the use of watercolours and hand drawn illustrations for a touch of whimsy.
Customised Woodland party invitation, Pink Pom Pom Kids
Woodland party invitations, Pink Pom Pom Kids
Fox Invitation, Lamour Wedding and Events
Woodland Party Decorations
Decorating for a Woodland party theme is all about bringing the outside in (or highlighting nature’s best if hosting outside!). Think lots of greenery with moss and foliage, and wooden accents for a rustic setting amongst the trees.
Ivory honeycomb ball, Emiko Blue
Giant brown balloon, Emiko Blue
Fox pinata – Party Pony Designer Pinatas
Polka dot balloon, Emiko Blue
Fox foil balloon, Little Boo-Teek
Paper fans, The Party Parlour
Honeycomb garland, The Party Parlour
Hessian table runner, The Party Parlour
Woodland fox balloon, Party Spendour
Woodland props, The Event Rental Company, Melbourne
Woodland keepsake, La Serenity
Woodland banner, Chumblebee
Woodland prop hire, Tiny Tots Toy Hire, Sydney
Woodland Party Tableware
Setting the table is made easy with our finds of simple tableware items. Keep it simple with a basic colour palette and add touches of red and white polka dots inspired by hidden toadstools, wooden accessories and cute characters.
Polka dot cake plates, Emiko Blue
Bear plates, The Party Parlour
You’re a hoot owl plates – Party! She Said
Green party plates, Instant Party Packs
Woodland owl napkins, Instant Party Packs
Brown stripy straws, Emiko Blue
Wooden forks, Party She Said!
Metallic stag napkins, Favor Lane Party Boutique
Woodland Party Cakes and Desserts
We all know how impressive a dessert buffet of styled sweets can look, but they needn’t be extravagant. With a few small accessories and themed desserts you can create a magical woodland feast of treats the fairy folk will love.
Polka dot baking cups, Party! She Said
Polkadot candles, Little Boo-Teek
Toadstool candles, Ruby Rabbit Partyware
Woodland friends cake toppers, Favor Lane Party Boutique
Toadstool chocolate moulds, Confectionately Yours
Woodland cookies – Sweetly Baked Perth
Woodland animal cookies, Petite Cookies, Melbourne
Woodland themed cookies, SweetP Cakes and Cookies, Queensland
Woodland cake kit, Something for Cake
Bear cake, SweetP Cakes and Cookies
Woodland themed cake, Vivalicious Sweets, Melbourne
Woodland character cookies, Vivalicious Sweets, Melbourne
Woodland Party Favours
There’s nothing quite like a take home treat bag of goodies to keep the excitement of the party going just a little bit longer! From coordinated containers filled with cookies and sweets, or special woodland inspired gifts, we’ve found some great finds to help wrap up your planning!
Woodland kids party favours – Glitter and Glue Designs
Polka Dot Treat Cones, Party! She Said
Woodland favour bags, Instant Party Packs
Kraft favour boxes, Emiko Blue
Woodland Partywear
Some woodland themed headwear and costume pieces are perfect for the birthday boy or girl! Here are some finds from our members:
Deer headband, Arabella’s Vintage Wardrobe
Woodland themed headband, Arabella’s Vintage Wardrobe
Owl mask – Special Celebration Events
Woodland fox headband – Schooza
And finally…. why not keep guests busy with a woodland inspired activity? Ceramic painting is a great idea for the older kids which can also double as a take home gift.
Ceramic painting activity, Pinta Crafts in Sydney
There are so many reasons why we love this theme! Hopefully these items have inspired you to try it for your next celebration.
Today we are sharing a gorgeous and fresh Christening dessert table setup by Vivien of
LETORE for her son! We love the crisp white and green colour scheme and on trend items such as the mesh backdrop and custom sign as well as the unique setup with various settings for the cake, mini desserts and favour boxes
!
Vivien shares more about her inspiration below:
“For Reuben’s Christening we decided to go for something gender neutral and fresh and our graphic designer came up with the concept of using palm leaves with a watermark pattern. A bonus was that it was a bit on trend too!
All vendors were briefed on the theme which allowed the theme, in both colour and style, to be carried through from the invitations to the reception after the Church service. Elle from delleicious.by.elle did a great interpretation of the brief and customised the cake and desserts with elements of the palm leaf design with splashes of green and white throughout individual pieces. The makers for the acrylic elements also pulled out the details from the invitation to create the cake topper and name signage.
Finally, guests were sent home with sweet gifts from LETORE who styled their lolly cubes with green and white peppermint chocolate balls and created a personalised label which matched the invitation.”
We love this unique and fresh look for a Christening and the colour scheme of white and green! Find the links to all the vendors below so you can source similar items for your own child’s Christening or party!:
Vendors
Do your kids get excited every time they see a rainbow, or is it just my kids?
