Mum of two Diana Johnson celebrated her daughter, Charlotte’s first birthday party with a dolly theme and a host of entertainment to keep 30 children entertained for hours. Here’s how…
The Event: Baby Charlotte’s 1st birthday party
The Theme: “The main theme was based around a little doll, which featured on the invite and other decorations. Jodie at The Party Parlour helped me decide on a colour scheme of pink and aqua and blue and we incorporated lots of fresh flowers and giant balloons to add a whimsical touch.”
Tell us about the doll? “We chose the doll to be the main feature as Charlotte shares the same middle name as her great grandmother, Jane ‘Maltese’. And Jane calls Charlotte, ‘Pupa’ which is Maltese for doll! The name has become Charlotte’s nick name, so it was a really nice idea to tie into the invitation and theme. I didn’t want the colours to be too girly, as I knew there were a lot of boys attending too, so chose a palate of pinks but also included some turquoise and metallic to tone down the pink.”
“A gorgeous personalised ‘dolly’design was made for the invitation. It featured a tassel garland in pinks and aqua blues set the scene for the celebration to follow. The invites were designed by Jen at Love JK.”
Guests: 65
The venue: “We had the party at our home. We moved in a few weeks before Charlotte was born, so this acted as an overdue housewarming/birthday party all in one!”
Charlotte’s Fave Bits: “Cutting the cake and hearing everyone sing to her was a real highlight! It was her first taste of cake, and her reaction was priceless!”
Entertainment: “With around 30 three to six year-olds, entertainment was essential to keep them busy. A jumping castle was a great way to keep the kids busy. We also had a face painter on hand to entertain as well. And to add a special party tone, we had a snow cone and fairy floss machine. We chose Bubbling with Energy Entertainment and party supplies as they had everything we needed, so we didn’t have to source things from different suppliers. They also were really reasonably priced and had the best jumping castles! This was a real wow factor at Charlotte’s party and added a great focal point in the backyard. Many kids also gravitated to the kids play room. If this is an option at your house, make sure you don’t leave out any fragile or precious toys!”
Bat Boy found the Face Painter!
Games: “We didn’t need a lot of games because the jumping castle, face painter and snow cone and fairy floss machines provided a lot of entertainment! The kids spent their time going from one to another! However, we did pass the box, which was a huge hit! It meant that the kids got to choose their own gift when the music stopped on them rather than getting something random if it were to be in a parcel! This held their attention for a lot longer than pass the parcel might and added a fun activity for the kids. They all walked away very happy after this. The present also acted as another favor rather than having this in a goody bag at the end.”
Pass the Box and choose your prize. So. Much. Fun!
The Cake: “The invitation was used as inspiration for Charlotte’s cake. Charlotte’s grandmother, Dani, made the two tiered cake, so it was extra special. The colours in the cake tied in with the themed colours of the day! They also reinforced the doll theme and the replica of the doll from the invite was hand made for the top of the cake.”
Too good to eat! But let’s have a taste anyway…
Decorations: “We tried to keep things easy by using key suppliers. I found that The Party Parlour were a one stop shop when it came to decorating. I loved that I could go on to their website for ideas on how to set up the party. I also got advice from the owner, Jodie, who guided me through the process on what I needed, how to set up and make for a successful day. So the main things we bought were the balloons, decorations, lunch boxes, cupcake boxes and thank you tags. Instead of buying bigger items we hired them, including the chairs, which were from Mini Party People.
Kid’s Lunch boxes: “We opted for sit down tables and chairs for the children and decorated them with simple tablecloths, paper table runners, tin buckets and party hats from The Party Parlour. We went with personalised lunch boxes for each child as they were easy to prepare, serve and clean up. Healthy party food was served in lunch boxes printed with each child’s name on it. They contained two Frankfurt’s, a vegemite sandwich, a cheese stick, a packet of apricots and a Freddo Frog as a special treat! Each child also had their own bottle of water. Snacks for the adults were served on giant platters so guests could help themselves throughout the party, plus we had a BBQ for the main meal. Cupcakes were created to match the ‘dolly’party theme.”
“How do I spell my name again?” Personalised lunch boxes worked a treat!
Drinks: “A self-serve drinks table was set up in the garden with drink dispensers filled with soft drinks and water. There was pink lemonade in them to tie in with the colour themes in the dispensers. For the adults we also had a bucket with beers!”
Party bags: “We made take home lolly boxes and cupcake boxes with a personalised thank you tag that matched the party invitation. These provided lots of colour and decoration on the cake table and coordinated with our colour scheme.”
Hello dolly! You’ll make a great dessert…
“The dolly theme thank-you tags were designed by Jen at Love JK. They start from 99c each.”
The Highlights: “Seeing the kid’s faces as they arrived! They were soooo excited to see the jumping castle and the girls gravitated to the fairy face painter. They were also really excited to have their own lunch boxes and even though there were many distractions, all sat at the table to eat lunch!
“I’ll have a butterfly in red, green, blue, yellow and orange please. Oh, and pink!”
“For my husband, Mark and I, it was incredibly special to spend the day with our close friends and family to celebrate such a joyous occasion. Having all the people you love in the one space at the one time is something that will stay with us forever. And hopefully something that Charlotte will look back on over the years in the photos and see just how much happiness she bought to our lives.”
Total spend: “We had budgeted on approximately $25 per head and didn’t go too far over that. The total cost was around $1,600.”
