5th birthday party

My little guy wanted to be a prince on his 5th birthday so I was excited to create “royalish” birthday for him. Besides, why should only girls have royal/princessy birthdays?!?! ;)  To make activities and theme appropriate to what he is into lately (superheros, fights, star wars etc.), I decided on “Knights and Dragons” theme.
Due to his several food allergies, I also have to make all of the desserts. And no one has more fun baking vegan desserts that contains black beans, prunes, and apple sauce as milk/egg replacements, than I do. :)
And I created most of everything myself, including Knights’ tunics. The birthday boy called himself “King of all Knights” and had  a blast with his fellow Knights!

When my daughter, Olivia, asked for a Garden Tea Party to celebrate her 5th birthday, my creative juices really started to flow. There is something so sweet and special about a little girl’s first tea party, and I instantly envisioned Olivia with her sister and their friends in an enchanted, magical setting. With a lot of work and painstaking attention to detail, my backyard was transformed into a lush, picturesque garden—perfect for any little lady to sit and take her afternoon tea!
I started by designing and building a gorgeous custom canopy around the dining area, with flowing drapes that cascaded down to the table seating all of Olivia’s friends. This created an incredibly charming atmosphere and seeing the drapes dance in the breeze only added to the ethereal essence I was hoping to capture. My favorite part of the table was the simple, yet elegant golden chandelier that hung in the center—rather than having it be an overly ornate decoration, I opted for a playful piece that while appropriate for a children’s party, lends to the overall sophistication of the event.
The table was beautifully decorated with delicate birdcages, which I filled with silk flower petals; for centerpieces, I arranged Manzanita branches, speckled with organza butterflies, birds, and hanging terrariums. I also set the table with multi-tier serving trays filled with adorable butterfly and flower-shaped tea sandwiches, my own fun and whimsical twist on traditional Afternoon Tea fare. Rather than seating cards, I had an artist design custom tea cups for every guest at the party with their names, which also served as a lovely, personalized parting gift.
Of course, the perfect tea party would not be complete without a stunning dessert table so I built a customized 8ft by 6ft flower backdrop, hand-crafting every intricate bud out of brightly-colored paper and then making it come to life with realistic accents. The backdrop stood behind an absolutely breathtaking designer cake, matching cake pops and elegant tiers of delicious cookies, cupcakes, and macaroons. The vibrant colors of the backdrop and desserts worked so well together, and with the garden-theme mirrored in every detail, this was truly a focal point of the party’s décor.
To make the party as enjoyable as it was beautiful, I invited our favorite Princesses who helped entertain guests with singing and dancing, and I organized various activities ranging from cupcake decorating to bracelets crafting. I also ordered a castle bouncy house which is always a favorite of the kids’.
I really loved being able to watch my ideas come to life and took so much pleasure in hand-crafting every last detail of this party; however, the most rewarding part for me was being able to create a fun, memorable experience for my daughters and their friends, and to make Olivia feel so special on her birthday.
Enjoy!
Alexandra
 

