We’ve launched into the new year and for anyone planning a celebration in these early months I’ve put together a collection of Summer entertaining essentials
For more summer inspiration – check out my Flamingo themed blog post for some ideas, my Ice Cream themed post here , my Mermaid theme blog post, or my blog post on the Oh It’s Perfect blog for ideas for a garden party
Enjoy!
Invitations/Printables
Inspiration for a few summery themes:
Pool beach party printables – Penny Lane Studio
Pool party printables – 2 Love Birds
Surfer girl Invitation – I Will Invitations
Ice cream party invitation – Paper & Style Co
Mermaid printables – Jo Studio
Decorations
Lanterns are great for outdoor decorations – easy to hang, light and they look good no matter where the wind blows them:
Pink chevron lantern – Saffy & May
Yellow polka dot lanterns – Little Red Chick
Robert Gordon floral lanterns – Sweet Celebrations
Can’t beat some ice-cream cone decorations for a summer feel!:
Ice cream cone lanterns – Ruby Rabbit Partyware
Speaking of ice-cream, even if you’re not doing an ‘ice-cream themed’ party, ice-cream is a must have when entertaining in summer with kids! So here are some fun finds to use when serving up your ice-cream!:
Ice cream scoop (matching spoons available) – Sweet Tea Party Supplies
Pastel stripe ice cream cups – Little Red Chick
Robert Gordon ice cream cups and spoons – Occasion by Design
Chevron wooden spoons – Little Red Chick
Gelato spoons – Occasion by Design
Mini gelato bowls – Limetree Kids
Love these ice-cream cone stands!:
Bamboo wood ice cream cone stand – Party & Co
Ice-cream cone stand – The Little Big Company
I just had to share this fabulous ice-cream parlour stand for hire in Sydney for a perfect ice-cream serving area at any summer themed party:
Ice cream parlour stand for hire – Tiny Tots Toy Hire (Sydney)
When entertaining with kids disposable partyware is a must have! This confetti design fits into any bright and summery party:
Confetti Dot plates – Sweet Celebrations
Also love these bright options:
Striped partyware – Sweet Little Soiree
If you’re doing a tropical feel, I love these tableware ranges:
Hawaiian partyware – Ready to Party
Flamingo plates – Fantasy Kids Parties
These gorgeous pastel chevron napkins are perfect for summer entertaining:
Chevron pastel napkins – Sweet Tea Party Supplies
Summer entertaining is a great time to use drink dispensers.
Love the colour pop on this one (also available in pink!):
Apothecary drink dispenser (also available in pink) – Sweet Tea Party Supplies
Fantastic 2 part dispenser where you can display some tropical fruits at the bottom:
2 part drink dispenser – Leo & Bella
A drinks tub is essential and I’m loving the colour of this one:
Blue party tub – Peters of Kensington
Also loving the bright’s in this bamboo collection:
Bamboo drinks tray and outdoor essentials – Bed, Bath and Table
Perfect way to keep the flies away but your table still looking pretty – food covers in gorgeous summer colours:
Domed food cover – Bed, Bath and Table
So there you have it – a summer entertaining round up! Hope your next summer soiree is full of fun!
Let’s go fly a kite!
This unique and fun theme is starting to become popular and after being inspired by some beautiful real Kite parties I thought it would be lovely to gather some ideas for this theme as we head into the warmer months! It’s a perfect one for all ages and can be styled for a boy or a girl. The best thing about this theme is being able to include some kite making and kite flying as part of your party which the children and parents are sure to enjoy!
You might also want to have a look at my Aeroplane theme post here for some cloud decorations which can work into this theme. You can also incorporate pinwheels into this theme and you can view my Pinwheel theme post here.
Any colour combination can work for this party but I’ve chosen some options in blues and whites to go with the sky/clouds colour. However if you view the amazing “Real Parties” listed at the bottom of this post you will see a lovely range of colours which could work for you!
Contact me regarding my online party planning services if you want a full range of inspiration for this theme: lifeslittlec@gmail.com
Invitations/Printables
The invitations for this theme are so lovely I am not sure how you will be able to choose one!
Kite Invitation - Polkadot Prints
Kite invitation - Imprintables
Vintage Tricycle and Kite invitation and printables - Style Me Gorgeous
Kite Invitation (also available in blue) - Our Little Soiree
Archie and his Kite invitation - The Little Humbugs
The Kite Collection - Mary had a little party
Decorations
You could use some simple paper kites for decorations or create a paper banner in the shape of kites as well. Another idea is to create a backdrop or decorations to resemble the tail of a kite – so tying litle bows with ribbon or tissue paper onto long hanging strings.
Here are some other ideas to work in with the colour scheme of blue and white:
Boy oh boy bunting - The Party Studio
Cute cloud garland which would look lovely with some kites in the background:
Cloud Garland - Gen Terro
Large polkadot lantern - The Party Studio
Jumbo 90cm balloons - Occasion by Design
Tableware
This soft fabric table runner is light and airy, perfect for this theme:
Blue stripe fabric table runner - The Princes and the Pirate
Combine it with some lovely blue and white tableware:
Blue and white stripe partyware - Sweet Little Birdy
Blue and white polkadot plate - Sweet Style
Blue and white spot napkins - Details, Details
Blue dot paper straws - Little Big Company
How cute and classic are these mini swing top bottles? Just had to share them – the perfect addition for any theme really!
