From the time Grace was born I began planning her first birthday party, call it a sickness, I call it passion and a slight obsession. As I began to brainstorm ideas, I fell in love with a ladybug themed party; I mean how are those little red, black-spotted bugs not adorable? With the theme set, I was now on the hunt for the perfect location and couldn’t think of a better place than a local park. If you know Grace, there is nothing this little girl loves more than the park. Theme…check. Location…check. Now it was time to focus on all of the fun ladybug details, my favorite part of planning this party. The color scheme for the party was red, black, and a touch of lime green. For the tables, I alternated between two different ladybug designs. Half of the tables were covered with black table clothes and accented with a ladybug balloon centerpiece; while the other half were covered in red table clothes with black polka dots to resemble a ladybug. The dessert table displayed handmade ladybug party hats, lime green wrapped boxes which served as a display to our red and black polka dotted ladybug cupcakes, and Grace’s personal ladybug smash cake. The “Big Bugs” were given a treatbag full of candy while the “Little Bugs” were given a treatbag full of ladybug crayons and a ladybug mini coloring book. Both were adorned with a personalized thank you tag that matched the invitations. Aside from the park, there was a ladybug pinata and since it was the middle of August, a refreshing water balloon fight :) Last but not least, Gracie Bug’s party outfit was a red tutu covered in black polka dots with a personalized onesie and matching ladybug hair clip, all found on Etsy. I had so much fun planning this party and despite the heat, it was a fantastic party!