My daughter, Luna, was born in 2020—which meant in 2021 for her first birthday, we were still mid pandemic, so no big party (but we did have Schitt's Creek Photoshoot, go find the post!). In 2021 we also discovered that she had a dermoid cyst above her eye that would need to be removed, which of course was scheduled two days before her second birthday. We had a very small family party planned but her eye was so swollen and she was just not feeling great so we cancelled it. Yes, she was a baby and will never remember these birthdays, but as a mom in the events industry, all I wanted was to give her a big party and really CELEBRATE her! Plus being isolated for so long just made it that much harder. Bring on 2023...we spent a month dealing with illnesses like RSV and colds, and possibly stomach flu—I actually had to move the party I had been planning for her a week back, thankfully that just gave me more time to decorate!
You can find a link to all the goodies I ordered through Amazon here — hopefully to make your life easier!
Luna has loved Gabby's Dollhouse since she was around 15 months old—she loved the songs and colors and learned a lot of her first words watching the episodes. When I asked what she would like her party theme to be, her key words were "Gabby's dollhouse, rainbow, and Halloween!" ...the Halloween threw me, but because she dressed as the Gabby's Dollhouse character "Pandy" for Halloween, I told her she could wear her costume and I would wear mine - I was Gabby. After that, I set to making our small space have all the Gabby - cat accoutrements I could manage. I created custom cat cuts on my laser-cutter, as well as vinyl stickers to place all over, such as on planters, the lights, the kitchen tiles, and there was even one on the toilet—you might as well have fun with it right!? We also had six shelf spaces in our family room, the same number of rooms as in Gabby's Dollhouse, so I printed the backdrops and taped them in between the shelves, so standing back it was like looking into the show!
Amy Johnston with Johnston Style and Confetti Friends PDX created some awesome pastel rainbow balloon arches - because I did not forget she mentioned rainbows, plus I found a rainbow arch serving tray on Amazon!
I was definitely feeling the pressure of having a lot of kiddos over, so I tried to have some activities spread out. I found some cute puzzle piece photo frames that kiddos could decorate if they needed a bit of quiet craft time. It worked great to have paint sticks, glue, pom poms and stickers in plastic candy style jars so the artists could see what they were grabbing. The ball pit and play room were a hit, as well as the backdrop wall with fun cat-themed favor boxes.
Probably the most exciting element of the party was the Pandy cake made by the fabulous Liz Marek of Sugar Geek Show and Confetti Friends PDX. While Pandy looked adorable, the cake he was holding was actually a mini cake that served as Luna's own personal cake! She was so excited watching it come over and for us all to start singing.
I am so very grateful to finally have the big party I have always wanted for Luna, we have spent the last year of her going to other birthdays and being so excited to sing for her friends and celebrate them, I just wanted her to know what it was like to be on the other end. She loved it. And we definitely ate cake for at least three days in a row! A huge shout out to Bunn with Bunn Salarzon Photography and of Confetti Friends PDX for giving us these photos to remember such a fun day.
Party made possible by:
Confetti Friends PDX
Liz Marek - Sugar Geek Show / Cake
Bunn Salarzon - Photography
Amy Johnston - Balloon arches
Brittany Aguila - Letters & Dust / Decor and Signs
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