Mini swing top bottles - The Little Big Company
Sweet Treats
Love the little ribbon tail on this cookie cutter:
Kite cookie cutter - Details, Details
For unique cupcake toppers, these little handmade kite toppers are adorable!
Kite cupcake toppers - Delectable Delights
Also love the idea of cloud cupcake toppers for this theme too:
Felt cloud cupcake toppers - A Continual Feast
Some lovely blue and white options for your wrappers:
Blue and white polka dot cupcake wrapper - The Party Studio
Trellis cupcake wrapper - Hard To Find
These items are fantastic to serve other treats in! Perfect for chips, popcorn or even fairy floss:
Scallop box - Sweet Little Birdy
Paper cone - Invite Me
Candy box pale blue - Invite Me
Speaking of soft and fluffy fairy floss how about adding some to the table:
Blue fairy floss - Occasion By Design
Persian fairy floss in vanilla - Shoppe with Lily
Scallops are such a lovely pattern, especially for a light and airy theme such as a Kite Theme:
Scallop cake stand - Sweet Little Birdy
Blue and white candles - Details, Details
Special Themed Items
The key ingredient for this theme is of course Kite’s! Whether you want some simple kite making kits, mini kites for favours, or a special kite for the birthday boy/girl or as a decoration, here are some to choose from:
The kids will definitely enjoy being able to make and decorate their own kite using a kit such as this one:
Kite kit to make a kite- Kite Site
These would make great party favours or a quick and easy option for kites on the day:
Pocket kite - Bambini Pronto
A range of lovely designs are available from this site:
Butterfly kite - Toy Empire
Another idea are these kites ready to be coloured in:
Colour Me in Kites - Toy Empire
Why not have your birthday boy/girl create a special kite for the day ahead of time. Or if they are really young you could create a special design for them:
Paint your own kite kit - Young Minds Toys
Seedling Design your own box kite - Design Child
Love the vibrant colours on this kite:
Licorice Diamond Kite - Toy Villa
How gorgeous are these 2 kites! These alone are enough to make me want to have a kite party!
Kite custom banner - Party Fetti
Vintage Kite - Fanciful Kites
A few other special treats which can feature at the party and then to the bedroom after the party:
Quilted wall art kite - Kim's Crafty Apple
Belle and Boo print - Belle and Boo
Love the whimsical nature of these wall decals. They are simple enough to work into any Kite printable range you may have chosen and are wonderful for a backdrop to a table or near a Kite making/decorating area at the party:
Boy with kite wall decal - The Alphabet Tree
Girl with kite wall decal - The Alphabet Tree
A sweet Kite mobile as a unique feature to hang over a table:
Kite mobile - Made by Mosey
Love all these themed party games from The Princess and the Pirate! Here is one which is so perfect for this party:
Pin the kite on the string party game - The Princess and the Pirate
For the birthday girl, there are a number of cute Kite designs available for a lovely birthday outfit such as this sweet top:
Girls kite tshirt - Monstar kids
Favours/Take home gift
Pinwheels work in well with a Kite theme and these pinwheels are even more perfect as they have a kite design printed on them:
Twirlable pinwheels with kite design - Pickled Parlour
These cute and simple wood toy favours are perfect for little hands to hold and wave around:
Wood Toy Fly Me party favour - Applenamos
Of course you could send all the little one’s home with a special kite such as these mini kites:
Mini kite - Toy Emporium
Another great idea for a party favour is a lollipop in the colour scheme of your party:
Light blue blueberry swirls - Little Big Company
Package your favours in one of these lovely options:
Chevron Tote box - Sweet Style
Polkadot candy box - {P} is for Party
Blue polkadot treat box - Sharnel Dollar Designs
How lovely are these Kite gift tags! They provide lovely inspiration for something you may be able to make yourself:
Kite gift tags - Etsy shop Raemj
Real Parties:
There are some truly gorgeous Kite Parties which are filled with so much delightful inspiration and demonstrate how lovely this theme is and how it can be styled for both boys and girls:
This kite party from Blissfully Sweet has to be one of my favourites! Featured on the Amy Atlas blog
Kite flying party on the Imprintables Blog
The lovely party by Style Me Gorgeous on her blog based on their printables with a lovely kite bunting idea!
Gorgeous kite party by Tracey Lau !
A lovely kite party by Sweet Style – love the flying kite backdrop!
Cute kite party featured on the Little Sooti Blog
Vibrant orange kite party featured on the Tomkat studio blog
Beautiful kite party by Whimsical Petite Styling & Polkadot Prints featured on the Cake Events blog
Love the light yellow and pink colour palette of this Kite party shoot by The Princess and the Pirate featured on the My Little Jedi blog
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I know that this theme isn’t one that automatically comes to mind when thinking of party themes but hopefully this post has shown you that you can really do a lot with a theme like this and you’ll be able to create a day with a fun experience for all the little one’s!
