I have a five year old. A little girl that now holds up her whole hand when she tells someone how old she is. A whole hand old! How and when did that happen? And I’m pretty sure I didn’t give my permission for that to happen.

The truth is, Evie is the raddest chick I’ve ever met.  She is creative, funny, kind, patient, smart, and my best friend. I thank the universe every single day for giving me the gift of being her mommy.

My girl LOVES flowers.  Somehow she taught herself the names of tons of flowers.  She can walk by flowers and know exactly what they are. “Hey mommy, look at the beautiful daisies!” or “Doesn’t that gardenia smell good?”  It’s crazy…especially because I am the worst gardener in the whole world. Poor girl.

When I asked her what kind of 5th birthday she’d like to have, she immediately said flowers and then started to make her “party plan.” She drew what her flower cake would look like, told me what activities she wanted to do with her friends, and that she wanted a flower crown. Obviously my little party planning heart burst into a thousand flower petals.

This party may go down as one of my favorites.  I think it turned out beautiful and am happy with the day, but this was the first party I officially planned with my daughter.  She totally had a say into what went down, and gave her stamp of approval to the plan, including this adorable outfit and crown she picked out to wear on her special day. I’m so proud of her, and am so excited to share the highlights and behind the scenes scoop of the flower birthday party that Evie and I co-hosted to celebrate her big 5th birthday.

AND if that isn’t exciting enough…this party was featured in the Winter 2019 issue of Mingle Magazine! I can’t believe I can walk into a store and see my little girl’s party on newsstands! Totally a pinch me, dream come true moment!

Host Your Own Flower Birthday Party with this Flower Party Plan!

Prepping for the Party

Of course my plan was my lifesaver, as it always is for any party.  No repeats of Evie’s first birthday, right?? With my plan in hand, and party planning checklist printed out, I got to work prepping for this flower birthday party.  First job? Inviting our guests!

The Invitations

I knew I wanted something a little special for this party.  5 is a milestone birthday after all! Who doesn’t love receiving flowers?? Evie was SO excited to pass these invites out to her friends. I went to our local grocery store and bought a couple by the stem flowers that matched the theme and had them wrapped in kraft paper. Once I had all the bundles finished, I tied on a darling tag with the party details from my girl Nicole at Palm to Pine Design. They turned out SO cute and were totally unique!  Nicole also created a standard invitation (pictured below) matching the theme for me to mail to any guests we didn’t see regularly.

The Decor

Decor is where I spend the most of my party time and budget.  That really goes for any party I host. For me, the decor creates the magical moments.  It’s what I remember and each little party area has it’s own decor, and with that, it’s own story. My first stop? Target Dollar Spot. Always.  It’s like Target knows me and what themes I’m planning at the moment. It was almost a week after I completed the Flower Party Plan, that I wandered into Target to see fresh blooms and garden themed items ripe for the picking! Does anyone else feel like they win the lottery when Target has exactly what they need? How do they know!? The cake plates (die!) and the wood planter boxes were both from the dollar section! Perfection.

DIY Flower Letter

I have a couple different floral themed decor outlined in the Flower Party Plan. I almost didn’t make a flower letter because I had other plans for the thousands of fake flowers I bought with JoAnn Fabric and Michael’s 60% off coupons.  But…then Evie asked if she could have an E with flowers all over it to put on her door after the party was over, so cue the glue gun! This DIY flower letter actually a breeze to make and I LOVE how it turned out.  A full tutorial and supply list is laid out in the plan (as well as links to purchase some already made ones)! I think the key is to choose your color pallet and stick to it.  I had some fun bright pinks and bigger corals in my pile, but they didn’t quite fit. Just try some different combo and the winner will stand out to you!

Fresh (and maybe some fake) Blooms

Speaking of those millions of fake flowers…can you guess the bouquet of fake flowers below? I was shocked at the quality of flowers I found and used for this party’s decor!

