A Polka-Dotted Birthday

How to start off a blog is an intimidating subject. Tone, subject, and direction are each critical elements, and to be honest, I haven’t decided firmly on any! So, the inaugural blog post here on Little Renn will be about something I’m particularly proud of. Something I’ve worked for months preparing and crafting for – a first birthday party!

My mother always threw great parties for us as kids and I knew I wanted to continue that tradition. For the theme, I chose polka-dots because there is a classic and timeless element to them (no Disney/TV/movie-themed stuff in our house!).

The Decorations

Tissue paper poms: These are fantastic. They’re pretty easy to make, look amazing, and are very versatile. We hung them above the couch and above the spread in the kitchen.

I managed to find tons of great (free!) printables on various websites, including a bunting banner, water bottle covers, tent cards, thank you tags, cupcake toppers & wrappers and more. I hope to soon create my own printables (and share with you!). It's amazing what people create and give away for free!




The Food

Oh, the food! We still have a fridge full! We had popcorn, fruit salsa with cinnamon chips, salted caramel cupcakes, hummus, cheesecake stuffed strawberries, cookies from Grandma Coco, candy, and more! We had a great 3-tier cake from Simply Delectable cakes. It made for quite a spread.

The Thank You’s!
We had a mostly adult guest list, so I wanted something appropriate and not junk that they would throw away.
I came across a great tutorial on The Cottage Home for coasters. I found some great scrapbook paper at Michael’s, and off we went! I even found little plastic footies at the dollar store. Tip from experience – use superglue to get those babies to stick!

We also gave out pink take-away containers to try and pawn leftovers off on the guests.

Final Note
Party planning is tons of fun, but TONS of WORK.
*Watch out for a comprehensive Polka-dot Party photo gallery!