3rd birthday party

My youngest boy Elliot loves arts and crafts and all things creative, so an Arty Party was an easy choice for his third birthday. The colours of the rainbow and art supplies were the themes I stuck with and the end result was a bright, fun and colourful party.
On the dessert table we served rainbow cupcakes, chocolate and vanilla cake-pops (by Cake Pop House), ‘paint splat’ white chocolate bark, white chocolate freckles, smarties and rainbow desserts in jars. The cake was a 10 layer rainbow cake with buttercream icing and a multicoloured drip. For savoury food we put out a grazing platter full of cheeses, antipasto and blini.
The kids were entertained with a range of crafty activities; painting, drawing, playdoh, pasta necklace making and cupcake decorating were all a big hit with the little ones and kept them entertained the entire time.
 

My daughter, Haley, is obsessed with Moana so we decided to do a Moana themed birthday party for her 3rd birthday. I got a lot of inspiration from Pinterest including different food items to serve.  We had a lunch party with Hawaiian Chicken on Hawaiian rolls, BBQ Hawaiian Meatballs, Veggies, Caesar and Pasta Salad and Croissant Sandwiches.  We made googly eyes on toothpicks for the Croissant sandwiches so they were like Tamatoa from Moana. We also made Heart of Tefiti Juice by combining green and blue Hawaiian Punches with pineapple juice.
The recipe for the Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken came from http://www.lemontreedwelling.com/2016/07/slow-cooker-hawaiian-chicken.html and it was a huge hit.  I cooked the chicken in a slow cooker separately then added the sauce that was cooked on the stovetop at the very end so it didnt get watered down.
I made her cake and cupcakes and made fondant cupcake toppers to look like the Heart of Tefiti.  We hired an amazing Moana to come to the party, she sang songs, taught the kids to hula dance, did nail and face painting and took pictures with everyone.  The favors included Moana stickers and temporary tattoos, a Moana stamp and a baggie of jelly bellies, goldfish and gummy sharks all inside a Moana cup.
For the photo backdrop I bought a bamboo tablecloth and made a floral balloon arch.  I used a tutorial from http://www.greenweddingshoes.com/diy-floral-balloon-arch.
I used her existing toys to decorate the buffet including a Kakamora music set and Moana, Maui and Hei Hei POP! Funkos.
I bought some paper products on Etsy including a Kakamora welcome sign for the front door and Moana birthday invitations from StudioBeeDesignCp https://www.etsy.com/shop/StudioBeeDesignCo

My little boy absolutely loves Peppa Pig, and after he got Peppa’s house and camper van for Christmas and played with the toys every.single.day., it became obvious that Peppa would be the perfect choice for his party this year!
I always do a lot of DIY elements for my kids’ parties, but this one required pretty much 100% DIY decor because most Peppa decorations are girly. I didn’t mind at all and got straight to work as soon as I settled on the color scheme- yellow! Yellow is so bright and cheery and there is a good bit of yellow surrounding Peppa Pig, so it was perfect.
Everything turned out exactly as I hoped it would and my little boy absolutely loved it.
As guests entered we snapped a quick picture of them with the birthday boy and printed it right away for the display board. We had a photobooth with an oversized picture frame, oversized Peppa car, and pig noses. I also designed a Snapchat filter for everyone to use when they posted their pics, and family members each wore a Peppa shirt I designed and made with iron on transfers. Everyone enjoyed mingling and “pigging out” on some delicious food and treats.
We had 18 adults and 15 kids at the party. We served a variety of picnic type foods, and the kids enjoyed a few games, jumping on the trampoline, and of course, the piñata!
As the party ended, we were sure to give the littles their favors and everyone left with their picture from the beginning of the party.
We had a GREAT time. My advice would be to not let what could be a “girly” theme stop you from throwing a great “boy” party! I also advise planning ahead, having your decorations done before the day of the party, and choosing a menu that doesn’t require you to actually do any cooking during the party so that you can mingle with your guests.
 
 

I let miss Ava pick what kind of party she wanted to have this year. It wasn’t hard to guess she would pick “Cinderella-y”. Perfect choice! Such a classic princess. I first found the little stuffed mice on eBay which inspired me to work in the pink dress making scene from the movie. I was thrilled to find the pink dress from an online children’s boutique (unfortunately now closed but can find similar on Etsy). After that it was just crafting and setting up for the event. She loved her dress and glass slippers along with spending the day with her family and friends. It was truly magical.

