What a difference a year makes! Last year, despite the beginning of Covid, we were able to pull off a very special “drive-by” birthday party with all our family and friends and it ended up being one of my favorites! When life gives you lemons, you must make lemonade and we definitely did that day WATCH HERE!
Fast forward a year and although Covid is still around, things are starting to feel normal again, especially here in Florida!! Despite any circumstance, children’s parties have always made me nostalgic of my own birthday’s growing up. There really is a lot of magic in the air when lots of kids are around. Their smiles and laughter bring such happiness!! WATCH HERE
I wanted to do something a little different this year and wanted to book a new party vendor, who actually launched her business in the middle of the quarantine, Bake It On Wheels. Natasha, the owner, took an old school bus and transformed into the most beautiful kitchen on wheels. It looks like something out of the 50’s and the main colors are mint and pink. I knew that I had to book them, and the timing was perfect!
I asked my daughter, Sylvi, what kind of party she wanted to have. I have never really been big into character parties for bigger celebrations but prefer having specific colors or hobbies and likes that the kids are into and running with those things as my theme. I suggested a baking theme, as Sylvi is usually my sous chef in the kitchen, and she loved the idea. I already knew she would, so I booked the bus and left that part out. I really wanted to surprise her.
The Bake It On Wheels Bus package that I picked was 2 ½ hours of baking and decorating an individual cake, cupcakes, cookies and even a donut. They also got to keep their aprons and take home of all their goodies. Knowing the color scheme of the bus and that this was an all-girls party this year, I wanted the same look and feel to flow in my home.
We have another great local vendor, SignGypsies, who also started their business at the beginning of the quarantine. I have used for every birthday celebration since. They are fun and personalized signs and messages depending on your celebration. I usually spell out my child’s name and add their age in a bigger signed number. I then list all of their favorite’s things and they bring the most beautiful signs to life. This year, I added some baking signs and stuck to the color theme, as I knew the bus would park right in front of the house and sign. It was a great photo-op area.
The main décor I wanted to use for the inside of my house were lots and lots of flowers and a beautiful balloon garland behind the sweets table. Since we are in the middle of re-designing our house, I don’t have any living room furniture, so I definitely wanted one long royal table for the girls to sit and have lunch once they were done with the bus.
I had a total of 15 girls for this party and decided to rent 2 long tables, mint-colored linens and white padded folding chairs and used Christina’s Party Rental, a party rental company here in Miami. I absolutely love every detail that goes into creating a tablescape and knew exactly that I had to order some Meri Meri goodies. I found the most adorable birthday cake plates, fringe Happy Birthday napkins, sprinkle cups and pink and wooden cutlery. If you ever need pretty paper goods, favors or even some inspiration, I love looking at their site: Meri Meri – Home of the finest party supplies and gifts for children I also added star-stirrers and shimmery straws that I found at Party City and flower-shaped chocolate lollipops from a local vendor I use for every celebration, Wendy’s Chocolates.
*Tip: I can usually find really adorable Meri Meri products at Homegoods, Marshalls or TJMaxx. Even if it’s not what I need or out of season, I stock up. It makes anything I serve the kids, that more fun and festive!
Between my sister and I, we own a ton of mini bud vases and went crazy filling them with all types of beautiful flowers from Jet Fresh Flowers, another local floral distributing vendor. Aside from the royal table, I put these vases all over my wall unit in our family room, the kitchen, guest bathroom and for a fun little addition, I stacked a few baking books that I own on the fireplace mantel with two arrangements. I was able to find these really cute dessert photo prop sticks and even added some of them to the bouquets, which added another element and gave the table more height.
For the balloon garland, I literally looked on for pastel balloon kits on Amazon. It was quick and easy to order. It came with everything I needed for the garland. Keep in mind, this is the second garland I make, so I had already invested in the electric balloon pump. Here is the link for the balloons that I ordered: Amazon.com: Pastel Balloon Garland Arch Kit, 110pcs Macaron Candy Colored Rainbow Assorted Latex Balloons for Baby Shower Birthday Donut Party Decorations I also looked for a number 9 and some mylar balloons that had the same pastel ombré feel I wanted to add to the garland. Don't forget to add you own Electric Balloon Air Pump CLICK HERE for easy balloon making!
Balloon garlands can last a long time. I am talking a couple of weeks, so my suggestion is to do this early if you can. It can be a little daunting at first, but you need the space to blow everything up. Some balloons WILL POP and that’s ok. Once you add the balloons to the garland strip, you will start to get a feel for the look and flow of the garland. I suggest lots of command hooks and fishing wire for additional support, especially if you are working on a bigger garland. There are SOO MANY tutorials on YouTube for this. I promise, you can do this!!!
You will get so excited seeing your creation go up on the strip. Once you mount it to the space you are using, you will be able to start adding other layers of balloons and filler balloons if you choose. Again, the kit you order will have everything you need to do this.
For the dessert table and given that this was a party that started at 11 a.m., I added my daughter’s favorite gourmet donuts from Mojo Donuts, another local vendor, mini chocolate chip muffins, chunky chocolate and peanut butter cookies, bags of Pirate’s Booty and made the yummiest mini PB&J sandwiches on brioche bread and made a “chex mix” that Sylvi requests every birthday. It’s soo easy and yummy and I make it way more often than just on birthdays. I was able to find some really cute signs at HomeGoods and a pink-felt word board to write a special message that I added to the table. I also added a more recent picture of Sylvi that I love and blew up a picture of Sylvi eating beignets from our New Orleans trip for the entry way table.
Sylvi’s Chex Mix:
· Mini marshmallows
· Goldfish
· Thin and mini pretzel sticks
· Banana chips (Trader Joe’s are my favorite)
· M&Ms – and a bonus if you can match the same party color scheme
Combine it all and serve in a pretty clear glass jar or cylinder
As far as the food, I love making sure there is plenty to go around!! I love having different options for everyone. Knowing that the girls would be on the bus for 2 ½ hours, gave all us ladies plenty of girl time. I made sure to have plenty of Bellini and Prosecco bottles, as well as different flavored seltzers, with raspberries for garnish.
I made a fruit and veggie platter, as well as one of my famous charcuterie boards to munch on. In addition, I had a Cuban tuna wrap and chicken salad that I paired with mini croissants, along with a full Cuban lunch for everyone once the girls got off the bus (Sylvi requested the Cuban food). All the Cuban deliciousness was from Versailles, a very special and local vendor to Miami. We were soo busy having fun that I wasn’t able to snap any food.
Last, but not least, the take home gift. I knew that the girls would be taking home lots of baked treats, so I wanted something they would use and something that would tie into the party. Sylvi absolutely loves the scented “2 Scoops” pillows. I happen to be online at Target looking and found the cutest cupcake pillows that smell like candy. It was perfect and the best part was the price. They are usually $15, and were 50% off, so I scored bigtime!!! I put them into large cellophane bags and wrapped them in pretty tulle. I added a simple heart tag and had my sister calligraphy the names of all the girls. It was a total hit!
If you have any questions, please message us. We would love to help make your next celebration, the sweetest one yet!
Enjoy a closer look at the fun with the gallery below. Don’t forget to pin this for later, for your future baking/pastel party (Find fun pin-able image below)
