Ellie’s Doljanchi (First Birthday)

Description

Doljanchi means 1st Birthday Party in Korean. It's the same as any children's birthday party but with a ceremony where the birthday boy/girl is placed in front of objects which include pencil, string, rice, and money. Whatever the baby grabs first is supposedly his/her destiny. Pencil=Scholar, String=Long Life, Rice=Never Go Hungry, and Money=Wealth. We added a stethoscope and tambourine for fun (stethoscope for a medical career and tambourine for a musical future)!

Design Inspiration

candy/sweets

Decorating Style

When it comes to children's parties and projects I like decorating with lots of color. Currently my home decor however, is classic contemporary using a lot of nuetral colors and clean lines. My projects are an outlet for all the color I'm lacking in the living room!

Project Details

I had the balloon and table linen colors coordinate with each other using pink, green, and yellow as the major color scheme. The balloon centerpiece and candy accents (on the balloon mural and scattered on the tables) are an easy diy project. Blow up balloons to your desired size and wrap with iridescent cellophane, tie ends with ribbon and curl with scissors. Centerpiece balloons can be placed on a thin metal pipe wrapped in ribbon then stuck into a box with weights to hold it up. I put together the candy table using apothecary jars and other containers from Crate & Barrel, Container Store and A. I. Friedman. The mini containers holding different colored M&Ms are plastic but they blend right in with the glass containers. The Thank You board I made by gift wrapping a box frame from home and decorating with stickers from the craft store. Cake was custom ordered. The Dol Cylinders I made by gluing stacked craft styrofoam discs, wrapping them with paper, then gluing various beans and candies with a hot glue gun. This was the most painstaking project and took a very.long.time.

Favorite Items

The cake because it made the sweets presentation come together .

Advice

If you can, make/rent nice table linens. They help make the room look put together. Even if your party is at home you can decorate your dining, kids craft, and presentation tables (for pictures, cake, presents, etc.) with fun linens for a themed look. It's also a great starting point for building your other party decor ideas around. We all know once you have a starting point decided it's much easier for the creative juices to start flowing.