It was so fun to decorate one of my favorite little girl’s Beauty and the Beast themed birthday party.
Of course I started pinning a few things and knew pink and yellow colors would be perfect. It was simple, quaint and sweet and she loved every detail!

When my turning three year old girly girl Sadie spotted The Proper Peony Cupcake Birthday Dress at Bambinos her hands flew to her mouth and her eyes grew wide. “It will twirl mama and it has a cupcake”, she said. Our “sweet” party theme was born.
A visit with my girls to Bird Bakery to check out the “cake room” sealed the deal. This charming venue in our little neighborhood is known for some of the best sweets in the country and was the perfect spot to celebrate. Sadie’s invitations echo the candy and confection filled counters at Bird and her pink on pink cupcake dress.
The light filled party room has a wall of cakes and vintage touches everywhere so decorations were simple. The party table “runner” was created with icing bags and sprinkles and pink and yellow balloons filled the room. Tiny guests decorated cupcakes on paper with crayons, played “pin the cherry on the cupcake” and ate nutella sandwiches with lemonade before the “big event”. All the friends were given mini cupcakes, bags of icing and tons of colorful sprinkles to create their masterpieces. Friends had icing covered faces, sprinkles in their eyebrows and giant smiles. Bird Bakery made pink and yellow cupcakes at the birthday girl’s request along with “monster” cookies and lemon squares to enjoy after “Happy Birthday”. Every little one left with a take home box filled with their cupcake creations and cupcake shaped cookie party favors.
By keeping it simple, all focus was on our birthday girl and I was able to share every minute of her joy. It was such a “sweet” party!

I wanted to throw my sweet niece a swan party for her 3rd birthday because she adores swans.  We had such a blast celebrating our little Solvi turning the big 3. With all things sparkly and pink, I’m pretty sure the birthday girl and her guests were in swan heaven.

My daughter loves Peppa Pig so I knew it was inevitable that’s what kind of party she would want for her 3rd birthday. Her favorite episode is called “Golden Boots” so I loosely used that episode for my planning process. They feature a mud puddle jumping competition in the episode so I thought it would be fun to incorporate that since Peppa Pig is all about jumping in mud puddles. I used a pink plastic pool filled with muddy water and the kids went to town making a splash. I set up a judges panel table for the adults and everyone walked away with a perfect 10 and homemade trophies. I planned so many fun activities to keep the kids entertained. There was hopscotch leading up to the front door, there was an activity table where they could color in their activity books. I cleared out a section of our garden and made a mud pie station so the kids could get dirty making mud pies and selling them at their little bakery. After they were filthy they took a dip in the pool to get cleaned off just in time for some cake and ice cream. It was such a special day for my daughter and all her little friends.

Like many other little girls out there my daughter was hit with Elsa Fever so for her 3rd birthday we gave her a frozen wonderland. I stuck with different shades of blue and white. I made a gorgeous aqua tulle skirt and hung a variety of lanterns above. I covered the entire living room with fake snow fluff. Snowflake necklaces and little jars of snow were given as favors for the other little ice princesses. It was a magical day for my daughter that ended with her own visit from Elsa herself.

I have loved planning parties for my children ever since I became a mother three years ago!  For some reason, when I was trying to come up with my daughter’s third birthday party I was completely lacking inspiration, until very randomly, my husband suggested that we try a “picnic party…. with strawberries?”  After a thorough search of Pinterest, I was so excited to pursue his idea!
One of the greatest resources I have discovered this year is a Facebook group for local crafters (called Crafted in St. Louis) where I have sourced many craft projects which, left to me, would surely have turned into expensive “Pinterest Fails!”   The talented and reasonably priced members of this group have made all of my slightly extravagant craft ideas both attainable and affordable!  I highly recommend searching for a similar group in your area!
Most of the decor we used, other than what was created by the crafters, were pieces from our house.  I loved having such a special party in our own back yard because it really made a sweet memory we can cherish from our own home.  Something we did a little differently for this party was to have guests bring canned goods to “fill up Charlotte’s picnic basket” for a local food drive instead of gifts!
 

The race car theme for our 3 yr old boy.  I made the background sign and the road myself.  The other items like the tires, flag, and cones are all from Amazon.

A third bee birthday celebration for my wildflower daughter, Lily!

Those that have been following me for some time know that I go all out every year for my son’s birthday party. His 1st birthday was a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme, his 2nd birthday was a Jake & the Neverland Pirates theme, and for his 3rd birthday last year I went all out with a Madagascar 3 Circus themed birthday party! This year’s party was over-the-top, full of DIY projects, fun, wild, colorful, and full of sugary, sweet delectable goodies = guaranteed success. Check out this awesome DIY birthday party, wild circus Madagascar style!