Photo Memory Wall

If you’ve been following me for awhile now, you know I love incorporating pictures of my kids into their birthday parties. I just love to see how they’ve grown and to show off any milestones from their previous year!  I asked Nicole to make me a “with grace in her heart and flowers in her hair” sign to put in the middle of the photo board because I just think that quote describes my girl so well.

Hanging Floral Garlands

I’ve realized I have a pattern when it comes to the parties I host. I always take on a labor of love project and I always hate myself…until I see them shining in all their DIY glory, and then I love myself. Those hanging floral garlands? The flower party’s labor of love. The princess party was the princess dress paper garlands, puppy party were the homemade puppy ear headbands, the moss wild one letters at Hudson’s 1st, the list goes on and on. But then I think about those parties and those pieces of decor are my favorite detail! Typical right? Basically…collect a million fake flowers (clip those coupons and download apps for craft stores for more!) and cut away. Put your favorite show on, pour a glass of rose, and get to stringing, lady. Will you burn your fingers on the glue gun? Yes.  Will they look AMAZING and create a super dreamy backdrop for your party? Also yes. Totally worth not having fingerprints. A full video tutorial with supply lists is in the Flower Party Plan! Scroll down to see how all the strings looked together in my yard. Beyond, I mean, no words when I saw them all hanging there.

Baking

Ugh. This pretty much sums up how I feel about baking for a party. I don’t know why I do this to myself.  Someone come over before my next party and repeat to me “Do Not Bake For a Party” over and over until I give in. I had grand plans to make these little sugar cookie flower pots that I saw on Pinterest. They would have been too cute on the table, but it wasn’t meant to be. The girl that knows how to host a beautiful stress-free party can only do so much, my friend. The reason I keep it stress-free? I know my strengths and I don’t try to do it all. You can see my fun #pinterestfail below.  But on the bright side, I had two assemble only wins!

This floral bark is totally stunning and tasty…yet so easy you could do it in your sleep. Melt chocolate, sprinkle whatever you want all over the melted chocolate, cool it off until it’s hard, break away! Pics of it on the dessert table are coming up!

These little daisy pie bites actually turned out SO cute…but I didn’t like how to yellow looked on the table so they didn’t make the final cut. I know, totally dumb but honest excuse! They still had a little moment at the party though so I’m happy!

Host Your Own Flower Birthday Party with this Flower Party Plan!

It’s Party Day!

Party day is such a rush. I wake up early on party days, make my coffee that ends up getting 3 sips before I set it down and forget about it, and take in the quiet. Then it’s go time, especially when the majority of the party is outside. I love the prep and planning. The thinking of all the ideas, envisioning the special moments, making shopping lists, following my checklist, all that is great. But when the visual starts to come to life…it’s such a cool feeling. I wish I could be a fly on the wall as you execute your party from your party plans because I love the pride it brings!

The Outside Space

We’ve got summer birthdays over here and that means we use our backyard for our venue! I wanted to have different little areas to focus on when it came to decorthe sitting area with

-the hanging garlands

-the planting station for the kid’s flower pots

-the activity/craft tent

-the food table

Okay…but look at those hanging floral garlands…totally worth it right?!  Such a special moment. They were perfection and that nook was exactly what I envisioned when I was making them.

The Planting Station

I knew I wanted the kids to take home their own flower, and planting it and designing their pot was the perfect activity for all ages.  It also doubled as a favor which is always a win in my book! I got a new baker’s rack for Mother’s Day so this little guy has been sitting in my garage.  Little did I know, it was begging to be transformed into a potting shelf for the garden! I mixed some leftover fake flowers with fresh flowers for this one, and created the “Bloom where you are planted sign” with my Cricut and a Target dollar spot wood sign. Notice the wood planter box on there also! I got the plants from the hardware store- all on an end of season sale!

