Happy Mermaid Monday! April is such a special month for Lucas and I because both our birthdays and our anniversary are in the first two weeks of the month. {Fun Fact: Our birthdays added together equal our anniversary 🙂 }The kids’ birthdays are in the summer and fall, so we really get to claim this month all to ourselves and celebrate us.
In light of both of our birthdays just passing, I thought this was the perfect time to share one of my favorite themed parties – L’s Little Mermaid Party. This was for her third birthday this past year {so COVID-precautioned party} and even with 2020, it was such a fun party! Today, I wanted to share all the inspiration, planning, and detail that went into this day, so let’s dive in!
1. The Inspiration
Y’all know me. I can’t have a full party post without a book recommendation, and today, it’s right from the get go.
Entertaining with Disney makes all of my Disney party planning dreams come true. This book has such fabulous Disney party inspiration! Not only does it give that douse of magic, it presents such elegant and truly stunning alternatives to the cheapish-looking party décor you often find at party stores. I also love that it touches on a wide range of celebrations from holiday soirees to baby showers to brunches to, of course, birthday parties. So if you are like me and love planning parties {especially Disney ones}, I cannot recommend this book enough.
I used the Little Mermaid bridal shower brunch party as the inspiration for the party and added birthday touches to give it more of that birthday party feel.
Side Note: A personal goal of mine is to recreate every party in this book. I currently have one in the works. Any guesses as to which one?
2. The Planning
Since this was the year of COVID, I planned a special, family breakfast and then a drive by/driveway party. The Little Mermaid brunch was perfect for this because I was able to use the majority of the recipes for the breakfast and then adapt and expand the overall theme/vibe for the rest of the party. Typically, for the kids’ birthday parties, I try to plan a main table display, a dessert table display, a themed menu, and a photo op, and this year was no exception {Note: If this list seems daunting, I would focus on one photo op and the dessert table, which can often double as an additional photo op – will show more below}. Now that I had a theme and a general idea of what areas I wanted to create for the party, it was time to hit up good, ole Pinterest .
Pinterest is my best friend when it comes to planning. I spend a lot of time pinning and contemplating before making concrete moves and buying supplies. I wanted to share some of the additional inspiration that I used to help expand upon the Entertaining with Disney party.
Dessert Table
This was the overall look that I wanted to create for the dessert table: a sweet sign or two in the appropriate color scheme, a balloon arch, and of course, the desserts {i.e. the cake}. Note that this can be used as an additional photo op if you want to try to reign in the scope of the party.
Birthday Cake
Since I was using a wedding brunch as inspiration, no birthday cake recipe was listed, so I found this cute cake option in my feed and baked it myself. This was something I was extremely proud of because I am not the cook in our family. haha.
Photo Op
I saw this on Pinterest and thought it would go so great with the party. This definitely had it’s own challenges {which I’ll touch on later} but was a fun addition.
*Note: For the Main Table Display and Menu {excluding the cake}, I kept fairly close to the Entertaining with Disney inspiration.
Another aspect of the Entertaining with Disney book that I adore and want to point out is the planning section. It lays out how far in advance you should start working on the details for the big day, including when to send out invites, when to start those crafts, and when to prep the food. Of course, there is a good amount of procrastinator in me…{wah wah}, so a lot of these pieces were completed the day before {s/o to Karin for always being my partner in crafting and staying up into the wee hours the night before! Going strong on 3 years! lol}. However, I wanted to show what “main ticket” items I planned from either the inspiration book, Pinterest, or the crazy confines of my brain that could be completed in advanced.
3. The Menu
WE CAN’T FORGET THE FOOD.
It is very important. Most important. The noms.
Okay, so the food. As I mentioned, I did a family breakfast, which was mainly just the bridal shower brunch menu {all recipes provided in Entertaining with Disney}, as well as a birthday cake. {There was so much sugar consumed that day, but there were zero complaints from the kids. hah.} The recipes that I focused on were:
- Smoothie Bowls
- English Muffins
- Sand Dollar Cookies
- Fruit
- Juice
- Birthday Cake
L was a HUGE fan of the chocolate mermaid tails, which were so much easier to make than I expected! Highly recommend doing chocolate mold items for a low cost, high reward when it comes to labor required to theming gained. As for the menu itself, all the food items were prepared the day before or morning of and took a couple hours in total.
