Party Deco on a Dime

Okay, maybe two dimes.  Last night we hosted our daughter's 1st birthday party at our home.  We had such a great time celebrating with friends and family.  I thought I would share some of my party decoration tips hoping that there may be one or two that may be new to you!

Our baby girl is a big fan of Olivia so we decided that would be our theme.  We also decided that Olivia's colors (red, black and white) aligned nicely with the look we wanted to take our deck and outdoor decorations.

Tip:  When hosting a party or event choose a theme that coordinates with your current decor so that you can reuse your items.  Single use decorations are costly and are exactly that...single use. 

We added these two large vases to our deck to add a pop of red and the greenery adds to the coziness.  These used to live in front of my parents home and were glazed blue.  I did a couple quick coats of red spray paint and added a tropical plant ($4.99 each at Home Depot).  They sit on each side of the gazebo when you walk onto the deck.

Recognize the red 'rosette ball'?  Well, we made three more--two black and white ones, using black and white polka dot crepe paper and a white one.  I attached a bow and hung them from the center of the gazebo.  Each ball was made for about $2.50 and I still have crepe paper leftover.  The little red and white fans were purchased at Party City.

I found this black and white polka dot frame at Hobby Lobby on sale for 50% off.

Tip:  I noticed that the frame had a few scratches so I asked if they could take any more off (it never hurts to ask!)  and I ended up getting another 15% off!  The scratches were an easy fix with my trusty Sharpies.

When I'm planning a party I love the small details.  I decided to wrap the silverware for a couple of reasons -- it would make it easier for guests to grab their utensils and a napkin while fixing their plates and they were over-the-top cute.  We rolled a knife and a fork in a red paper napkin and then secured them with a paper napkin ring.  The napkin ring was a simple rectangle cut from white cardstock with a Olivia image glued to the end on a black square.  The black silverware caddy was marked way down at Hobby Lobby--I just added the ribbon.  

Tip:  If you decide to create these napkin rings, glue dots are the way to go.  They can be found in the scrapbooking section of Target, Walmart, or Hobby Lobby.

We had lots of fun stuff for the kids--sidewalk chalk, a bouncy house that we borrowed, nerf balls, bouncy balls, and bubbles.  We made these cups for the bubble solution.  They made it easier for little ones to dip their bubble wands.

Caution:  As with most children's activities supervision is necessary to make sure that the little ones don't drink the bubble solution!  Oopsie!

These were made from clearanced chargers at Hobby Lobby.  I believe I paid $.60 a piece.  I decoupaged the letters to spell ONE and glued on the ribbons.

My sweet and talented niece, Kaley, helped with almost all of the decorations but took on a couple all by herself.  She used a projector to enlarge an Olivia image and made a sign for our front yard (above) and this cute Olivia cutout!  Instead of coloring with markers she cut out pieces of scrapbook paper.  It turned out fantastic!  Thank you, Kaley!  The kids had fun taking their picture with Olivia!

We had guests sign a copy of the book version of Olivia as a keepsake.

Some inexpensive red votive holders from Ikea lined the table. 

I added some red and white polka dot ribbon to two candle holders that I already had for the outdoor coffee table.

 Our serving cart held straws, cups, lids, beverages, fruit, and mixers.  

We had fun stuff for the kids...and the big kids!  The hubs organized a washers tournament which was fun to watch!  Everyone who wanted to 'play' put their name in the hat and random teams were picked.  Lots of fun competition and yelling and cheering (or so I noticed as I was running around like mad!).  The first place team (Mike and Darren) won gold medals that we made from washers we spray painted gold and put on a ribbon.  The second place winners (my husband and Grandmother) took second place and their medals were teeny little washers (hee hee).

The party was lots of fun and more importantly, it was fun to see everyone!  After it was all over we both flopped into bed exhausted and I said, "Well, we only have 364 days to plan the next one" to which my loving husband replied with a heavy sigh and rolled over.

Click here for a post on our party eats!


So excited to have this post FEATURED on Embracing Change!