Monday 23 April 2018

CELEBRATIONS: Ice-Cream Themed Joint 1st and 3rd Birthday Party

When it came to choosing a party theme for Isabella and Poppy's joint birthday party I knew it had to be Ice-Cream. It's Isabella's favourite treat and such a fun theme for getting in the mood for summer. We did originally plan to have the party nearer to the end of May, so it would be more in the middle of their birthdays but to ensure most of Isabella's little friends could come we had to bring it forward. This did make it harder to find ice-cream themed items in the shops and online, as a lot of retailers hadn't brought out their summer ranges yet. If we'd gone for a Bunny theme again, like we did last year, then it would have been a dream with all of the Easter ranges available! That's one of my biggest tips when it comes to party planning - think about your theme in relation to the time of year and party ranges that are easily available.

I actually did most of the decoration/tableware sourcing online this time because party shopping with two children in tow is no fun for anyone. Party Pieces and Hobbycraft were the two main website the party decorations/tableware came from and I'd highly recommend them. Party Pieces is the website to head to if you want everything from one place, all ready to go and following a certain theme. Hobbycraft is the place to go if you want to add a DIY twist to your party preparations and let your creativity run wild. I love mixing the two together to make things easier, but also add my own twist.

All of the parties I plan seem to have some kind of floral pattern weaved into the theme because I simply can't resist. The new Ditsy Floral party range from Ginger Ray on Party Pieces jumped out at me as being the perfect one for the girl's party. I really liked the touches of rose gold, beautiful floral pattern and scalloped edging. The rose gold touches made it easy to pair with other decorations available in rose gold, such as balloon and napkins.


Entertainment at a children's party is key, so we decided to book Messy Senses to come and do a variety of fun ice-cream themed activities. There will be another blog post coming soon all about the activities, along with lots of photos and information so keep an eye out on my Twitter for that. As for the rest of the party I think the best way to show you is through the following photos, next to which I've included details about where the items were from just incase you're planning a party too.


Main Cake Tables
We struggled to find a suitable cake in the supermarkets that wasn't covered in chocolate (both girls don't have chocolate), so I had to get a bit DIY and 'pimp up' a shop bought plain cake. I will have a blog post coming on how I did it, but I'm so happy with the result and Isabella loved it too. We then picked up the Jazzies Rainbow Sprinkles cake from ASDA as Poppy's birthday cake, as we knew she wouldn't be having any of it (it contains white chocolate buttercream). Also on the cake tables were planters filled with blitzed custard cream biscuits to look like sand, with homemade iced ice-cream vanilla biscuits standing up in it. The party bags were displayed either side and in the middle was a donut wall because who wouldn't want that at their party?


Children's Table
When it came to planning the food for both children and adults we decided to go down the 'afternoon tea' route, as it seemed the easiest and most inline with the ice-cream theme. My husband was due to be away the day before the party, so all preparations feel to me and I needed to be prepared. On the week or so running up to the party I made endless plain and cheese scones (both full and mini size), sausage rolls, cheese and onion rolls, biscuits and ice-cream sauces, most of which were then frozen straight away. This meant that the main things left to make on the day of the party were the sandwiches, which made life a lot easier and helped to keep the run up as stress-free as possible.



Adult's Food Table
Again, for the adult's food we went for an 'afternoon tea' with warm scones (hence why they're not in some of these photos, they were waiting on disposable foil trays in the oven), fresh sandwiches, quiches, pork pie, homemade sausage rolls and cruditĂ©. 
Ice-Cream Table
The star of the party! It wouldn't be an ice-cream party without ice-cream, so to keep it simple we bought a few tubs of ice-cream and then had fun with lots of toppings, sauces and wafers. I made a dark chocolate & ginger sauce and peanut butter sauce, as well as buying the classic strawberry and toffee Askey sauces. Toppings included popping candy, sprinkles, pearlescent turquoise sprinkles, chocolate chips, marshmallows, rainbow drops, fresh berries, chocolate strands and honeycomb. Then when it came to wafers we had the traditional fans, cafĂ© curls and ice-cream sweets for an added hit of sugar! I also dotted around the room flat bottom coned filled with a stone for weight and a few fresh flowers to bring that touch of spring. 
Ice-Cream Scoops - Poundland / Ice-Cream Ornaments - Home Bargains / Rose Gold Mini Mason Jars - Hobbycraft / Polka Dot Table Cover - Sainsburys / Ice-Cream Spoons - Rex London / Pom Pom Garland - Homemade / Disposable Bowls - HEMA / Ice-Cream Sweets - ASDA / Pearlescent Turquoise Sprinkles - Hobbycraft 


It took months to plan and was the perfect distraction from the quickly approaching end of my maternity leave - I just can't believe it's all over for another year. I'm also slightly panicking about the years when Isabell and Poppy will want two separate parties; I'm not sure I have the ability to plan two of these within a few months! 


What's your favourite party theme?


Feel free to leave a comment - I love reading every single one :)


Helen x

*Thank you very much to Party Pieces, Hobbycraft and Rex London for working with me to put together this party. This post contains PR samples. As always, all opinions are my own and 100% honest. 

I'm linking this blog post up with BloggerClubUK.
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21 comments

  1. This is such a great theme for a party. I love the donut walls, that is a brilliant little touch. I like the fruit filled waffle cones... Yummy!

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  2. I am so in love with this part theme, I really like how you have set it all up, it looks so professional like you've had a team of 30 in, you've done such a wonderful job. Those van I've cream holders are my favourite piece by far, such a nice touch.

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  3. Wow this looks so amazing. I love the doughnut walls. I love the little ice cream truck stands too. It all looks so good!

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  4. Wow that party looks amazing. I can see why it took a while to plan but it obviously paid off! Looks so good!

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  5. omg this party is totally awesome! I love the theme and it is all set up so nicely. Love the colours and all this yummy food! You have to invite me to the next party you organise! LOL

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  6. This is amazing, such a well themed party! I'm nowhere near as creative as this when it comes to party decor! Happy birthday little one!

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  7. What a lovely idea - it's such a pretty theme and something nice and different for a first birthday!

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  8. Oh I love it - what gorgeous decorations for both the adults and kids' food tables! I am really not surprised it took you months to plan - the attention to detail really shows!

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  9. oooooh Yes. Now this is a party that I would so love to go to. ICECREAM is something which our family loves a LOT. This is a great family activity.

    Thanks for sharing

    John M

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  10. This is such a great idea, because it gives you so much scope for colours and decorations, it all looks so pretty!

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  11. I'd never thought of an ice cream theme! Love it - the tables look amazing x

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  12. I love the idea of an ice cream theme party. My kids would love it even more.

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  13. What a cute idea for a birthday party, I think Eliza would adore a party like this

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  14. This is a very cute idea, I've just spent ages on the party website! They have some cute stuff

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  15. What a lovely themed party, Lucas would love this, can’t go wrong with ice cream and doughnuts

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  16. Absolutely stunning decorations and yummy food! You have a great taste!

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  17. What a lovely idea. Such a great ice cream themed birthday party :)

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  18. What a supercute idea for a party - my girls would love this!

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  19. Oh wow, you did an absolutely amazing job with the decor! Everything is literally in the details & you haven't missed anything out with that!



    www.nmdiaries.com

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  20. Oh wow what a fab theme for a party! You are super mama!

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  21. There are so many cool ideas here. I love the ice cream truck with sandwiches and the vegetable stick holders. I might be using a few for our party in June

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