Now that I’ve had a chance to recover from the unpredictability of the day, looking back on Sophie’s birthday is such a treasure. She is the happiest child and there wasn’t anything that could have ruined the celebration for her. She was so excited for all of her friends to be in one place and she was truly enthralled by every little detail of the day. I know you won’t be surprised when I tell you I didn’t take any photographs that day. Having a talented sister is a dream come true. You haven’t enjoyed a birthday party until you weren’t forced to lug around your camera all day and stress over whether you missed any precious moments. Fortunately for me, I was able to enjoy the day with my family, knowing that she didn’t miss a thing.
The party invitations were sort of a last minute project. As a graphic designer, that is usually the first thing that I tackle, but I was lacking inspiration this year. I finally sourced some vintage illustrations from the web and was much happier once I found those. The Alice figurine is part of a gift set SK got from her aunt Lane for her birthday. We thought it was the perfect cupcake topper paired with these striped candles. Of course, my children don’t eat icing, so once the candles were extinguished, this coconut yumminess got devoured by Poppy instead.
THIS is the face she made every time she was reminded she is three. This is the face of a very happy birthday girl!
The first thing she did when we got to my parents’ house was sit in her special chair and take stock of all the goodies around her. She inspected every little vignette and touched each tea cup and flamingo. This is probably my favorite picture of the day. Not one detail went unnoticed. We had the party in the sunroom at my parents house and the walls of windows were covered in white sheers. We used two old doors to make a big square table and surrounded it with mis-matched chairs from all of our friends. My mom and I layered the table with vintage linens and handkerchiefs and then added tchotchkes until the table was full. Tea cups and pots, white rabbits, metal flamingos, playing cards and a random Snow White figurine (that SK insisted on despite her strange presence in Wonderland) were stacked high on the table’s center.
At our house, you get a birthday costume and this year didn’t disappoint. Instead of a full-on Alice costume, my mom made her a whimsical apron instead. It was royal blue and white satin with a fluffy, geometric flower and a bright, red tulle skirt. She was spinning in circles from the moment she got dressed!
I ordered hand-colored favor bags from etsy and we filled them with assorted candies for our friends to take home. There was a candy bar where they could add treats of their own, but it helped to give them a head start. K & I made garland from playing cards and baker’s twine and hung them from the ceiling along with the fabric bunting from Ella’s first birthday soiree.
I loved the floral centerpieces that K helped me whip up. Mom bought flowers at the grocery store and we used left over cards on skewers and some of the Wonderland figurines to jazz them up. I was lucky enough to find these metal flamingos on clearance at Hobby Lobby and they were much better looking that the standard plastic ones!
We used glass tea-party trays to serve the little kids and we were smart enough to have their plates ready when they arrived. Peanut butter sandwiches, marshmallows (SK’s favorite treat), chex mix, mini cupcakes and ice cream made for a yummy celebration. The woodens spoons were from etsy and I made the Tweedledee ice cream labels to cover up the branding! They turned out even cuter than I expected.
We were one party tray short, so SK got a special place setting in the form of this turquoise glass plate. Of course she is the only child who refuses kool-aid and water, so she had milk in a special cup with a paper straw. The other kids had kool-aid coolers and water with “drink me” messages printed on their tags.
The best part of the day for SK was being surrounded by her friends. They were so excited to all sit together around the table. The adults were in a different room, so the conversations that occurred at this table were hilarious! They shared food and played with the centerpieces the entire party.
We were THRILLED that our favorite family got to come and bring their newest addition, Emry. Isn’t she adorable? The girls have been talking about her for months and were so excited to finally get a sneak peek. Of course, Ella & Grey sat together and are adorable as always.
Also from etsy, were these straws with playing card suites. They came in an “Alice themed” set along with blue and white striped straws. We have every color imaginable from previous parties and I always enjoy seeing them together in a mason jar.
My mom and aunt Lane made dozens of cupcakes and the girls helped to ice them in many different ways. I made scalloped cupcake toppers with an “eat me” message on one side and characters from Wonderland on the other.
Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate her big day! She got loads of princess attire and when home happy and exhausted. She’s still talking about how much fun she had with her friends in Wonderland. Thanks for making this very, merry unBirthday just perfect.
