Party Time – Sweets, Favors and Invites (and another special promo)

It seems one of the hottest trends in events and party planning these days are candy buffets, so of course, Jaxie’s party had to have one too.

Envisioning the candy bar was the most fun of the party planning for me. I wanted it to look like a sweets shop, full or color and fun. The eye-catching table served as a backdrop to the festivities and provided guests a place to gather and mingle as they filled their bags with treats.

Candy galore!

The sugary spread included pink and white M&Ms (I made my mom pick out the red ones – hahaha) and pink wrapped caramel kisses which I purchased and horded after Valentine’s Day just for this occasion!

Who knew jars of pastel meringues and pixie sticks could be so beautiful?

The two large jars in this photo are filled with individual bags of cotton candy. I purchased the cute favor bags here, then filled them with cotton candy I bought at Dollar Tree.

I found retro candy buttons and pink butter mints (yum) in the gift shop at Cracker Barrel.

Salt water taffy and flavored licorice add to the sugared backdrop.

I borrowed some of the apothecary jars from a friend and purchased others at Michael’s (using 40% off coupons found in the newspaper), Target and Dollar Tree.

Boxes wrapped in color coordinated scrapbook paper made the perfect holders for the “Thank You” suckers.

They turned out cute, no?

The other table of favors produced an equally sweet result, but not of the sugary kind. Stamping baby’s feet on note cards. I packaged blank note cards and envelopes together in bundles and had guests stamp their kiddos feet in the shape of a butterfly. Voila – a fun, interactive party activity and a take-home favor all in one! Of course the ink pads were non-toxic and washable. I made sure to provide wipes for easy clean-up and a small trash bin to toss them away.

Here is my lovely friend Shawna stamping little Matthew’s feet while adorable Nicholas enjoys his sucker! Too cute.

Guests enjoyed their cute keepsake note cards.

Additional favors for our little guests included board books, goldfish crackers, bubbles, tambourines and shakers, all laid out to take home on their way out.

Oh, and one last thing to share about Jax’s birthday extravaganza – the invitations.

I ordered them from The Trendy Butterfly, an adorable online print shop that offers custom invitations, announcements, thank you cards and personalized t-shirts, pillowcases, water bottles and other custom gifts. They have a wide assortment of options to choose from to match any theme or color scheme. They have great rates and quick turnaround.

And they are also offering you FREE SHIPPING on any personalized water bottle purchase. Pretty cool! I suggest you take advantage now to stay hydrated in style during these scorching summer months! Use the promo code yaybaby at checkout to redeem your free shipping offer.

Thank you so much for tuning in this week while I recapped my Jacquelyn’s first birthday party with you. She is the most precious thing in my life and her birthday was a truly joyous occasion for our family. I had so much fun planning and executing the fun! I hope you got some ideas here to use for your own celebrations. And if you have any questions about where I purchased something or how I did something do not hesitate to contact me in the comments or via email at yaybabyblog@gmail.com. I promise to respond!

Don’t forget to take advantage of these great promotions I set up for my readers:

• The Fancy Type Company: 10% off any purchase of $60 or more through the end of July 2013. Custom-made chalkboard signs for any occasion. Use promo code Jax10FT.
• Patti Cake Bowtique: 15% off any purchase through August 2013. Cute petti rompers and custom headbands. Use promo code HAPPYBIRTHDAYJAX15.
• Squishy Cheeks: 10% any purchase through July 2013. Adorable Piggie Petals (barefoot sandals) and waterproof blankets and burp cloths. Use promo code JUL10YB.
• The Trendy Butterfly: Free shipping on any personalized water bottle order. Use promo code yaybaby.

I was not compensated in any way to write this post. All opinions stated here are 100% my own.