Shark & Scuba Theme

With summer upon us, this theme is fantastic for any kids who love the beach or ocean and especially great for a pool party where you want more of a theme besides just a pool party!

You could base this party around blues and greens, along with another colour such as grey or something bright to go with a tropical feel such as red or yellow.

I have kept this post to mainly shark/scuba ideas although if you look into “Under the sea” parties online there are many more ideas out there which I’ll have to keep for another blog post!

Invitations/Printables

There are some great options available for this theme:

 

 

 

 

Decorations

Being an ocean inspired theme there are many ways you could decorate for this party.

A ribbon backdrop would work well for a dessert table to give an ocean/seaweed feel in shades of blue/green ribbons. Or you could use streamers to create a seaweed effect as well. Include fish cut outs and other ocean inspired shapes hanging from the ceiling (jellyfish, seahorses etc)create the underwater feel.

 

 

A backdrop such as this one could also be used for the table or other area in the party:

 

 

The soft floaty look of pom poms would also work well into the decor for this theme:

 

These garlands remind me of an underwater world…

For something a little different (and lovely to hang up after the party) these shell swags look great and could be something you could make yourself:

 

Or use wall decals to set the scene and then easily transfer them to your child’s room after the party:

 

Tableware

Love the colour of this tablerunner for an crystal clear water look:

Or if you want to create the feel of a sandy ocean floor then you could use this Hessian tablecloth:

 

These paper eskimo plates come in the perfect colours for this theme:

 

A mix of aqua blue and green stripes make these straws perfect for an ocean inspired theme!

 

The little ones will love to drink anything which have these shark fins floating in them!

 

Sweet Treats

Shark fins are an easy shape to add onto any treats on your table – whether it be as cupcake toppers, or food flags. Here are some other items you could use for this theme:

 

 

Little blue jelly cups would work really well on your dessert table and I love these mousse pots to serve the jelly in which can be reused for many parties:

A gorgeous teal colour cake stand (which comes in different sizes) is perfect for this theme!

Themed items

Let the kids have some fun in a photo corner using a prop board such as this – perfect for a shark and scuba theme!

 

 

Instead of party hats, these Shark hats would be fun to have all the little ones running around in!

Some ocean inspired/theme inspired toys are fantastic to keep the kids entertained. If you’re in Sydney these toys (and more ocean themed toys) are available to hire form Tiny Tots Toy Hire:

 

 

Or outside of Sydney you can buy some of these items which would be fun for any summer party in future anyway!

 

 

Create the look of the ocean floor for all the little divers with shells, corals, sea urchins, star fish and more!

Or simple ocean bath toys could be used for fun kid friendly decorations (or party favours)

Use these shell placecard holders to hold your food labels! You can’t even tell they are placecard holders so you could display them in a nice vase after the party too:

 

Use props around the party which double as birthday gifts for the shark and scuba loving birthday boy or girl. Using 2 water bottles you could create a scuba tank prop as well.

 

 

 

 

Hang a sign such as this (which you could also make yourself) around the party area:

 

Another item which could help work with an underwater theme such as this, is a Bubble Machine. This one is available for hire in Sydney from Tiny Tots Toy Hire, or outside of Sydney you can find them online and in most department stores:

 

Favours

A few cute favour ideas for this party:

 

These snorkel kits are quite affordable and could be given to the kids to use if you were having a pool party as part of this theme, to use during the party as well:

 

Or perhaps some swimming goggles which they can reuse many times:

 

 

 

For packaging I love the wave effect on these lovely scallop boxes:

For a beach/sandy feel these 2 options would work well filled with something delicious:

 

 

Real Parties

Lots of fantastic ideas in this Shark and Scuba party featured on Hostess with the Mostess

This Shark party is filled with DIY ideas, featured on the Celebrations at Home blog

Lots of under the sea ideas in this party and the backdrop demonstrates a great way of creating an ocean feel. Featured on the Celebrations at Home blog

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I hope that has given you ideas if you are planning a party for this theme, or generally a pool party or ocean inspired party! There is so many things you can do and I am sure all the little ones will love feeling like they are under the ocean at this party!

