Hellobee

Being a graphic designer, party planning is something I love to do. Thinking about unique ideas and themes and building a whole party around it is so much fun! So saying I started thinking and planning Mavrick’s first birthday at the 6 month mark is no exaggeration. Ever since he was a baby, I always said Mavrick looked like one of those vintage babies,  so the idea to have a vintage newspaper boy themed birthday party seemed to be the perfect match.

I asked my father to hand over months of newspapers (once he was done reading them, of course) and I used them throughout the event. I designed a vintage style newspaper invitation that I sent to family and friends just to give them a feel of what was to come (ha, the surprise that was awaiting them!).

For the decorations, I purchased Accordian Blue Paper Lanterns, crepe paper streamers and I DIY’d newspaper streamers to create the backdrop for the table. I also found some newsprint fabric on Etsy that I used as table runners. I had some left over white 17″ balloons that I hung from our maple tree, and purchased 36″ balloons and tied them around our pool. I used newsprint to DIY a “Mavrick” Banner I tied in the front of the table.

To go with the color theme of gray, white, black and blue, I opted to make a blue punch (which was really good, refreshing and easy to make — see bottom of post for recipe). I also reused some baby food containers to serve as glasses. And I purchased some striped paper straws from Rock Paper Scissors (for a really good price) and wrapped the glasses with some newsprint fabric

Seeing as the theme was vintage related, I wanted the menu to reflect food from that time as well. I mean, why not go all that way? I made  mini burgers, mini hot dogs, fries with vintage containers, mac & cheese, grilled cheese and smoked meat — all homemade. I decided to put crudités in vases to make it more interesting, and I made salad on a stick  consisting of tomato, cucumber, cheese and fresh basil.

As for the desserts I made, I awanted to make some sweets they had back in the day, so mini chocolate chip cookies, rice krispies squares, chocolate dipped marshmallows were a must and I also made cake balls, cupcakes, cake and mini fruit skewers. I even had bazooka gum, blue rock candy swizzle sticks and homemade popsicles.

For the cake, I decided to make it two-toned to mimic the colors of the newspaper. You don’t see it that clearly, but there was a beige and two grayish layers. I decided to make dots all over the cake just for the fun of it. I DIY’d a streamer cake topper with ribbon and fabric to really tie in the background decor and the cake.

What would be a birthday boy without a birthday hat? I DIY’d a newspaper hat with a big fat “1″ on it. He didn’t really love wearing it, but the cake distracted him so we were able to capture a few shots. Seeing as I wanted Mavrick to really indulge in his birthday cake, I made a mini vanilla cake for him with a little less sugar. Let me tell you he loved it, and of course there was cake all over the place.

The party was a huge success and everyone enjoyed the food and all the little details of the event. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my family and friends. A shout out to my talented photographer friend Christina for capturing all these great memories.

Resources

• 17″ & 36″ Balloons:  17″ = 14$ for 72,  36″ = 10$ for 6 // Bargain Balloons
• Invitations / Make a Wish Card : Blushink design boutique
• Newspaper Print Fabric :  12$ / yard // Etsy Seller Cottonholic
• Drink Dispenser : 19$ //  Costco
• Paper Straws : $5 for 144 // Rock Paper Scissors, Wiscasset, Maine 207-882-9930
• Blue Paper Lanterns : $8.99 // Martha Stewart Celebrate
• Cupcake Stand (DIYed with newpaper trim): $10 // Martha Stewart
• Coloured Streamers : $4 // Local Dollar Store
• Bazooka Gum & Sugar Swivel Sticks  // Bulk Barn 
• Vintage Milk Bottles // Already Owned (purchased at thrift shops)
• Two Sided Standing Frame : $0.99 // Ikea
• Blue Milk Basket // Already Owned (purchased at Home Sense)
• Vintage Straw Dispenser // Already Owned (purchased on Amazon)
• Paper containers & checkered wax paper  // Gift (purchased at Abc Emballuxe)

Images courtesy of : Christina Esteban Photography