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Sprinkle Some Fun Themed Posh Play Date

November 17, 2016
Celebrating , Posh Playdates

I love throwing parties. I used to throw three a day at Saks Fifth Avenue in 3 separate departments sometimes all at once and I kind of miss it. Decorating, party planning, and celebrating with themes is in my blood and so with Juliet, I combine themed parties with play dates. And together we’ve celebrated each holiday in style and have elevated the average mommy and me get together to something special, something beyond. And that is what I aimed to do again with a sprinkle-themed play date. I enlisted 7 sponsors through my database of contacts and threw a series of “sprinkle some fun” themed play dates for some close blogger friends of mine.

It all started out with Juliet using her kid-friendly cooking set from Real Cooking. They gifted us and the blogger moms in attendance with adorable cooking sets, cake pop makers and handy egg crackers perfect for toddler hands. Given Juliet loves cooking so much (even sleeps with her whisk), she was super psyched to show off her cooking skills by baking cookies for all her guests to decorate.

She helped present all the fun sprinkle options in these cute containers and I encouraged everyone to decorate with their own dollop of frosting and sprinkle toppings.

Of course, eating your finished product is the best part!

Other activities included coloring in pages supplied by Crayola in a fun sprinkles theme.

Below is Juliet’s finished artwork – not bad for a 3 year old, right?

After school snacks included: fresh fruit, trail mix, hummus and chips, cheese and crackers and a selection of drinks.

The kids loved the displayed ice cream truck and doll sponsored by Our Generation. I mean really, is this not a dream toy set for any little girl or what?

The “sweet stop ice cream truck” features movable wheels, wipers, a pull down seating area and chalk board sign. And it even has buttons to signal left /right, lights for cruising in the dark, a music button to play 3 songs, brake pedal lights and wipers that actually work!

And with 128 delicious and beautiful pieces (think snow cones, banana split sundaes, popsicles, donuts and ice cream galore), the imaginative play is endless!

Plus you can feel good about this product because the packaging is made from recycled materials and a portion of any Our Generation product sales goes towards the Free The Children’s Power of a Girl Initiative. And unlike many other toys, this one doesn’t need a makeover. It’s perfectly pretty already!

The Our Generation doll that was gifted with it was also a hit! She traveled everywhere with Juliet and her friends!

When I asked Juliet where they were driving off to, she replied “to the fashion mall!” haha she is definitely my daughter!

If you’re wondering why Juliet is pictured wearing two different outfits it’s because this play date was a 2 part series. It’s hard getting all these busy moms to agree on one date! But it all worked out because Juliet got to show off different ways to style her new Beach Town Baby tee! The raglan tee, with its cute saying, “It’s a confetti and sprinkles kind of day” was the perfect addition to the play date for our minifashionistas. Each girl styled it in her own way which really showed off how versatile the tee (which comes in both pink or blue) really is!

I even found double use for the tees and draped them over the chairs as decorative chair covers. And yes that is wine. The moms need to have some fun at the play date too! lol

Not only was each blogger kid gifted with a Real Cooking set, and a Beach Town Baby tee, they also got to take home a gift from Charm It! and Watchitude!

Both companies carried on the sprinkles theme with cute accessories perfect for girly girls like ours!

Sprinkles themed watch patterns included gumballs, gummy bears, donuts, sprinkles, and ice cream.

I love how the watches slap on for easy on/off wearability and the fact that they are analog, not digital makes them educational tools too! I am already starting to teach Juliet how to tell time with them!

Charm It! offers the cutest selection of charm necklaces, bracelets, brooches and stick on charms. The teeny bopper in me got super excited while shopping their colorful website. Of course we chose charms with a sprinkles theme for this play date! But she also chose and received some really sweet Disney princess charms to transform her necklace for those days when she is feeling more royal (follow me on Instagram to see more!)

Sprinkles cupcakes were supplied by Sprinkles. Who better to partner with on a sprinkles themed play date?? No but really, they had the most delectable cupcakes. I’m totally addicted and find it nearly impossible to pass by their store without a little treat.

A fun, dance-able mix of songs played in the background and confetti push pops and polka dotted balloons invited kids to revel in their sugar high.

Thanks to all our guests for such a memorable, laughter filled time! @gothamlove, @downtownchicmoms @eunicekindred My cheeks hurt from smiling at all the cuteness overload. And special thanks goes out to all my sponsors who made this posh play date possible.