 

 

 

 

 

Rebekah’s First Birthday – Baby Elephant Theme

It was so wonderful to be able to celebrate my daughters first birthday and now to finally be able to share the pictures and give credit to some lovely vendors on this blog! It’s also very exciting to be featured on the Amy Atlas blog for the first time!

Some of you would have already seen the pictures from the party however I thought I’d use this blog post to share where I got different items from throughout this blog post and I apologise because there a lot of places to mention!! I bought items from various places…when there were sales on, or if I remembered something to get etc – hence my party items come from everywhere!

I chose a baby elephant theme for many reasons! Rebekah received lots of gifts with elephant designs when she was born and I thought it was such a cute theme for a first birthday.

I tried to incorporate different elephant theme ideas such as: peanuts, memories, elephants walking together & an elephant family walking together, elephant watering hole etc. If you were planning for this theme you could also go for a circus/carnival elephant feel as well or a jungle elephant theme.

I chose the adorable baby elephant printables from Style Me Gorgeous which Sarah made some custom changes to for me. Cake Avenue created the most perfect matching cake!

 

I used paper chains from Linkits for the backdrop and Heidi perfectly matched the right colours for me. Paper chains haven’t been used a lot in dessert table backrops although I have seen some recent ones and really liked the look of them!  The custom made bunting from Giggleberry Creations helped to emphasis the colour scheme of pink, grey and aqua blue. The wooden name sign which was made for me by Chikkimoo Designs (in record time too – great service!) was a personal touch I really liked.

How adorable is this figurine from Cake Avenue which is now in my daughters nursery under a cloche I bought from Sweet Little Birdy. The cake sat upon a ribbon cake stand from Tracey Lau Art and Soul. This was placed atop of pink nesting suitcases form Butterfly Garden Hair Accessories. When it came time to cut the cake I used an extra long candle from Sharnel Dollar Designs which is great especially for little ones so they don’t have to bend down too much to blow the candle out!

As my daughters middle name is Rose I wanted to incorporate roses onto the table, which I did in these sweet blue spanish jars from Shoppe with Lily. Another favourite feature of mine were some elephant prints I purchased from Etsy store Oh Hello Dear which I had custom colour matched to the colour scheme. I placed one print on this table, and 2 on the savoury food table. I’ll be hanging these up in the nursery =)

The sweet treats included these cute elephant cookies with pink ears (to match the printables) were made by Spoon and Fork Cookies and Cake, Macarons from Ma Cake (in gorgeous jars from Sweet Style) , persian fairy floss from Shoppe with Lily and lollipops and swizzle sticks from The Little Big Company displayed in a rosanna bowl from Sharnel Dollar Designs.

I made oreo pops and strawberry mousse in cups which I topped off with stamped wooden spoons (stamp and spoons from Sweet Style). I also had musk sticks and pink sugared peanuts.

I used cupcake wrappers from  Cupcake House as buffet label holders by merely turning them upside down and cutting a small slit on either side. The mini pink tongs I bought from Little Kitchen

I made a small book for guests to sign in. However rather than them sign just a wish for Rebekah I wanted them to write a memory of her from her first year, and I added a little card to explain, saying: “Elephants have long memories but mine isn’t long just yet. Please share a memory from my first year so that I’ll never forget”.

I incorporated other little rhymes as well in signs for the dessert table and favour table. I enjoy writing poetry so this was a way to just add another fun personal touch.

This photo also shows the Sambellina plates I used for the dessert table which I purchased from The Party Studio.

My lovely sister in law created this “My First Year” canvas showcasing a picture for each of the months of Rebekah’s first year. It is something really special that we will also be putting in her nursery.

For take home gifts my sister in law made delicious cupcakes which were presented in sweet Candy Soiree boxes (purchased from Occasion by Design) and topped off with twine (from The Party Studio) and a thank you note. I also had the Golden Book “The Saggy Baggy Elephant” to give as a take home gift as I love the idea of giving books to children!

