Going Bananas: Tropical Party Theme Inspiration

If I was to do a poll on the most popular party themes for 2016, Tropical would be one of the clear winners by a mile. Not a day goes by without spotting another beautifully styled, colourful tropical party on my Instagram feed. What’s not to love about bright colours, cheeky fruit, sunglasses, flamingos, palm leaves and inflatable pool toys? Bring on Summer!

 

 

With so many new and tempting partyware options available for this theme however, it can be hard to know where to start, so I’ve done the hard work for you and rounded up a few supplies and inspo ideas from our LLC Vendors to get the party started.

 

 

Tropical Party Invitations

When I think of a tropical party, the vibrant colours of summer fruits and lush green palms always spring to mind. So use this as your inspiration for colour and design in your invitations, and have some Rio Carnevale style fun by adding some pink flamingos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lovely keep sake idea is a custom print recording all the special details of your child at the age they are at the moment! This fun tropical themed custom print would be perfect for this theme:

 

Tropical party decorations

You can literally go bananas (pardon the pun) decorating with this theme. Go bold with lush foliage or create your own palm or Monstera leaves using large pieces of paper, include plenty of fruit and florals as props, and don’t forget a flamingo or two for a bit of fun!

 

 

 

 

How gorgeous is this floral chandelier by Hanging Pretty?

 

This garland would make a fun backdrop or centrepiece!:

 

 

These hand painted water colour decorations by ELK Prints are perfect for table settings or the sweets buffet.

 

Of course what’s a party without balloons!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The use of natural or artificial flowers is also a great idea, and I love how Kirei Handmade has used them on giant letters.

 

You can also hire a foilage wall such as this for a tropical feel backdrop:

 

 

Flamingos or pineapples? Can’t decide? Go for both!:

 

 

 

Giant honeycomb balls in abundance and a selection of bold colours also looks fabulous.

 

 

 

 

Can’t go past these flamingo pinatas for some fun or decoration:

 

 

 

Tropical party tableware

Is it getting balmy in here yet? Let’s turn the heat up a notch with the perfect table setting for guests to sip on tropical punch and enjoy sweet fruit treats.

You’ll find an abundance of bright tableware perfect for this theme, including these fun finds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This fun lemonade stand from Tiny Tots Toy Hire (Sydney) is perfect for a cool drinks bar at a hot tropical party and seen in the below tropical setup:

 

 

 

 

Hire some flamingos for extra decorating fun!:

 

 

 

 

 

Tropical cakes, cookies and desserts

With a theme that takes it’s cues from food, it’s fair to say that your sweets table will be the centrepiece of this occasion. Think cakes and desserts decorated with tropical flowers or fruit, and cookies shaped as exoctic birds, monstera leaves and tropical fruits. Don’t forget the real thing either!

Here is some of what has been created for this theme from LLC vendors around Australia who you can order from:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tropical party favours

From fruit inspired cookies to whacky flamingo foam glasses, your guest will go home feeling like they’ve been on a tropical holiday with these finds and packaging!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before the little guests head home – why not have them stamp their fingerprint on this unique guest book idea! This ceramic hand painted tile will make the perfect keepsake for after the party!:

 

 

With so many partywares available, you can see why the tropical theme is just so hot right now, and a really easy one to pull together. I hope this has helped narrow the search down a little for you and provided the inspiration you need for your next occasion!

 

Gymnastics Party Theme Supplies

Do you remember going to gymnastic classes as a child? So much fun!

Tumbling, jumping and climbing make it a popular choice of extra curricular activity for lower primary school aged children, and the perfect party option for this age group too.

For the full experience (and safety of your household items) many gymnastics venues offer party packages on the weekend, making it a great option for catering to larger numbers too. You’ll find many provide a room or separate area (and sometimes tables and chairs) for you to set up and bring your own catering, and they’ll take care of the rest. Too easy!

Here is some inspiration to get you started!:

 

 

Regardless of where you host your gymnastics party, we’ve done a little search of our LLC partners for some inspiration and general partyware you might need to help bring it all together for you.

 

Invitations

Get your guests excited with a fun and creative invitation that will have them bouncing with anticipation. I love the idea of including a photo of the birthday boy or girl as a gymnast!

 

 

 

 

 

Decorations

If hosting it at a venue, you may be limited to the decorations you can bring in and the allocated time to set up, so stick to some fun balloons and coordinated tableware for a quick and easy set up and clean up. Or if at home, go all out and let your imagination run wild! Choose bright primary colours, pink and gold or even metallics just like a gymnast’s leotard!

A styled table with customised cookies, wrapped chocolates or cupcakes with toppers is also an easy way to achieve your look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cake and Desserts 

Although it is hard to find Gymnastic specific partyware and decorations, theming your cake and desserts to match a Gymnastics theme is a fun way to bring the theme out :

 

 

Tableware

You know I love a coordinated table – whatever the occasion! This theme allows for plenty of play with creativity, choice of colours and degree of detail, so here’s a few finds to get you started. How cute are these individual boxes?

 

 

Here are a range of fun and colourful options for tableware depending on what colour scheme you go for:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favours

When all the gymnasts have tumbled themselves tired and it’s time to go home, what better way to say ‘thanks’ and reward them for their outstanding ability, than to award them all them with their own gold medals or trophies! Kids go wild for these and they’re easy enough to find and be added to a goodie bag with a customised cookie, treats or other personalised gifts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is such a fun party theme for both boys and girls of all ages, and with a few small customised touches, an easy one to style too. Have fun!