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Secrets To Stylishly Designing a Kids’ Table

March 26, 2016
Birthdays , Celebrating , Decor , Tablescapes

If you saw my last post recapping Dining By Design, otherwise known as DIFFA, the leading trade show for table decor and party design, you know I love a fabulous tablescape! Here, I’m going to share with you some of my top tips for designing a stylish kids’ tablescape using pictures from my daughter’s bunny birthday party that I just produced!

As a party planner, I’m a little jaded when it comes to party decor. I’ve pretty much seen it all. So when I plan my own, I like to stray from the ordinary and try to feature some unique items to wow and surprise. For instance, for the bunny birthday that I threw for my daughter’s 3rd birthday, I added a whimsical wow factor with a tall, supersized sunflower centerpiece.

I bought the tall silk flowers during a sale at Michael’s. Don’t you love that place?? And I purchased the picket white fences from a Chinese wholesaler. The secret to keeping everything in place?? Flower foam, hot glue, yellow grass and juice boxes to weigh everything down! It created an immediate fun factor to the table and was a conversation piece as you walked into the room!

You’ll see that the party space (within our building) fortunately had free kids tables and chairs for us to use but the chairs were a mish mash of different colors so I made them uniform with some spandex yellow seat covers (adult sized) and fitted them with a chair sash turned into a bow. I bought both materials wholesale which made them cheaper than renting and now I can use them for future events or sell/rent them out to others! Finally, I covered additional side tables (used for the pet adoption) in coordinating gift papers and covers.

The trick to creating a couture feel without the couture prices at this kiddie table, was in color coordinating EVERYTHING. Be super strict about matching exact shades when it comes to purchasing napkins, straws, forks, cupcake toppers… Everything will look much more custom and professional if you do! It bothers me to no end to see something a shade or two off when I have already sent snippets of the exact fabric for the cake maker to match. i.e. Juliet’s 1s birthday party.

That’s why I often customize my table decor down to the very last detail. Notice the paper runner, the frame turned into a tray, the milk bottles covered in coordinated papers and ribbons, and the covered styrofoam to stick the lollipops and chocolate bunnies in.

And to go along with the Easter timing, I presented each child with their own berry basket in lieu of a dinner plate. Inside you’d find, a pink napkin, bunny-shaped sandwich, bunny trail mix (popcorn and cheerios), pretzel sticks wrapped in a yellow and white polka dot mini-bag, & a cupcake holder filled with fruit. The milk jars featured the child’s beverage of choice.

Knowing that the pool table would be in the background, I also crafted the yellow and white backdrop that you see above. With help from Mialandyn Events who helped build the actual structure out of foam core, tape and wood, I covered it in coordinating fabrics, floral garlands and gift wrap on the other side.

When designing your tablescape, always consider what you’ll see in the background of your photos. In this instance, I didn’t want a pool table to be in all my pictures so I dressed it up, used it as the food and dessert station, and created a photo opp area on the other side of it making double use out of the one backdrop piece! (That coordinating box that you see above by the way is simply a diaper box covered in fabric and it was great for kids to stand or sit on). I’m a huge fan of creatively using what you have to save money.

Here’s what it looked like on the other side during setup (The dinner menu of baked salmon, pulled pork, sweet plantains, beans and rice had not arrived yet). Those Easter hats that you see hanging from the ceiling there by the way were given to each child in lieu of a party hat. They were SO cute ON (one of my amazing finds in the Target $1 bin!)

To summarize, here are some useful secrets from a professional party planner turned mommy planner that you can use when designing a kids’ tablescape:

Color – Coordinate EVERYTHING. Be Hitler when sticking to this rule and your table will thank you for it!
Consider the background for your most important shots. What’s behind the cake? What’s behind the kids’ table? Remove or disguise eyesores.
Add a themed centerpiece. Not only is it a conversation starter but it can really stand out and turn your average kids’ table into a standout stunner!
Think out of the box. How about an enlarged candle in a cake, for a one year old’s birthday (the kind you’d stick in a candlestick?), how about a coordinated paper place mat that they can draw on, safari hats instead of birthday party hats for a safari themed event?
Decorate your chairs. Hang birthday hats from them, use them as place cards by assigning a child’s name to each one, hang a giftable cape on each one for a superhero themed party, slide tutus on them for a girly get together.