One piece of advice I have for throwing a birthday party (or any party for that matter) is to create a focal point in your home that can easily be transformed as a party display. That way, things look pretty festive without having to decorate your entire house. The hutch in our dining room has become our party central and it's always fun to transform the space with thoughtful details. I often use wrapping paper for table coverings and always throw in balloons because kids love balloons!
Party invitations from Etsy shop, Golden Anchor Paperie...
I couldn't resist these Donut Grow Up balloons and they made for the perfect backdrop for our birthday girl. You blow them up with a straw, no helium required, and they are still inflated two weeks later.
I've collected quite the array of party decor over the years, but added these paper lanterns, donut garland, and printed this donut shoppe poster at Walgreens. I ordered it from Little Magic Prints and loved how easy and inexpensive it was to whip up. Everything else was purchased on Amazon!
This was my first year making the birthday cake! And it was a breeze! I went simple - just a cherry chip cake mix in a bundt pan! It turned out adorable and delicious.
The highlight, though, would have to be our donut buffet, thanks to Mahalo Donuts in West Des Moines. Taylor and Kate were gracious enough to pick up a party platter of these little devils and they were quite the attraction. They are tiny, so you can have more than one, and the flavors are unique and absolutely delicious. We had strawberry surf and blueberry beach, bacon sunrise and sea salt caramel, cinnamon lava, and chocolate vanilla sprinkles. It was fun to hear everyone sampling different flavors and sharing their favorites, and they were the perfect size for little fingers to grab and go.
To offset all that sugar, we also served these fruit slushie cups and savory breakfast casserole. The fruit cups were also easy to make and are the perfect healthy and refreshing treat for a party or a quick breakfast on the go. We've been enjoying the leftovers all week!
I also assembled a couple of fun drink bars - a hot chocolate one for the kids and a mimosa one for the adults! I loved dipping white chocolate Pirouette wafer cookies in white chocolate and pink candy melts and decorating them with all the sprinkles, and dipped a few marshmallows as well. They are delicious stirred into a warm cup of cocoa!
Games and favors included donut play'dough', a donut twister game, and a fun donut dice game. All the games were a hit, even with my 80 year old Grandpa! Probably not Twister, though!
That's a wrap! I love the holidays and these fall and winter birthdays, but do breathe a sigh of relief when mid-January comes and we're done with presents and sweets for awhile! Now for the season of decluttering and organizing, cleaning up this nest as we anxiously await fresh spring air to fill our lungs. We'll get there!
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