A sweet, girly, pastel ice cream social party for my daughter’s 3rd birthday

I wasn’t planning on doing a big party this year but I just couldn’t help myself. I picked the theme around Christmas and the timing was perfect. I was able to get Christmas clearance for 70% and since the colors for Strawberry Shortcake are red, green and pink, it worked perfectly. I bought lots of pinwheels in red and green and just added pink ones later one. Saved tons of money that way.

A DIY girly and glittery pink and gold dinosaur birthday party for my 3 year old daughter.
 

I cannot believe now I share the project of Quorra’s 3 rd birthday.. its seems only yesterday that I shared her 1st party… :)
As she grew, she now can choose her own theme for birthday, and she still lovesss water and anything associated with sealife.. so she decided to be a mermaid this time and requested to have a bubble party!
Happy 3rd birthday dear Quorra

This Curious George Birthday Party is very near and dear to my heart! It was for my son, Carter’s 3rd birthday and he absolutely LOVES his Curious George plush monkey! Since that’s his best buddy, I decided it was only fitting to have a Curious George themed birthday party!
The party, appropriately named, Curious Carter, was centered around the dessert table. A Curious Carter banner from Cupcake With Character hung on top of the fabric backdrop and matched perfectly! The fabric backdrop was made by oh MY CHARLIE on Etsy. I think fabric is my favorite way to go as far as backdrops go. They are so easy to hang and look great behind the dessert table.
Grace & Guy Paperie & Design Co. on Etsy designed the invitation and all of the party printables. I just loved the cute invite and the printables really set the tone for all of the decor!
Funky Monkey Designs on Etsy did an awesome job of designing this chalkboard sign for Carter. It’s really a great way to personalize the party for your child and show guests what your child’s favorites are. It’s also a great keepsake too! I now have it sitting on my son’s bedroom dresser
My son loves it when I read him bedtime stories and I just had to add this book to his collection and as a keepsake from the wonderful party!
Let’s Go Bananas! The sign was a great addition to the table. I tried to play on the monkey and banana aspects of the party.
The Curious George monkey pinata was too cute, so I used it as a decoration on the dessert table. My son also has this in his bedroom now and it’s a great reminder of what a fun day we all had!
I found these fun Curious George tin buckets and decided to do some nice floral centerpieces. I took the buckets to my local florist and they made wonderful arrangements that matched the party’s colors.
I love the tassel banners from the Flair Exchange. You can mix and match any colors you like! I also did a little DIY project. I got a wood letter C from Michaels and glued poms in coordinating colors. I think it turned out nice. It was a cheap and easy DIY and looked great on the mantel!
The CAKE! WOW! It was exactly what I envisioned. I saw a similar one on Pinterest and my cake designer made it look even better than the one I saw. The idea of the monkey and the balloons came from the invitation design.
The banana split cupcakes with chocolate ganache were to die for! They were seriously the best cupcakes I’ve ever had!
I thought it would be a fun idea to put the banana candies in as a filler on my serving plates and I loved how they turned out!
The banana split cake pops from Autumn Lynn’s Chocolate Sins were also a huge hit! They were so good and they looked perfect on the dessert table!
Guests also enjoyed chocolate covered Oreos and Rice Krispie Pops (YUMMY!) from Sweet U Off Your Feet. There was also Red Macarons from Sweets & Treats Design Studio and Cupcakes, Chocolate Covered Pretzels, and Cookies from our local Sam’s Club. Guests also washed their goodies down with some Monkey Juice!
Something new I did this year was the birthday canvas from Canvas Kudos. I just love this idea! It makes such a great keepsake! Guests signed the canvas and now we have it hanging in Carter’s room. It’s a great way to show him how many people love him and helped to celebrate his Curious Carter 3rd birthday!
The kids took home a treat bag full of chocolate candy (Not like they didn’t have enough at the party! Sorry parents!) A printable tag with “Thanks for swinging by” hung on the favor bags with twine. It was a great party! Now time to start planning next year’s party!

This was my sons Toy Story 3rd Birthday Party that I created for him.  There is multiple paintings and fun things throughout the house to bring the classic movie to life.

For more information, visit my blog at:
http://www.greygreydesigns.com/2013/02/bretts-cars-2-birthday-party-15-minute.html