Rainbow Party Inspiration, Silk and Cedar Events, Melbourne
The magic of colour in the sky and the wonder of where it ends makes rainbows a perfect party theme for so many occasions. It is also a perfect kids party theme to combine with other themes such as unicorns, ice-creams, ponies…so many kids party themes can be mixed in with a rainbow party theme!
You can literally not have enough colour with a rainbow party theme, and finding all you need to pull it together is made easy with our finds from our LLC Vendors below.
Oh…and while I have your attention, don’t forget that **tickets close THIS Sunday 13th** for our Celebrate conference event on the 27th May! Details and tickets HERE!
Now…back to rainbows with some gorgeous party inspiration to start with!
Rainbow Party Dessert Buffet, Dream A Little Dream Events, Perth
Rainbow Slumber Party, Sweet Dreams and Goodnight, Perth
Rainbow Party Invitations
Add some sunshine and colour to your guests’ mailbox with a brightly coloured invitation that’s bound to put a smile on their face. Get creative with interpretations of a rainbow too with splashes of water colour, coloured confetti or illustrations – the sky is the limit!
Rainbow Water Colour Invitations, Eve & Co
Rainbow Party Invitations, Joyful Invitations
Rainbow Party Invitations, Pink Pom Pom Kids
Rainbow Party Decorations
Remember I said you can’t go wrong with too much colour with a rainbow party theme? It’s true!
Splash it around in abundance or use it to inject pops of colour on a mostly white, cloud like palette – it’s entirely up to you, your setting and the occasion.
Jumbo Rainbow Confetti Balloon, Emiko Blue
Rainbow Balloon Arch Kit, Favor Lane Party Boutique
Rainbow Swirl Balloon, Little Boo Teek
Giant Rainbow Balloon, Ruby Rabbit Partyware
Rainbow Balloon Bouquet, Favor Lane Party Boutique
Rainbow Orbz Balloon, Little Boo Teek
Starburst Rainbow, Party She Said
Rainbow Tassel Garland, Ruby Rabbit Partyware
Hanging Rainbow Honeycomb Kit, Poppies For Grace
Watercolour Rainbow Heart Garland, Elk Prints
Rainbow Table Cloth for Hire, Saffy and May, Queensland
For something personalised for the day, you can’t go past a milestone board – themed to match a rainbow party and capturing all the special details:
Rainbow Themed Milestone Board, Hoot Invitations
Rainbow Party Tableware
We know we can eat a rainbow of colourful food at a party, so why not eat FROM a rainbow too! Set your table with a rainbow of colour and transport the kids to where the ‘skies are blue.’
Rainbow Stripe Plates, Emiko Blue
Rainbow Party Plates, Little Boo Teek
Iridescent Pastel Plates, Party! She Said
Over the Rainbow Plates, Ruby Rabbit Partyware
Chevron Rainbow Dessert Plates, Party! She Said
Carnival Stripe Plates, The Party Parlour
Rainbow Stripe Cups, Party! She Said
Over The Rainbow Cups, Ruby Rabbit Partyware
Rainbow Happy Birthday Cake Plates, The Party Parlour
Square Rainbow Plates, Instant Party Packs
Rainbow Party Kit, Party Kit Co
Rainbow Party Cakes and Desserts
Whether you’re baking your own cakes and treats or calling in the experts for a full buffet, there is no limit to continuing your rainbow party theme through to the food. Think colourful platters of fruit, cupcakes in colourful wrappers or topped with rainbows and a show stopping cake to take centre stage.
Multicoloured Baking Cups, Emiko Blue
Rainbow Baking Cups, Little Boo Teek
Rainbow Candle, Design My Party
Shooting Star Cake Topper, Little Boo- Teek
Rainbow and unicorn cake – 2 Make It Sweet (Perth)
Macarons, Arelio Sweetbox, Sydney
Rainbow cookies, Cakes by Sarah, Perth
Rainbow Cake Topper, Cardique. Cake by Cake Carrousel.
Rainbow Cake Pops, Cookie Queen Kitsch’n, Sydney
Rainbow Cookies, Petite Cookies, Melbourne
Initial Rainbow Cookies, Petite Cookies, Melbourne
Rainbow Cake, Sweetest Jubilee
Rainbow cookies – SweetP Cake and Cookies Qld
Rainbow Cookies, Frosted by Nicci, Melbourne
Rainbow Confetti Chocolates, Sweetest Jubilee
Rainbow Party Favours
With so much time and effort put into kids parties, the greatest reward is seeing the enjoyment it brings to those who join us – and the VIP of course! So why not send a little sunshine and rainbows home with the kids with themed gifts or coloured treat boxes filled with left over goodies.
Rainbow Striped Treat Boxes, Emiko Blue
Rainbow Ice Cream Cups, The Party Parlour
Rainbow Fairy Floss, Fluffy Crunch
Rainbow Party Favours, Glitter and Glue Designs
Rainbow Party Box, The Loot Lab
Rainbow Party Favours, The Loot Lab
You’ll have so much fun putting this rainbow party theme together!
