I am still wondering where this year went? One day I’m waiting for Emma’s arrival and the next thing I know, is that I am planning for her birthday party! Ya, I know! It is so crazy to think that a whole year just flew by just like that (snaps finger). So here I am sharing all the deets that went into this shellabration! To be quite honest I wasn’t sure where to begin, I mean the possibilities are endless. First thing is first, and that was the balloon garland that I found a couple of weeks before Easter. Technically it was an Easter balloon garland but you know what? sometimes, just sometimes you have to let the creativity roll and you just go with it. I bought this pastel colored balloon garland that totally inspired me.
Then I made a trip to Target to get some essentials but you didn’t go to Target just to get essentials if ya know what I’m talking about here? So I make my way down the party aisle to see if anything captured my creativity spark. Oh and I was triggered by so many things! This is good though, I mean it was good for me because I didn’t quite have a theme going on. So I find these super cute seashell napkins that totally had to come with me. How about we just take a look at the photos and see what I came up with. I mean you too will fall in love with the under the sea theme like I did! Oh and did I mention I made a lot of it myself? See the thing is, you can also be a super mom *wink wink* I know it’s in you!
Food is always kinda tricky for me, I’m always wondering of the easiest most practical way to serve food, but also delish. This time I found a photo on Pinterest of some adorable “crabwiches” and it totally made up my mind about serving croissant sandwiches. They’re so delicious and you can add whatever kind of filling you want. Then I added some googly eyes on tooth picks which helped the crabwiches stay together.
I knew I wanted fruit and veggies as a side so I was sure to also make it easy to grab and eat. I chopped the fruit in small pieces so it would all fit in these adorable containers. It really made the fruit look extra fancy and you will not guess where these are from? The Dollar Tree store! Side note, I also grabbed some pastel colored tissue paper that you see in the party favor bags. You’d be surprised at how many good things you can find there. It had been a very long time since I had been there, so I’ll be sure to go back and check it out for more potential goodies.
First is first, let’s take a moment to admire the two big stars of the whole show! The clam cookies and the Bundt cake topped with white chocolate seashells. I was just thinking about how simple and how perfect they came out. I made both of them throughout the week and so that gave me time to complete it on her actual birthday. Ok so I’m just saying that you can do it all too!
I ordered an plain Bundt cake because I wanted to add my twist to it. So for the cake topper/topping I mixed graham crackers with light brown sugar and sprinkled it on the top of the Bundt cake. Just enough to cover the hole in the center and to create a smooth top. To give it a more seashore feel, I thought about adding edible seashells, so I melted white chocolate chips into the same silicone molds. Which look just like real seashells if you ask me! I finished it with some more edible pearls and I couldn’t miss the number one sparkler.
For the clam cookies I bought madeleine cookies, white butter cream frosting and edible pearls. Then I added a few drops of red food coloring to make the same shade of pink as the balloons. To finish off the cookies I placed an edible pearl to give it that ultimate clam look. To serve the cookies I also added more of the graham cracker/sugar mix to make it look sandy.
To entertain our guests and the birthday girl of course, we had an ultimate toddler play zone. This was probably the coolest way to entertain the toddlers. It was so beautifully presented and safe which is my first concern as a mom. The play zone had baby gates all around since we have little crawlers. So if you have bigger kids the gates can be removed. It is totally customizable from the colors, to the bounce houses and the ball pits. It is such a perfect way to host a birthday party for the littles.
The set up only took about about 30 minutes or so. Kim was such a pleasure to work with and highly recommend if you’re in the Houston area. She sets up and once the party is over she comes and removes it all. If you’re worried, or concerned about the cleanliness of the play zone; do not be whatsoever. It is cleaned and disinfected after every party. She was not only the sweetest, but she worked with us since day one! The play zone really made the party come alive and I didn’t know how amazing it was going to be! I’ve already booked for Sofia’s birthday…six months from now! Be sure to book 2-3 months in advance just to make sure you get the set up of your choice secured.
Since we had a mix of age groups, I decided to have a painting area for the bigger kids. There was a little bit of everything there, I had acrylic paints, stickers, gems and glitter pens to decorate their treasure chest. Even their parents joined in on the fun by helping their kids decorate their wooden craft. I mean how much fun did you have painting as a kid? I know I always looked forward to it and seeing all of the wonderful work from all the others too! The iridescent gems were a favorite with the girls and the shark stickers with the boys.
We couldn’t have a party and not have a piñata am I right? Usually piñatas are meant to be hit with a stick of some sort, but I think that it can be a tad bit risky with babies around. So I opted for a pull string piñata, which is great considering that we had different age groups! Each kid grabs a few strings then everyone pulls down on the count of three! It’s super simple and so fun to watch everyone’s reactions. I added play dough and fruit snacks to this adorable fish piñata, feel free to add anything else you want!
To conclude this awesome shellabration, we had the cutest party favors that contained several goodies. Sofia and I had so much fun melting crayons into several shapes; we made seashells, turtles and fishes. To go with the crayons I made a personalized coloring sheet which you can download for free. I also added a water bottle (I bought different colors too), and tossed in some cute seashell jewelry.
Now if you ask me what was my favorite part? I’d have to say that seeing the reaction on sweet Emma was priceless, it was the highlight of it all. Nothing can top that, it makes me proud and it also makes me say “man that was good”. I know party planning can be stressful or overwhelming but it can also be very rewarding. When you take the time to plan and execute everything you had in mind; seeing it come alive is the best feeling ever! It was all and much more than I could have imagined. I hope this inspires you, especially if you’re thinking about having an under the sea party celebration! I have linked everything I used down below.
I’d love to know what was your favorite part of this birthday party?
xo,
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” – Matthew 6:33