I wanted Lauren’s birthday party to be special, turning 5 is a big deal after all! And we haven’t thrown her a birthday party since she was 2 so felt I had a little making up to do. Lauren is really into princesses and was clear about including boys at her party, so it was a goal to find a way to incorporate the princess theme without being over the top girly.
The first thing I did was select the invitations which in turn helped me focus in on a color palette. The Princess Crown suite from Minted was perfect – it had the underlying princess theme which was essential, it had pink and yellow touches (Lauren’s 2 favorite colors, check!), and overall was cheerful and happy. The collection includes invites, thank you notes, and party decor so it was really one-stop shopping. While I was on their site I browsed their new fabric collections and fell in love with the “Walk the Line” print. It was the perfect pattern and comes in a bunch of colors. I decided to use this fabric as table runners for the kids tables and then ordered additional yardage to make goodie bags out of.
Next I shifted gears and planned out activities for the kids. Lauren and her friends really like painting their nails so I bought about 7 different colors of nail polish but then also found some really cute temporary tattoos – so fun! I thought the kids would love a “manicure and tattoo” station at the party. It was such a hit! I had seen some amazing photos of teepees at kids parties on Pinterest and definitely wanted to have a few at the party. They added just the right amount of whimsy and the kids loved playing in and around them.
When each of Lauren’s guests arrived, she greeted them with personalized crowns – pink and purple crowns for the girls, and ivory crowns for the boys. All of her friends are really into dress-up and they looked adorable running around with the crowns on. And they were such great keepsakes for all of her friends to bring home with them! At the end of the party she handed out the goodie bags which included, for girls, little heart charm necklaces personalized with their first initial, and for boys, custom iced sugar cookies in the shape of a crown.
Lauren wanted to help out with the party and I was thrilled to include her in the DIY projects. We temporarily set up a station at the kitchen table for a few weeks and worked side-by-side a little each night. Together we hand-stamped “yum” on the sticks for the watermelon, “thank you” on the goodie bag favor cards, and then she helped assemble and tie the goodie bags that my mom sewed for us using the Minted fabric (thanks Mom!).
The party was held at one of our local parks and was an amazing backdrop. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the kids had so much fun. Most importantly, Lauren was beaming the whole day!
 

This is the second year Tyler has picked out what theme he’s wanted.  Last year it was a Puppy Party, and this year he requested a “baby turtle party.”  So we got to work designing an Under the Sea Birthday Party for his celebration of a big 5 years old.  He’s going to be starting Kindergarten this year!
Our tables were set up with party favors for our young guests as they arrived.  Each of them got to pick out a bright pair of sunglasses of their choice to strike a pose in front of the photo wall.  They also received a personalized sand bucket to gather their party favors in at game time.
Even though a baby turtle party was the requested theme, we added in some whales to the designs as well. A bright blue, navy and green theme was chosen for a summertime feel.
For our party table setup:
We wrapped milk bottles filled with blue Gatorade with twine to give a nautical look.
Custom cookies were ordered from The Sweet Tooth Cakery in Tampa again this year.  Pamela does such an amazing job on the cookies, they always look and match perfectly!  We got the cake from Target and topped it with a wooden anchor.
The vanilla cake pops, oyster cookies and “crab” turkey or ham and cheese sandwiches we made ourselves.  The oyster cookies are made with Manila wafer cookies on the outsides and colored frosting with white pearl Sixlets in the middle.
Games/Activities:
The kids took their turn playing a fishing game with a wooden dolly I hot glued twine to make the fishing poles.  A magnet was on the end of the poles and on each fish.  They got to catch 2 fish each, receiving one prize per fish. For our second activity, we made sand art.  Each guest got their own plastic bottle and put in the colors of sand of their choice.
Kendall of Kendall Nickerson Photography took the photos.  She did a wonderful job and was great to work with!
I’ve enjoyed sharing our party with you and hope we’ve given you a few ideas for your own.

My son Karlo is all about the outdoors, so he was all ready to cast off and have some ‘reel’ fun with his Gone Fishin’ 5th birthday party!
The main party table was styled around the printable party package I designed especially for my son’s birthday. I searched all over town to find fishing items to add a little bit of rustic to the cute printables. Lots of wood grain, burlap and natural looking grasses along with the fun pops of color made this themed table fun and festive!
I like to design cake centerpieces that can help a mom transform an inexpensive homemade cake into something special and this gone fishing cake turned out just as I had imagined. I frosted the cake with the petal design technique to resemble waves. Then using the printables, I strung a line of colored fish on bakers twine and bamboo sticks and lastly, the gone fishing inspired sign let everyone know my birthday boy’s age!
The party bait shop was stocked full of edible treats like the reels and worms. The reels where created using two chocolate covered cookies and sandwiched a large marshmallow. My husband was clever to have me add the mini marshmallows for further detail which really made them look reels!
Full party package detail are available in my Etsy shop, click here for details!
Happy celebrating!
xo
Tania
Vendors:
Styling & Photography: Tania’s Design Studio
Printables: Tania’s Design Studio
Cake Pops: Carmen’s Sweet Creations
Cookies: Cookievonster