For the drinks table (which I labeled “Elephant Watering Hole”) glass bottles from The Inspired Occasion (250ml) were wrapped with Cupcake wrappers ( Cupcake House) and topped with party flags. I displayed them in this gorgeous grey wire tray from Sweet Little Birdy which not only looked pretty but also was practical too in keeping them safe from straying little hands.

Since elephants all gathering together at a watering hole I wanted to incorporate the idea of elephants walking along together into this table. So I used an elephant garland made by Etsy store Bugaboo as well as this sweet elephant family by Sweet Tashie  (which I also wanted as a memento of this day for Rebekah). The Drink Dispenser was hired from Tiny Tots Toy Hire. Cups were from {P} is for party, straws were from Occasion by Design, Sweet Style and Mon Tresor (see what I mean about buying things from everywhere!)

Thankfully I had a very helpful mum, mother in law and sister to help out with the savoury items and they took care of all of this for me. Phew! One of my favourite items was another hire item from Tiny Tots Toy Hire which is a ferris wheel cupcake holder which I actually used with pink tin pails instead from Invite Me. I filled these with carrot and celery sticks and it looked really cute. This would also be a perfect item if I had taken on a circus elephant theme which is also quite popular if you are thinking of doing an elephant theme party. Plates were purchased from {P} is for Party.

I hung pretty Ah-Tissue pom poms over the food table in pink, grey and blue. We served various homemade pastry items, sausage rolls, elephant shaped fairy bread (using an elephant cookie cutter from The Princess and the Pirate), sandwiches, little skewers of pineapple, cheese and cherries (something our mum use to make at our parties when we were little). Sultanas were served in cute mini baking cups from Sweet Little Birdy. We ran out of time to put all the party flags in the food but managed to have some in there!  The blackboard is from The Carousel Boutique.

The ball pit which we hired from Tiny Tots Toy Hire was a HUGE hit! It was perfect for the kids, and my daughter loved playing in there! Due to child protection issues I don’t like displaying full face shots of other people’s children on the blog – hence the strange shots I’ve picked to display! However you can see my little angel enjoying herself in a rare moment when she wasn’t diving everywhere!

We also hired a mini rollercoaster and a play gym which the kids enjoyed as well as these cute mini chairs from Tiny Tots Toy Hire. Most of the children were too small for me to have a kids table however we did have a few kids around the 3-5yr mark who I thought might like a little “Elephant Resting Spot” where the parents could make them sit down and have a rest and a drink. I printed off some little elephant masks to pop onto the blue chairs.

This is the dress my daughter wore for her birthday. Since it was plain white, I had Cathy from Bliss Clips make a headband and matching dress brooch in pink,grey,turqouise to add to the dress – and as you can see Cathy did an amazing job! I don’t even have a headband this pretty!

Here is my little one all dressed up!

We had a little photo area set up with a giant balloon from Occasion by Design and made sure we got pictures with people as they arrived as I didn’t want to miss having photos with all the guests. It definitely helped having a photographer there so we didn’t have to worry about taking pictures, and Sha Photography did a great job for us!

It was a wonderful day and I worked hard in the leadup so I wouldn’t have to stress too much on the day of the party and during the party. I also received help from family members and outsourced items (such as the cake, cookies, macarons) to also make it less stressful (plus I am no cooking expert!). This was really helpful for me because of course in the midst of the preparing I still had a 1 yr old to look after! However I was glad I was able to make some of the food items and other things in the party (such as the memory book) since I am naturally not very crafty it was a good challenge for me =)

I learnt a lot in the process as well, being the first children’s party I had put together, and I have to say a big thank you to Dawn from Ruby May Designs who helped alot with listening to my ideas and giving me honest advice too! =)

Thanks so much for reading and sharing in some of my daughter’s celebration!

Kite Theme

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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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:

Cute cloud garland which would look lovely with some kites in the background:

 

 

 Tableware

This soft fabric table runner is light and airy, perfect for this theme:

Combine it with some lovely blue and white tableware:

 

 

 

 

How cute and classic are these mini swing top bottles? Just had to share them  – the perfect addition for any theme really!

