Coming up with a theme for a party which needs to cater to both boys and girls can be rough. Recently I was asked to style a party for Kacey who was turning 3 and her brother, David, who was turning 1. Kacey is currently madly in love with Tinkerbell so the party simply had to have fairies! And, even if she has to share her party with her brother, who can deny a little girl a fairy party?! But, for David's sake, it couldn't all be fairies. (We simply couldn't have him looking back at pictures of his 1st birthday 20 years from now and feeling like he got ripped off!) So we needed to pull a little "boy" into it as well. After a bit of discussion with Kacey and David's mother, we decided to go with a pirates and fairies theme, very loosely based on Peter Pan.
We chose a fun palette of blues and greens with purple and gold accents. Partly because blue is Kacey's favorite color and partly because the mix can work for both boys and girls. Besides the typical pirate stripe, we worked to pull in all different types of patterns including many batiks and watercolor prints. These gave the party an islandy, oceany feeling very reminiscent of pirates and the home of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell!
When the guests first arrived they were met by a treasure map! Because, of course, there's no better way to direct guests at a pirate party!
They were asked to "follow the fairies". On the ground we laid out a dotted line which mimicked the line on the treasure map and flying above the guest's heads were a line of paper fairies "leading" them to the party.
The "treasure" which map alluded to was a yard bathed in green, blue and purple!
Over 200 feet of custom fabric bunting helped to created a magical outdoor room. Fairy wings adorn the chairs at the children's table, while pirate ships with custom masts were "docked" at the adult tables.
There was a brunch buffet ("Pirate Grub with Fabulous Fairy Flavoring"!)...
... as well as a dessert table.
Keeping with our theme, I skirted the dessert table with a watery printed fabric and then topped it with billowing burlap to mimic the rolling dunes of sand which might be found at the "water's edge".
Beautiful pirate cake pops, from Mom's Killer Cakes, were displayed in a treasure chest.
Then inspired by Kate Lander's gorgeous
Mermaid dessert table, I used raw sugar to represent sand.
And pouring it into lanterns, I used it to prop up lovely chocolate covered Oreos, with our fairy printed on them, from Serena's Party Boutique as a call back to Tink getting trapped in the lantern.
Fairy wands made of Pixy Sticks "wandered" amid a piece of drift wood.
And wonderful pirate ship cookies, made by Lori's Place, stood up in a sweeping piece of blue fabric and looked as though they were actually sailing the seas of "Cookie Cove"!
I was also lucky enough to find the absolute perfect cups for the kids at Party City (for only 99 cents!!) and decorated them with drink flags displaying each of the children's names so that no one lost their cup.
Aimee, of the fabulous Strawberrie Rose Couture Collection, made a beautiful tutu for Kacey and even adjusted the colors to match our party perfectly!
So that David didn't feel left out, I made him a t-shirt declaring him "Captain David" on the front and displaying the party's pirate ship icon on the back.
During the party there were pirate and fairy tattoos and fun cardboard fairy wings which the kids could decorate with markers, stamps and stickers. And, best of all, there was an appearance by a fabulous Tinkerbell. Kacey was in seventh heaven!
And David, although a bit shell shocked as most one year old's are at their first birthday bash, seemed to have a very fine time too!
Vendors:
Treasure Chest - Michael's
Cardboard Wings - Michael's
Striped Drink Cups - Party City