Not one to go with a traditional girly celebration, Caroline decided she wanted a Lego party to kick off her new year. Such a colorful and fun theme! The sweets table took center stage with a Lego inspired backdrop made with a white plastic table cover and plastic plates that mimic the Lego nubs. Small boxes covered with blue and red wrapping paper were made to look like blocks, as well as the Happy Birthday banner. Colored candy melts were used to create the Lego cupcake toppers and cake décor. They were also used to make the hit of the party– chocolate covered Oreos. Mason jars were adorned with large Lego man faces that guests could write their names on to keep track of their drinks. Colorful fabric was layered as a nod to the eye catching blocks. Legos themselves were incorporated in cute and useful ways- a large block held utensils. Centerpieces were Lego tulips and the kids table had CAROLINE spelled out. A Lego company set up various stations where the little guests could get creative and play games with Lego characters, build a Lego city and even Star Wars ships! As guests left, they were given Lego head marshmallow pops. Aside from Mother Nature having a bad hair day and taking it out on us with crazy winds and drizzle-necessitating a last-minute move indoors- I think we built the perfect party!

A modern and colorful twist on the traditional jungle themed birthday party.

Our son is obsessed with the Ghostbusters. So,when we asked him last year what he wanted to do for his 5th birthday we weren’t surprised that he begged for a Ghostbusters party.        One of JD’s favorite Ghostbusters scene is the library scene from the first movie, so I thought it would be awesome to have his party in an actual library, and grandma just happens to work at a school with an awesome library!

I was so excited to have this awesome party theme thrown my way by a great local mom here in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Her daughter was adamant about having a party based on the Adventure Time TV show. Mom was having a hard time finding party supplies to go with the theme so she came to me. I made all the graphics for her and a custom cake/cupcakes/marshmallow pops as well. All in all working on this project was a good time. The kids had a ball at the party playing a cool penguin bowling game that they made out of bottles. An awesome face painter and entertainer was there to show the kids an extra fun time as well.  Great party for a great gal, Happy Birthday Aila!

When I asked my daughter, Emma what kind of party she wanted for her 5th birthday she immediately said she wanted a spa party! Instead of spending oodles of money at one of the kids salons, I decided to have it at home. Since the party was in the late afternoon we decided to have a sweets table filled with delicious treats for the girls to enjoy after their spa treatments.Amber of Party On! Designs created a fun and girlie set of party printables in pinks and aquas to give a touch of glamour to the at home event. We served store bought cupcakes, decorated spa mask cookies from Stephanie J’s and pink macarons from Sparkles Macaron. The girls loved all the treats after their spa treatments! We set up a mini nail bar and a beauty bar and while some girls were getting beautified, others were creating their own flip flops. I bought pink flip flops from Old Navy and cut scrap fabric up in colors matching the party. They loved creating them and wearing them after they got their pedicures! I hired two high school students that lived in the neighborhood to come over and give the girls their beauty treatments while the moms relaxed and chatted.As the girls said their goodbyes, they each received a bag for their flip flops and were each given a mini favor box designed by Pamela Smerker Designs with hot pink polish and cotton balls for touch ups at home. Jameson Monroe also sent for each girl a headband as an extra special treat and they all received a mini cupcake bath bomb from FB Essentials. The party was a hit and the girls truly had an amazing time!The birthday girl’s shirt was designed by me, her mommy of Sweet Threads Clothing Co and The Sweet Crush designed a matching necklace for her to wear. Jameson Monroe completed her outfit with a special headband for her super special 5th birthday! It definitley was a party to remember!