4. The Details
I know I’ve shown the inspiration behind all of the details, but I wanted to showcase the pieces created for the party and provide some tips if you want to create some yourself.
Lily Sign {1-2 hours}
This was another low labor, high reward item. This sign is just painted cardboard. Karin did background ombre which took 30 min to an hour, and I freehanded the details, which took about an additional hour. I love how it turned out and actually ended up keeping this piece to potentially make another appearance in the future.
Shell Sign {1 hour}
This was a simple, cardboard sign. It added the sweet touch of her age for the party but was a flat, easy design that could be produced quickly.
Dessert Table {2 hours}
I loved how this turned out. With a couple of balloon arches, signs, and a cake, we were in business. For the balloon arches, we used balloon tape, balloon dots {to stick the balloons to each other for volume}, different sized balloons, and a balloon compressor. I highly recommend all four to create an awesome balloon arch as painlessly as possible {all linked below}.
Main Table {0.5-1 hour}
This was created by sifting through my mom’s, Karin’s, and my beach decor collections to pull out pieces that went with the vibe. I did buy a couple of things specifically for the party, specifically the table runner and the drift wood on the table.
Porch Display {1 hour}
This one was a little bit of a bear. Karin and I had done one before and had some learning, which definitely helped, bit it was still a little tricky. I think the look is great {obviously, I was willing to create it again haha}, but I highly recommend following these tips:
- Buy a light net {weight-wise}
- Have extra balloons handy {some will pop, just be ready for it}
- Place a sign on top {banners, balloons, etc. they all fit the bill}
- Make sure to have extra Command Strips {you’ll need them}
- Bring some extra patience {this requires some trial and error, be prepared for it}
Photo Wall {3-4 hours}
The Photo Wall…Oh, this photo wall. So I saw the inspiration and really wanted to create this. Looking at pictures, I felt I could make it with tissue paper, thread, and a hot glue gun, which we did. I cut out pieces; Karin and I threaded them, and then, we used the glue gun to keep them in place. However, I would not make it that way again. First off, I originally wanted this outside…those of you two steps ahead of me are already laughing. So there is wind outside and that does jive well with tissue paper. We moved it inside and taped it to the top of L’s closet door frame, which worked just fine for our purposes. If I were to do it again, though, I would use cardstock or some heavier material for the circles, actually buy a backdrop stand, and just plan on it being inside from the start.
5. The Party
Oh, COVID. How I truly hate you and cannot wait until you are gone for good {can’t wait to get my second dose of the vaccine this weekend!}. Due to COVID, we had a drive by/drive way party. We {plus Karin, who, along with our family, self-isolated for 2 weeks and got tested prior to entering our home} hung out on the porch, and friends and family came by to wave, say hi, show signs, and jam to some music with us. It rained for the majority of the party. Masks were required. Physical distancing was maintained. Zoom calls were made for our friends and family far, far away. And even with COVID, I think L had a really fun birthday.
Here are some pictures to document the fun:
Side Note: We did do self-grab goodie bags, which had bubbles {the big kind, which were freaking awesome}, sand dollar cookies, and gogoSqueeze applesauce {for those not comfortable eating homemade cookies or just because squeezable applesauce is the bomb.com}.
Extra Side Note: Why, yes, we did Disneybound. Do I have any regrets? Absolutely not. 🙂
6. The Memories
I couldn’t end without sharing more pictures! This was such a fun day, and to make it even more memorable, we were able to celebrate at Epcot the next day. We did the Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak Search and Find, rode L’s favorite rides, and simply had the best time. Here are some more pictures from all the celebrations:
Thanks for joining me on this walk down memory lane. I hope you enjoyed seeing our under the sea party, and fingers crossed that it can help you with your next mermaid adventure!
Until next time…
Stay Magical!
Jasmine
*Disclaimer: All opinions shared are in no way affiliated with the Walt Disney Company. They are completely my own and shared from a Disney guest perspective.
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