It's a Wonka Party!

My youngest son has turned ONE! I still can't believe it! So now I have a four yr old, two yr old, and one yr old. Sheesh! No wonder I'm tired hehehe

I have shared with you all that I love celebrating events, milestones, and holidays. I think it's important to find joy in things and be happy about the events that happen in your life. I have always enjoyed gathering with friends and party planning just grew from there.

Now that I have three children, I have to plan three birthday parties a year. Okay I don't have to, but I want to. And now more than ever I have to tap into my creativity and make their birthdays fabulous without spending very much at all.

Lets start with the wall-its a huge part of the decoration process. Some people use material to cover the wall, some use banners, and I started using a quote. I hand drew the letters based on the lettering used on the DVD case and his invitation and cut them out with precession scissors from Fiskars-its a scrapbooking tool I use.

The words that I wanted to pop out I made out of tissue papers-the decorating tool that is very inexpensive and you can do so much with. I plan to discover a 100 ways I can use tissue paper for party planning. I used four of them for this party hehehe The seller I used on Etsy is called pomtastic. They are fantastic and have so many colors to choose from too.

Since "Willy Wonka" is a chocolate and candy theme  decided to make my own large pieces of candy with tissue paper. I basically took one sheet and balled it up and covered it with a another sheet and twisted the ends from the smaller pieces and balled up two or three sheets for the larger pieces. I was going to attempt making lollipops but time didn't allow me.

I also used a sheet for under the serving plate to add a little more color to the all white table. The final way I used tissue paper was in a cylinder I had to put the cookie pops in. Its a great filler to use and helped keep the favors in place.

These were my sons favors. I loved them but have been inspired to make my own for first sons third birthday party in May (Superhero theme). It was a beautiful gift from his amazing Godmother! But she has been encouraging me to try and make decorated sugar cookies myself, so I will be!

Because Halloween just passed I honestly didn't want too much candy at the party. Also it was a small event with a few friends and family members. The kids that were there were basically my three and my little niece. So since my parties are small and more intimate, I find that less is more works best for me.

I made these cupcakes myself and decorated them with candy and chocolates. OMG---lets just say I will be making them this way again. I am still drooling over the twix covered cupcake I had-YUM!

The picks were made by an Etsy seller. Honestly after seeing how she made them, I am again convinced I can do them myself. I think if you plan your parties with time (in my case I need a few months for each) you can really do most of everything yourself.

I use all white servers at my parties, mostly purchased from Crate and Barrel from my non-baby days LOL I think white servers are fantastic because you can use them over and over and they are also elegant and classic pieces. Why buy plastic servers in every color for every party theme you ever have when you can use white? With this cupcake (and cake) server I can changes the colors of the ribbon that I intertwine, according to the colors of the theme.

The glass jar was purchased for 3.99 and the candy was a mix of "Willy Wonka" candy. The hat accent on top was purchased as a prop for my sons portrait but he didn't take to it too well so I just added it to the jar and I think it looked super cute!

I have used this seller twice, the first was my daughter's "Vintage Olivia Carnival" theme for her fourth birthday and again for this one. She also made our invitations. I am going to attempt to make the invitations for my son's "Superhero" themed party--keep your fingers crossed for that! Heheh I love the photo picks this seller makes! She's great to work with and as you can see I put them in the "Oompa Loompa" sandwiches-everyone got a kick out of this.

I do believe that one or two things should really POP at a party you are planning. It doesn't matter whether you spend a dollar or a hundred as long as its unique and really adds something special to the event. These picks made with my baby's cutie pie face were awesome!

I like to add personal touches to my tables and they usually include a photo of my child. I purchased a wooden frame from Michael's and hand painted with acrylic paint. Then I add the photo and it's done! I haven't played around with decorated the frames because sometimes I like to reuse them from another party. In this case, this frame is now in the nursery with my son*smile*

There I am with my youngest munchkin. Happy Birthday to my baby boy!

A few more tips for all you party planning mamas and papas:

• Save the table covers, especially the plastic ones because you can reuse them again for other events.
• Plan your party with a specific budget in mind so you won't go over board.
• Ask family or friends to make you treats or help you cook something. My sister n law made my son's cake and some of the chocolate treats in the pictures above.
• Make the party age and group appropriate. For example, because this was a first birthday party and the only kids were my own and my niece we didn't have any party games. I just let the kids play with the toys we have in our home.
• Purchase solid colored tableware--like the plates, forks, cups, napkins, and table covers--purchase them a solid color-you can not only reuse most of them but also it is about 75% less than having characters printed everywhere.

I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into my world of party planning. I love it and truly enjoy being creative and making something special for my little ones.

xox

PS I don't like to post my children's names but in this case you might be curious to know his name is Michelangelo hence why it says "Michel" on the cake. We call him "Micha" (Mee-ka) for short though :)