Katya is 3!!

27 Oct Katya is 3!!

Posted at 23:23h in Archive, Event, Lifestyle, Minis by Fatima Omri 0 Comments

On October 27th, we celebrated her third birthday with family and friends! This time, the guest list was smaller because I decided to host the party at an indoor playground. I mainly invited friends with kids and close family, which made for an intimate but super fun get-together. Since the friends who came are all regulars, they already knew the family members, so it turned into a great mingling session too. The kids went wild in the playground, and it was so fun to see them all playing together (though there were some inevitable toy fights, haha). They really played with all their energy! By the end of it, all the kids—including Katya—were exhausted. When I saw her sleeping in the car and heard that the other kids had passed out too, I knew the party was a success 🙂 Below, I’ve broken down the party details so you can steal a few ideas if you’d like!

Invitation/Theme

Paperless Post (website here) came in handy again for the invitations. I think I talk about this site all the time, so you probably know how much I love it. This year’s theme was ‘Young, Wild, and Three’ because I wanted Katya to unleash all her energy at the indoor playground, haha. And she definitely went wild—she totally lived up to the theme! ‘Young, Wild, and Three’ is, of course, a play on ‘Young, Wild, and Free,’ and they had some really cute designs that fit perfectly. You’ll definitely find a design that works for your kids’ party, so make sure to check them out!

Dress

This tulle purple dress with butterflies all over is perfect for my birthday girl. It’s whimsical and feels free, just like she is 🙂 The dress is from a brand called ‘Truly Me,’ and I got it from Nordstrom around the same time I picked up the pink butterfly dress she wore for the Mother’s Day shoot. Maybe it’s not the most practical for running around and going crazy at the playground, but it was a perfect match for the theme!

Venue

Since I found out indoor playgrounds can host birthday parties, I was set on having Katya’s party at one of those places. While doing some research, I came across this cute spot called Play All Day (here) and booked 2 hours for the party. I knew it was the best decision I’ve made in the last 5 years when I saw Katya having the best time with the other kids. She has so much energy, and this was the perfect way to let her use it all up. She loved everyone singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ blowing out the candles, eating cupcakes and snacks, and, of course, running around to play. Her smile was all the confirmation I needed that she had the best birthday 😉

Decoration

I based the overall decorations on the party theme but chose the party supply colors based on the invitation. For Katya’s past 2 birthdays, I went for girly colors like pink and purple, so this time I wanted to step outside my usual choices. The invitation had a blue gingham background with yellow and orange flowers, so I picked a blue gingham tablecloth and yellow and orange flowers as the centerpiece to tie it all together. For the rest of the decorations, I went with smiley icons everywhere. When I order kids’ party supplies, I always check out MeriMeri. They have so many unique and adorable holiday and birthday supplies that always make me wish I were a kid again. Highly recommend checking them out!

For the balloon garland, we decided to make our own to save money. The day before the party, we inflated all the balloons that came with the kit and created three different strands. We ended up with so many extra balloons, which we planned to add to the main arch with glue. The process of making the garlands was super easy, and I’m so glad we saved money doing it ourselves! I watched a few YouTube tutorials to figure out how to attach the garland to the wall. I used utility hooks and 260 balloons to keep the garland in place, and even though it was my first try, it only took me about 5 minutes and was pretty simple! I was so proud of myself and super appreciative of everyone who helped with the setup!

Boho daisy balloon garland arch kit by Amazon (exact here)

Command utility hooks by Amazon (exact here)

260 balloons by Amazon (exact here)

Young wild and three balloons by Amazon (exact here)

Blue Gingham Tablecloth by Amazon (exact here)

Gold number 3 candle by Amazon (exact here)

Happy icons candles by Meri Meri (exact here)

Happy icons cups by Meri Meri (exact here)

Happy icons flower plates by Meri Meri (exact here)

Smiley face plates in small and large sizes from HomeGoods (similar here)

Smiley face napkins in small and large sizes from HomeGoods (similar here)

Smiley face party hat from HomeGoods (similar here)

Yellow paper short cups from Dollar Tree (similar here)

Clear glass flower vase from Dollar Tree (similar here)

Pink cake stands by Anthropologie (in blue here)

“Eat Cake for Breakfast” glass cake stand by Kate Spade (exact here)

Food

For food, I was just going to go with snacks and pizza—keeping it easy, haha. Preparing party food is definitely not my strong suit, so Costco Pizza came to the rescue to fill everyone’s hungry bellies. We also had veggie sticks (here) and fruit skewers for some lighter bites. The only effort I put in was with the fruit skewers—I made them into rainbow colors and used a flower cookie cutter for the watermelon. I loved how they looked like little magical rainbow wands, and the guests enjoyed the mix of watermelon, strawberries, pineapple, grapes, and blueberries.

For drinks, we had a couple of types of sodas, fruit pouches for the kids, coffee, apple juice, and water. We just tossed everything into a cooler, and it was all set to hydrate our guests!

For the cupcakes, we went with a local shop called Batter ‘N Icing (here) this time. I usually like to include something custom for the party, and I typically go with cookies. I don’t exactly remember my thought process, but I wanted to try something different, so I went with cute custom cupcakes. The process of discussing the design and ordering took maybe 5 minutes at the shop, and they turned it around super quickly. I’m really happy with my decision—and even happier seeing both kids and adults stuffing their faces with them!

Birthday Cake

Last but certainly not least—the birthday cake! As usual, I turned to Goldbelly to find the perfect cake for the party. This time, to match the free-spirited theme, I wanted something with happy, vibrant colors. When I came across this cotton candy cake (here), I knew it would be perfect! I’ll always remember Katya blowing out the candles by herself for the first time at this birthday. She was so happy when everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her, and she proudly blew out some of the candles. When there were just two candles left, she accidentally coughed and blew them both out. It was hilarious!