 Sweet Treats

Love the little ribbon tail on this cookie cutter:

For unique cupcake toppers, these little handmade kite toppers are adorable!

Also love the idea of cloud cupcake toppers for this theme too:

Some lovely blue and white options for your wrappers:

 

These items are fantastic to serve other treats in! Perfect for chips, popcorn or even fairy floss:

 

Speaking of soft and fluffy fairy floss how about adding some to the table:

 

Scallops are such a lovely pattern, especially for a light and airy theme such as a Kite Theme:

 

 

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:

These would make great party favours or a quick and easy option for kites on the day:

A range of lovely designs are available from this site:

Another idea are these kites ready to be coloured in:

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:

 

Love the vibrant colours on this kite:

How gorgeous are these 2 kites! These alone are enough to make me want to have a kite party!

 

 

A few other special treats which can feature at the party and then to the bedroom after the party:

 

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:

A sweet Kite mobile as a unique feature to hang over a table:

Love all these themed party games from The Princess and the Pirate! Here is one which is so perfect for this party:

For the birthday girl, there are a number of cute Kite designs available for a lovely birthday outfit such as this sweet top:

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:

These cute and simple wood toy favours are perfect for little hands to hold and wave around:

Of course you could send all the little one’s home with a special kite such as these mini kites:

Another great idea for a party favour is a lollipop in the colour scheme of your party:

Package your favours in one of these lovely options:

 

 

How lovely are these Kite gift tags! They provide lovely inspiration for something you may be able to make yourself:

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!

 

Lego Party Supplies Shopping guide

Most of us grew up playing with LEGO and it’s wonderful to see that it is just as loved by our little one’s too! It is a popular party theme and a fun one to put together.

You can easily use your child’s own lego collection to put together decorations and centrepieces for this party theme as well as fun activity stations for all the kids to play lego during the party. View my PINTEREST board for lots of party ideas for a lego party.

Given that lego pieces really are just made up of rectangles and circles it also makes it easy to make your own lego inspired decorations and blocks for this party as well!

Go for bright colours for this theme, and I’ve included lots of polka dot supplies as it’s a pattern which suits a lego party.

I hope you enjoy the lego party supplies I’ve included!:

 

Lego Invitations and Party Printables

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are available as printed, cut and assembled for you:

 

 

Here is a free printable invitation to go with the latest Lego movie:

 

 

A printable in the traditional yellow/red look:

 

 

 

A cute idea for a DIY invitation!

 

 

Lego Party Decorations

You can create your own lego block decorations and there are lots of ideas online for inspiration:

 

 

Otherwise going with a polka dot pattern works in well for a lego party:

 

 

 

There is also lego city licensed items available for decorations for a lego party:

 

 

 

Lego Party Tableware 

 

 

 

For a lego party you could go with square plates for a block look:

 

Or continue a polka dot pattern:

 

 

Or you can mix in some licenced lego partyware with non licensed items:

 

 

This cutlery would be perfect if you are having a lego construction party:

 

 

Sweet Treats

Some fun lego shaped candy!:

 

Dress up the drinks with these cute lego ice cubes!

 

 

Create decorations for your cakes or treats with this mould:

 

Use this lego head cookie cutter to make lego shaped cookies, sandwiches etc:

 

Use baking or ice-cream cups to serve up savoury or sweet items to match with your colour scheme:

 

Fun lego candles for your cake!:

 

 

Remember there are lots of wonderful vendors to create Lego cakes, cookies, cake pops, macarons and more for a lego party on the children’s party directory in the Cake and Desserts category. 

