Modern, whimsical and dreamy are how we would describe Shyla's vintage hot air balloon 1st birthday party!


Guests were greeted by a custom created hot air balloon photo prop and gift table draped in the same linen as our primary sweets display.

Light pink, ivory, gold and hints of mint blue-green were weaved throughout the entire party's decor design. The focal point of our dessert display was definitely the hand painted backdrop by Created by Jackie, inspired by Shyla's custom invitation design. Next, we added these "cloud-like" linens sourced from local House of Hough. And then from there, we layered simple designs such as the 2 cakes with vintage props and whimsical cake balls. Mimicking the pennants hanging from the hot air balloons, we layered a mini-gold pennant banner and a vintage pink "Happy Birthday" banner in front of the dessert table.

The guest tables were slightly rustic in design, layering crisp white linens with burlap runners. Centerpieces alternated between pink hot air balloon florals and groupings of painted mason jars and global travel items such as mini-globes and map-printed books & crates.

Guest activities included an obstacle course bounce house to the left side of the venue indoors, a face painter/balloon artist and the park grounds just outside the doors.


Party guests departed with quaint bags of pink & white popcorn with tags reading, "Thanks for Flying By! Shyla".

Vendor Credits:
Party Styling & Printables: Crowning Details
Venue: Southside Place Clubhouse (Fire Truck Park- Houston)
Hot Air Balloon Backdrop: Created by Jackie
Hot Air Balloon Centerpieces: Horton Thompson Floral Design
Cakes, Cupcakes & Dipped Strawberries: Three Brothers Bakery
Cake Ball Pops: Angie's Cake
Popcorn: Houston Panini
Main Table Linen: House of Hough
Plates: Meri Meri via Emerson Sloan
Napkins: Etsy (withloveandink)
Gold Pennant Banner: Etsy (Mila Philipa)
High Chair Banner: Etsy (PrettiestPropShop)
Tassle Garland: Etsy (Everydaydesignevents)
Hot Air Balloon Nets: Etsy (BonFortune)
Mason Jar Centerpieces: Etsy (BeachBluesBaby)

When our son requested an "excavator" party, I of course had to oblige....even though there are SO many construction parties currently featured online. How could we make Harrison's unique?

We began with a modern color palette, focusing on blues & greys and pops of orange versus the very orange/yellow/black traditional combinations seen. The focal point of his dessert/snack table of course HAD to be an excavator, so I had my amazing vendor Created by Jackie hand paint one to coordinate with our invitation and printable design package.

Our splurge item was most definitely the cake, as Harrison LOVES cake!! Custom cookies by Frost to match our design theme were displayed on crushed Oreo cookies to resemble dirt. Simple cupcakes with printable toppers were displayed on wrapped risers to resemble steel. Since I always gravitate toward afternoon parties for the preschool crowd, our snacks were simple- pretzels, grapes and sweets.

The seated children's tables were styled simply; white base linens, a chalkboard runner with marks to resemble a road and plastic trucks helped pull the look together. Plus, what 4 year old boy doesn't love to play with a plastic truck while snacking!?! On the back of each child's chair was a white construction helmet to play with and/or take home.

Favors were focused on dress up and activities, as that is what my kiddos prefer to do and I am not a fan of sending kids home with too many sugary sweets or plastic items that end up in the trash. We choose a fabric apron from Home Depot as our "container" or sorts and filled it with stickers, a fabric tape measure, and safety glasses.

A great time was had by all and most importantly, our son Harrison was in-love with the theme, the decor and was super excited to have his friends and family over to celebrate him turning 4!

Vendor Credits:
Party Styling & Printables: Crowning Details
Backdrop & Welcome Signage: Created by Jackie
Cake: Obviously Orange
Cookies: Frost
White Hats: Windy City Novelties
Safety Glasses, Black Beach Balls: Oriental Trading
Trucks, Stickers, Candles, Tattoos: Birthday Express
White Cones: Schneider's Saddlery
Napkins: Zazzle
Aprons & Tire Cake Stand: Home Depot
Facepainting & Balloons: Bugga Bugga