The Party Activities

Evie really loves arts and crafts.  One of my favorite things about her is that she is almost always creating something. I wanted an area that the kids could go and create at.  It was great because it also provided some much needed shade on our toasty July day! I had paper, paint, foam stickers, clay, markers, glitter, etc. on the table.  They painted with flowers, painted their own flowers, painted their pots, made mosaics, and so much more. It was so fun to see their little masterpieces! Lots more flower party activity ideas, with supply lists to purchase directly from your plan, are all outlined and included with the Flower Party Plan!

Could she be any cuter painting in her little flower crown? Totally in her element!

The Party Food

I worked with my friend, Jackie, at Sprinkles and Confetti, to get all the party supplies and tabletop items for this party! I loved being able to get everything from my party plan from her, all in one box that arrived at my doorstep! I loved the white daisy plates mixed in with the floral supplies.  Rose gold was the perfect pop of metallic and sparkle for this party too! Guess what! Jackie has offered a discount code to anyone that orders this flower collection from the Flower Party Plan! The code is in your plan on the tabletop page!

I kept the menu plan super simple for this party. I don’t like anything that I have to cook on party day, and try to stick with assembly only items.  Salad, sandwiches with a flower cookie cutter, little cups with fillings that looked liked flowers, fruit, etc. Easy to execute, even easier to delegate.  My poor dad always gets food duty, but he does such a great job helping! (Thanks, Dad! XO) I also like to think of food that kids don’t have to have a plate for.  They like to walk and roam parties…and a sandwich is great for their little hands!

The Beverage Station

We all know I’m a supporter of the cocktail option for the grown up guests.  They are bringing their kids to a party- where they will leave hopped up on sugar and probably a little messier than they came.  Parents deserve a little treat too. I had pink lemonade in the beverage server for the kiddos, and below were one of my favorite roses and champagne. Nice and refreshing on a hot summer afternoon. I made floral ice cubes with edible flowers to add a little color to the beverage tub and I love how they turned out!! Super easy but so bright and colorful!  They added a fun little touch to the drinks.

The Dessert Table

Wood and hanging flowers. That’s what I wanted for this dessert table. Rustic, but feminine with the focus on the cake.  Remember before when I told you Evie drew me a picture of her cake? It was vanilla with flowers all over the top, and that’s exactly what I got from Krysten with Lucy and Lemons. She also made the most beautiful floral buttercream sugar cookies!  So talented, and beyond delicious! The floral hoops were another one of those decor pieces that I was nervous to make, but super relived to find out how easy they were! I really like how each of them are a little different but work together so well. They looked so perfect hanging in front of the faux wood backdrop!

Out of all the beautiful photos my girlfriend, Aleks, gifted to me from this party, these two pictures of Evie may be my favorite.  I love her sweet face blowing out these candles. You can tell she is so happy and excited about her birthday party.

The one below where she gave me a squeeze makes me tear up looking at her. She is so beautiful. I am so incredibly lucky and proud to be her mama.

Happy 5th birthday, my darling girl.

That’s a wrap on the big 5th birthday bash!  Both kids are a year older, had epic birthday parties, and our hearts are very full.  We have cherished memories from both parties and are so blessed to be surrounded by the love and support from our family and friends.

Host Your Own Flower Birthday Party with this Flower Party Plan!

Next Steps

I know you’ve got a party coming up, and I’m here to help you with it!  Everything you need for this flower party (and any theme of your choice!) are all outlined in your party plan.  It has everything you need, start to finish, saving you time, stress, and money when planning your next party.  Links to purchase all supplies (the cutest and at the best prices of course!), a weekly checklist, and tons of my best tips are all included.  I know it sounds too good to be true…but it’s not. Planning a party really can be that simple. Shop party plans or shoot me an email so we can get started!

Vendor Credits:

Party Styling and Party Planning eBook and Checklist: Allison Carter Celebrates

Photography: Rebecca Ellison and Aleks Lopez

Paper Goods and Prints: Palm to Pine Design

Cake and sugar cookies: Lucy and Lemons

Party Supplies: Sprinkles and Confetti

 

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