If you know me, then you know birthdays and any celebrations for that matter don’t go unnoticed. I’ve always loved a good party, but unlike most people, it’s behind the scenes where I have the most fun. It’s in the details!
Event planning began at a young age for me when I first planned Barbie’s dream wedding – complete with a custom wedding gown, tiled dance floor, and of course, a “diamond” hot glued to Barbie’s left ring finger. The planning continued throughout high school, college, and I even dabbled in a birthday party-planning business for a short while before time took me away from my young children.
While party-planning as a business is no longer in the cards for me, I still enjoy paper-design in the form of invitations, announcements and holiday cards. It’s again, in the details, were I feel my creative energy come alive.
How to plan the party details:
- Choose a theme or color scheme. Themes don’t have to be a cheesy. Inspiration can come from the time of year, location of the party, or an interest of the child.
- Invitation design. Call me old fashioned, but I still love a paper invitation. If you prefer an Evite, choose one that coordinates with your theme or color scheme.
- Party goods and create homemade decorations. If creativity is not your thing, check out Etsy.com. One of my favorite Etsy-finds lately has been the shop, Shoppe3130, which sells DIY tissue paper tassel kits. The kits are easy and give you the same tissue paper tassel look for quite a bargain! I always love the party headbands from Shop Bracket; they are such an easy way to set the stage for any party.
- Party entertainment. This depends a lot on the age of your party-goers. For Eloise’s 6th birthday, a face-painter and coloring sheet was perfect. For her 5th birthday, we had a couple LSU Golden Girls to teach cheers and dances. For Charlotte Cate’s 4th birthday, Santa Claus himself made a special visit and read Twas the Night Before Christmas.
- Food and drinks. Again, this depends a lot on the age of your party-goers and the time of day of your party. Will you need to serve a meal? drinks? cake or cupcakes? etc. Eloise’s first birthday was in the morning, and we celebrated with a champagne brunch. Her fifth birthday was a “tailgate” theme complete with finger foods you may find on game day.
- Favors. Party favors should match the theme of the celebration. For Eloise’s first birthday, a Mardi Gras-themed celebration, we chose feathered masks as the favor. Tassel necklaces with an ice-cream charm were the favors for her sixth birthday at Dearman’s Soda Shop. Twas the Night Before Christmas books were the favor for Charlotte Cate’s Breakfast with Santa-themed party.
Charlotte Cate’s Baptismal Celebration
Charlotte Cate’s first birthday party // The Nutcracker with touches of pink
Charlotte Cate’s fourth birthday party // Breakfast with Santa 
Eloise’s fifth birthday party // LSU Tailgate complete with Golden Girls 
Eloise’s sixth birthday party // Ice cream social at Dearman’s Soda Shop
Eloise’s seventh birthday party // “Flipping Out” Gymnastics 
mamaetc.com 