Doll Themed parTEA (part 2) Tablescape and Food
For the doll – themed parTEA details (part1) that reviewed the general vision and all the party activities, click here. This post concentrates on all the table decor, food and beverage from my daughter’s 7th birthday. Thanks for reading!
TABLESCAPE
A feast for the eyes is just as important as a feast for the stomach for special occasions like birthdays. And for me, designing the tablescape is the MOST fun task. I love the challenge of presenting an eye-catching display that sets the celebratory tone, brings to mind the theme and excites everyone.
Thanks to Table Vogue, we had the prettiest Tiffany blue, tailored linens which provided the pop of color that the all-white venue needed. It also happened to be one of Juliet’s and my favorite colors. Wasn’t it a gorgeous backdrop to all the Meri Meri tableware that I found on sale?
If you look closely, you’ll see that we chose it for the doll-like print and coordinating colored, heart plates (it was a galentine’s parTEA after all). And YES plates don’t have to be just for the table! They can be wall decor too; see how I taped to the heart plates to the curtains behind the birthday girl’s throne.
See Table Vogue for beautiful linens of all sizes, colors and patterns! Using an upscale linen instead of the plastic ones normally reserved for kids’ parties really elevates the scene! And I can’t thank Table Vogue enough for being such a special partner for this event
The throne, curtain structure, and bow seats were generously loaned to us by Petite Seats who has THE cutest selection of kiddie rental chairs and tables. I seriously have never seen a better collection of kiddie chairs on the market and I’m an event planner!! I’m so thankful that they are nearby and can serve the greater NY area. We are so lucky to live here with the best selection in everything. Just check out this throne and those bow seats!!
Notice that for this tea party, centerpieces included tea cups filled with flowers? Teapots filled with flowers would make another excellent option too!
FOOD & CAKE
Here for the food and cake? Don’t worry, I got you. At this galentine’s parTEA, I presented heart-shaped, kid-friendly sandwiches on classic, floral, tiered plates. The Royal Albert brand featured at our party, felt the most feminine and fancy – you can shop my favorite Royal Albert floral tiered stands at the end of this post. They’re so beautiful that I know we will be re-using them for years to come. In fact, I’m planning to bring them out next for mother’s day!
Sandwiches were shaped with heart cookie-cutters, and dressed with garnish, baby’s breath and matching Meri Meri doll toppers. How cute are THEY??? It’s all about the details!
Menu included kid-favorites like: PB&J, nutella and banana, fig jam and strawberry, and ham and cheese sandwiches along with macarons, mini-cupcakes and lots of on-the-go snacks!
Lemonade and fizzy flavored water were hits too!
With a kid-centric party, the menu should stay simple. But you can elevate the look and feel by incorporating elegant details and that’s exactly what I tried to do. Click here to purchase the expensive-looking, but plastic, gold-beaded chargers!
And as they say a party without a cake is just a meeting. 
It was important to us that we partner with the right cake master for this all-important party element. And we were so lucky because Mini Melanie, the Chopped reality TV winner from the Food Network, made THE most delicious cake with an ombre pink buttercream exterior. I wanted something simple because I had all these cake toppers to add.
She delighted and surprised all the guests with the rainbow layered interior. So beautiful and soooo soo good!
I just love how all the party pics turned out. Thank you, Andrea Kay Images for the photographs. We’ll treasure them for years to come! For more secrets on stylishly designing a kids’ table, see my prior post from Juliet’s 3rd birthday party here.
When you’re the daughter of an event planner, you learn early on that you can dream big when it comes to your birthday! My daughter has enjoyed planning her birthday party details starting at the tender 
She knew she wanted: everyone to bring their dolls, have a fashion show, have a fancy tea party where everyone dressed up, include a pinata, cake and cupcakes and get to have her hair done with a super long black braid. (it was just the world’s longest wish list from a not-even 7 year old!) Thank you 
From there, I let her choose everything from the party colors, to tableware set, and final invitation approval. And I learned that she is a very decisive, discerning little client!
Thanks to my photographer, 
DOLL
It was so adorable how everyone arrived with their favorite 18″ doll! With their dolls, they played pretend at the dolly tea party setup, cruised around in a motorized BMW, crafted a new dolly hat, and walked the runway.
All guests left with a new dolly dress of their choice and a backpack made to specifically fit their dolls in.
Thanks to 
Thanks to 
These glam girls loved getting doll-ed up! 
We parents couldn’t help smile ear to ear as each one took their turn sante’-ing down the catwalk. The beautiful backdrop shown here was a collaboration between 
ACTIVITIES
No, you need to let them wander around and get to pick and choose from various activity stations! Remember – short attention spans! Luckily, we had lots of space to allow 20 of these party-goers let their sillies out at all sorts of doll-themed pretend play stations.
Plus I planned a couple party games to mix it up! The L.O.L relay race challenged the girls to balance a doll on their spoon while tagging their teammates.
Final winner won a matching doll-girl outfit set!
And the heart-shaped pinata was so much fun for girls this age. Inside, they found everything you’d want from a doll-themed, galentines. Think Valentine’s chocolates and candy to L.O.L doll accessories and stickers to fancy rings, to Valentine’s pencils and erasers. PRO TIP. Set aside some treats and winnings for the inevitable kid or two who gets upset that they didn’t get “enough stuff.” We all want to make sure the little ones (who often get pushed aside during pinata pulls) are happy with their winnings too!
