Jun 29, 2019

Charlie's 5th Birthday: Unicorn Party

Charlie turned 5 years old this month and will be starting kindergarten in the Fall. I still can't believe how fast it has gone, I know every parent ever says this at EVERY birthday (myself included) but it's SO true!! Time just seems to move at lightning speed once you become a parent.

She asked for a unicorn rainbow birthday party. I wasn't surprised because she has been obsessed with all things unicorn. After she decided on her theme I ordered her custom cookie pops from my favorite cookie maker, Frost Your Cookie. I found her on Instagram and just really loved her designs and the fact that she bakes the cookies fresh and then mails them directly to you!! I told her the theme and colors, sent her a picture of the party plates and then she started working on them. When they arrived in the mail I was so surprised because they matched the party perfectly.

For the cake I decided to just DIY a unicorn cake. I mean it didn't look too hard to make, so I decided to give it a try. Mind you, I’m no cake decorator. This could have ended very badly and, it almost kinda did!!

I ordered a cake from a local bakery. I asked them to just do white frosting and smooth all the slides. Then I ordered this set from Amazon that included a unicorn horn, ears and eyes that can easily be inserted into the cake. I could have never, I mean never, made fondant (or any other substance) and created these pieces myself. Culinary arts in my nemesis. Thank goodness for Amazon!! The horn and ears are made from polymer clay and are listed as certified food safe. So they are not edible but definitely reusable. I did link it for you, but just know that the eyes were made of paper and were a little difficult to sick on. I probably should have used some wet frosting to “glue” them on the cake. Also the horn was slightly crooked and I tried to straighten it out and then accidentally broke it. With no back up horn, the only thing I could do was glue it back together, haha!!

After I finished the hair I accidentally knocked over the sprinkles and it fell right onto the back of the cake (NOOOOOOOOO!!!) haha! JK, I’m not that dramatic. I mean it kinda sucked, but I touched it up a bit and it was fine. I’m fine. The party will go on!!

Then shortly after, I noticed that Charlie had placed her unfinished popsicle on the counter right next to the cupcake toppers. It had melted and leaked all over them. So, now I have them air drying on some paper towels. Let's just say they now have a nice tie dye effect to them.

Her dress is from the cutest little shop called Lavender & Lillie Handmade. She loves this dressed and asked if she could wear it for her party. It’s such a sweet little dress and looked so cute on her. Her bow is from Baby LuBow. Her necklace is from Dear Knot.

I found the unicorn pinata at my local dollar store. ( WHAT!?!? I know right!!) The hair was the bright traditional rainbow colors. So I just tore them off and then cut tissue paper in the colors of her theme and made new hair for the unicorn. Now she matches the party perfectly. Also, those iridescent star balloons, I found those at the dollar store as well. Just a little MONEY SAVING TIP: I always check my local dollar stores for items that could possibly go with the theme of the event/party I’m decorating before I order anything because you just never know what you’ll find for a cheaper price. A cute party doesn't have to be an expensive one.

For the dessert table I made this backdrop out of crepe paper and fabric. I couldn’t find crepe paper rolls locally in peach or the darker shade of purple so I substituted with fabric. I just cut the fabric into strips. Then used packing tape and created a mini curtain panel out of each color. Then hung them up with more packing tape overlapping them. If this doesn't make since then DM me on IG and I will do a video tutorial for you!!

I found the “I believe in Unicorns” banner on Amazon. I took the strings off and used double sided tape to tape it to the backdrop. You can’t tell in the photo but its sparkly with a hint of pink and it’s very pretty in person.

I also ordered cupcakes from the bakery. We added these cupcake toppers but only used the pink unicorns and coral word bubbles.

Then we made some unicorn popcorn. I used this kettle corn, colored marshmallows, marshmallows from Lucky Charms unicorn cereal ( I had charlie pick out all the marshmallows from the box) and sprinkles.

For the table: I always buy florals and greenery from my local Trader Joe’s and create my own floral arrangements. These fun marble paper plates are from Oh Happy Day. The unicorn napkins are by Meri Meri Party, the wooden cutlery is from Ellie and Piper Co, the unicorn horn party hats & Mini unicorn pinatas are from Hobby Lobby, the cookie pops are from Frost Your cookie (and taste amazing by the way) and the fun disco ball necklaces and sparkly table runner and unicorn confetti are from Amazon.

Drink Table: I used this drink container from Target. It’s plastic so great for a kids party, and only $12! We had the letterboard already its from the Target dollar spot. The unicorn heads and stars came with the “ I believe in Unicorns” banner that I linked above. The Happy Birthday banner is from Maddox and Klaus. Then added Charlie’s baby photo to the table for some nostalgia.

Then we decided to go with a taco bar because it's pretty easy to whip up and most of the items can be prepped the day before. The unicorn treat bags and Izze's are from target!

The kids painted paper mache unicorns and dinosaurs and then spent the rest of the time outside getting wet in the sprinklers and having water balloon flights. My sister got these water balloons and they are seriously the best invention ever. You can fill 100 water balloons in less than a minute.