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrate unwrapped: personalised name tags

We’ve all been there. When you have a vision in mind but not really sure of how to execute it or bring it all together, or you’re simply stuck on one particular detail.

This was the case with our guest name tags for the recent Celebrate conference – something I knew we needed, but could not get my head around how they could tie in with the rest of the theme.

So you can imagine my relief (and pure joy) when I spoke with Daniella of Eve & Co who understood the concept straight away and with very few details, just ran with it. What she produced was so far from anything that I could have imagined, but so perfect. Exactly why she’s the expert in designing stationary and not me!

 

 

The tassels were what grabbed my excitement initially as this wasn’t something we were using elsewhere, but for the name tags they simply worked and turned them into something so much prettier for guests to wear. Topped off with gold glitter and they coordinated beautifully with the rest of our theme.

 

 

These were name tags that guests definitely were excited to wear (and some letting me know they would be keeping theirs to reuse !)

Daniella from Eve & Co creates bespoke stationary for all occasions, and also specialises in christening candles too which make beautiful gifts or keepsakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When working with numerous suppliers or you simply don’t have a complete brief to provide, it’s essential that those suppliers have the creativity and listening skills to be able to pick up on elements and just run with it. It takes a lot of trust, but after working with Daniella amongst others, it certainly pays off. They are the experts after all!

Thank you so much for all your hard work with this event Eve & Co! Such a small detail, but one that shone brightly on the day.

 

 

 

 

Celebrate Unwrapped: Furniture and Prop Hire

When it comes to styling an already incredible venue, it’s a fine line between not enough and too much detail. So when planning our recent Celebrate conference at Sydney’s beautiful The Deckhouse, we knew we wanted to showcase the best the industry has to offer, without detracting from the stunning views by going over the top.

You would have already seen the details of how we styled the tables, room decorations and giant lettering for the big day in previous posts, so this week we’d love to share the details of the fabulous lounge area we had set up for guests to enjoy throughout the day using props and furniture from The Original Silver Teapot.  Our vision was to create an area of retreat for the guests where they could take a moment to enjoy the view, chat with each other or simply take in the view whilst processing all that had been learnt during the day.

 

Working with Shelley of Paper Face Party to style an imaginative, creative and whimsical space, furniture and prop items were hired from Sydney’s The Original Silver Teapot, working with Deb and her team to bring our vision to life. I think you’ll agree they nailed the brief, finding the perfect balance and cohesion with our surrounds and conference theme.

 

 

 

It certainly created a gorgeous talking point for when guests entered the rooms!

 

Specialising in traditional High Teas, Bridal Showers, Kitchen Teas and Weddings, Deb and her team at The Original Silver Teapot provide a complete suite of styling services, furniture and prop hire plus workshops for Brides. If we had room for her vintage caravan, Sylvia we would have loved to have used her – but I’m sure that would have been crossing the ‘overdone’ line I was talking about for this particular event!

 

 

 

 

A huge thank you to Deb and Shelley for this beautiful space where so many collaborations, conversations and big ideas were had during the day.

Find out more about the services of The Original Silver Teapot here on their facebook page or their website

 

 

Batman Party Supplies

Ka-Pow! Splat! Oooff!

How cool were the pop culture Batman comics back in the day? Like all good Superhero’s, he’s morphed over time but never really gone out of style, making a Batman party a popular choice for children’s birthday parties of all ages, and an easy one to source and style for.

 

 

 

 

Whether you choose the bold and bright colours of the comics as your inspiration, or colour blocked black and white or yellow, the options are endless with this theme, as are the supplies available to pull it all together. So we’ve rounded up a few finds from our LLC vendors to give you a head start.

 

Batman Party Invitations

When I think of Batman, his iconic bat signal instantly comes to mind, as does a lot of black and the comic book speech bubbles. Of course not everyone is expected to be Batman, so you can also  extend the invitation to all Superhero’s (or Villains) with a more general superhero invite:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Batman Party Decorations

Pick your colour palette and have some fun decorating your space with plenty of punch (pardon the pun!) and props for the Superhero’s to act out their alter egos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you have a little batgirl instead?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This cool batman pinata also doubles as a great decoration:

 

 

 

Perfect for the younger ones, a pint sized Bat Mobile!

 

 

 

Tableware

To ensure Batman plays the lead role in his own show, keep the tableware to a minimum of two colours, or use coordinated plates, napkins and cups for the comic book effect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cake, cookies and toppers

If you’ve predominately used block colours to decorate, cake toppers, the cake itself and custom cookies are a great way to incorporate the Batman logo into your theme, and likewise if you’ve chosen the comic approach, as it will ensure Batman is still in the spotlight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cookies make a great take home gift too when wrapped in cellophane and tied off with black ribbon or twine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favours

Keep the excitement going well after the party with these great finds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least, for our mini Batman fans – this post would not be complete without a costume! Perfect for first birthday photos, smashing into their first bite of cake. Too cute!!

 

 

Phew! With so much to choose from for this theme and so many ways of interpreting it, I hope this post has taken out some of the leg work out of it for you!

 

See you next time at the same Bat time on the same Bat channel…..(couldn’t help myself!).