 

 

Here is a fun idea – a Lego smashcake, perfect for your child to knock down and deconstruct!:

 

 

 

Special Lego party props or decor:

Some fun free Lego mask printables:

 

 

These lego storage items are great to be used as decoration or props with a practical use for after the party:

 

 

 

 

These turntables are fantastic for a lego activity/play station at the party filled with different lego pieces:

 

 

You could use this fun scene setter for a photo area:

 

 

 

Hire

Some fun hire items such as large lego blocks for building:

 

This lego head is a great centrepiece on your party table:

 

The black and white checked floor would also fit into this lego party theme:

 

 

If you’ll be having different lego activity stations at the party, some kids table and chairs are a must. Nowadays there are lots of options to create fun kids party settings. Have a browse of the HIRE category on the children’s party directory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lego party favours

The perfect take home gift for this theme is of course Lego itself! You could either buy the lego kits, or buy a large kit of lego blocks and divide them up amongst party bags.

However here are a few other novel options:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Use yellow party bags to create Lego faces on them for your take home packaging:

 

 

Or add stick on dots to a party box such as this for a lego block look bag:

 

 

A few other party favour packaging options:

 

 

 

 

 

Some printable options to create your own favour boxes:

 

 

 

Real Parties

View my Pinterest board as well as the below links for more ideas for a Lego Party:

Fantastic Lego birthday party by Anders Ruff

Truly amazing lego party with lots of fun ideas from Daneve of Ah-Tissue

Lovely 4th lego birthday by Ruby May Designs

Another fantastic Lego party & table on the Modern Moments Design website

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Hopefully this post has given you some inspiration to start planning your Lego theme party – a party all the kids will delight in I am sure, as long as there is lego to play with!

 

Pinwheels theme

This cute and unique theme is perfect to bring out the joy and fun of being a child! Little one’s love holding a twirling pinwheel in their hand so why not base a celebration around this?

Pinwheels are also great to team up with another item for example balloons, ribbons or lollipops. They are also versatile little items which you could work into most party themes!

Given the uniqueness of this theme, there is not a lot of specific party items available however all you really need are some pinwheels to really bring this theme alive!

I haven’t included some of my usual categories of tableware and favour packaging in this post as this theme could take on any colour scheme and doesn’t have as many theme related items available – however please see my previous posts for many different tableware and favour packaging ideas!

Invitations/Printables

Choosing a great set of printables can really help you with decorating your party, especially for a theme such as pinwheels where there isn’t alot of theme specific items available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Decorations

Besides pinwheels themselves, these various shaped paper fans would work well into this theme as they mimic giant  pinwheels:

 

 

Sweet Treats

A fantastic way to incorporate pinwheels into your food or dessert table is through the use of these cupcake toppers which could be inserted into a variety of treats:

A truly gorgeous cake topper for this theme!

Special Themed Items

Some lovely items which you could work into your party decor if you wanted something extra special:

 

 

Cute themed party game for the little one’s!:

Gorgeous pinwheel paper you could use for placing on your food platters:

 Pinwheels

The most important decorative element for this theme is of course, Pinwheels! Here are a range of options, some of which could be used as party favours, some could be bunched together for a centrepiece, or displayed creatively for a backdrop:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love the cute personalised message on these pinwheels!

Fabulous DIY kit with all you need to make your own pinwheels:

These tall buckets are fantastic for displaying some pinwheels:

Tutorials

Click on the below images to take you to some tutorials for how to make your own pinwheel items:

 

 

 

Real Parties

Stylish navy blue and green pinwheels party by Sharnel Dollar Designs

Also loving this soft blue and green pinwheel party by The Princess & the Pirate featured on the Party Inspirations blog.

Love the cake in this vintage style Pinwheel party from Kara’s Party Ideas

Clever use of pinwheels to create a cute and simple backdrop in this Pinwheels and Pearls party on Kara’s Party Ideas

Sweet idea of having pinwheels on the candy jar lids in this 1st birthday also featured on Kara’s Party Ideas

Pink and orange pinwheel party with lovely pinwheels pinned onto the food labels, featured on the Hostess with the Mostess blog

Bright and colourful pinwheel party table featured on the Love the Day blog

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Hope you enjoyed these pinwheels find and they give you some inspiration for this theme or incorporating them into a different theme. I am sure all the little ones will love them!