To celebrate Tallulah’s third birthday (her first in our new home), I wanted to be able to throw her a proper birthday party. Nothing too big; just a couple kids from school, pizza and some play doh. Unfortunately, “casual” and “easygoing” have never been really strong traits of mine, so while I had ever intention of keeping it low key, I got sucked into a Pinterest free-for-all.
To create a festive vibe, I wanted to center the decor around a Safari-themed dessert table, covered with some of her favorite jungle friends. While I initially considered purchasing an overpriced “Ballon Arch” on Amazon, I decided to DIY that sucker and ended up taping a bunch of balloons, garland and fake greenery to our freshly painted walls. Because entertaining a bunch of toddlers who are hyped up on sugar sounds like zero fun, we enlisted the help of Couture Painting to offer some fun face (and arm) painting, as well as a Safari Guide from Pure Imagination to entertain the little ones with jungle games, sing-a-longs and balloon animals. And since Laguna Beach was in the middle of an incredible heatwave, we filled up two huge palm leaf pools from Minni Dip so the kids could play in, cool off, or, as it turned out, use to “fish.”
The most important thing was that our little “threenager” had the most amazing time with her favorite friends. Here are some fun shots from her special day from our friend and photog Jessi Burrone.
(Vendor and shopping list below.)
Wild and Free Balloons: Etsy
Greenery: Amazon and Hobby Lobby
Safari Guitars: Amazon
Desserts: Lauren Lowstan of A Sweet Savory
(Funfetti Naked Cake, Panda Bear Donut Cupcakes, Zebra Caramel Corn, Animal Print Zebra Cookies)
Cake Toppers: Amazon (covered with gold paint)
Jungle Pet Balloons: Amazon
Swimming Pools: MinniDip
Animal Print Balloons: Amazon
Party Garland Giant Balloon: Etsy
Calligraphy: Meghann Miniello
Paper Plates and Cups: Meri Meri
Face Painting: Couture Paintings
Character Safari Guide: Pure Imagination Party
