Party pals. We had the most ah-mazing party for my sweet Ben. As with every party I plan, I started VERY early on with the theme, invites and guest list. I knew I wanted to do a British themed party as a homage to my brother and sis-in-law living in London, but also, Ben's nursery is styled using lots of British elements. (I have a fab chest of drawers...you must see it!)
I wanted to make the party 'boyish' instead of super grown up, I mean we are celebrating a one year old! The invitations were designed with bold red stripes and soldier. I also added Ben's monogram to the back of the card- it's the added touch of detail that really shows the thought that went into creating the perfect card. I printed the invites on a lush, double thick, bright white stock. The envelopes were printed with our return address on the flap, and addressed to His or Her Majesty. Simply adorable.
My talented mom, made the most adorable door decoration for the party. She used a styrofoam base, grosgrain ribbon, foam core, and a vinyl machine for the letters. (This now hangs in Ben's room- so cute!)
When I plan parties, I first have to think about who is going to be eating...Which then gives me my plan for the food table. I wanted to have a mix of breakfast type food and snacks. I prepared everything from french toast sticks in legit Financial Times papers straight from London, to bacon, a fruit pizza, mini quiche, short bread cookies, and my personal fav, "fish and chips" aka gold fish and potato chips. So fun! I of course had to fill my table with custom food signs...and no table would be complete without M&M's in dishes that spell out Ben!
I have a pal in the neighborhood who is super talented and made and decorated the birthday cake, cookies and smash cake. I put the cake on a fun blue cake plate, giving it a lift over the food and becoming the star of the table. (Love cake stands!) And OMG, the cookies were delish. (I think there was a certain someone who ate his weight in them, in fact. Not naming names though!)
It's hard to come up with something fun to drink at eleven o'clock in the morning, but I think I hit the nail on the head with my choices! I made a Pimm's punch, served water (which of course had custom labels), and English tea. I put the punch in a cute drink dispenser next to the water bottles, and near the food table, set up a little tea area with a personalized mug for each guest to sip tea from (and take home!)
During the party, guests were invited to take pics with the birthday boy. I purchased props and set up a backdrop using PVC pipe and a piece of polka dotted fabric. When planning for this party, I knew I wanted to incorporate stripes and polka dots. Fun, right? When I couldn't find the party hats I wanted, I simply made them. We'll have a tutorial on the blog soon so you can make your own, too! Ben got a special hat! See the pics below- his is personalized!
You can see that everyone was into the props! Even my mom and aunts!
What would a British themed party be without some authentic poppers? This truly was such a sweet celebration of my baby boy. I had so much fun planning!