DANNICA’S ICE CREAM PARTY!

So Dannica turned the BIG 3. And I definitely wanted to make this party special because it was the first time she really understood the concept of birthday parties and the fact that she was turning a whole year older. It is also the first birthday party that they might remember, and the first one that really matters to them.

As with all event planning, the hardest part is settling on a theme. Once you have a theme, you can run with it and Pinterest to your heart’s content. In the end we decided on an ice cream themed birthday party because

Dannica LOVES ice cream!!
Her birthday is in the middle of summer, and it’s been the hottest summer to date in Denver
We wanted a gender neutral theme (because so many of our guests had both boys and girls). My husband and I figured that all the princess, ballerina, and unicorn themed birthday parties can come in the future.
We had a GREAT location in mind that we knew would be perfect for the party size.

Once we had the theme in place and the Ice Cream parlor that we go to every week (we live only a few blocks away) reserved for the day, I went down the inevitable deep and dark Pinterest/Etsy hole. Most of my finds and ideas were from those two sources except for a few exceptions that I sourced from Amazon/Target.

I ordered these adorable invitations from Etsy about two months before the party (video below), and used the invitations and the Ice Cream Parlor as inspiration for the rest of the party in terms of color pantone and vibe.

Decorations:

I then ordered all the decorations about 8 weeks in advance because most of the small shops on Etsy require a long lead time.

I ordered this ten foot balloon garland from Etsy and it came with the balloons, air pump, a vinyl string to attach all balloons to and a detailed instruction sheet. It took me a few hours to make this, the most time consuming part was actually tying the balloon ends.

I ordered the Ice Cream Truck centerpiece off Etsy as well but I saw the exact same one on Amazon! It was very easy to assemble and you didn’t need any tape, glue or scissors!

The sprinkle balloon and the giant 3 balloon I also ordered on Etsy, but I am sure you can get similar ones from Party City and have them blown up there.

Kid’s Entertainment:

For any kids’ parties, it is absolutely essential to provide entertainment for the children. I’ve done everything from balloon artists to music acts to face painting. For this party, I decided to go with arts & crafts and I would say it was the most successful yet out of everything I did because it kept little hands busy at their own pace and they also didn’t have to wait in line for something that only provides a short amount of gratification.

I just bought $1 ice cream themed sticker books and ice cream themed coloring books and then a few ice cream themed play doh all from Amazon. The kids loved playing with their hands and the play doh ended up being the biggest hit!

And of course the main entertainment was the open ice cream bar for both kids and adults to enjoy!

Photo Booth:

I am a huge fan of photo booths. It is a fun way for your guests to be silly and to also go home with some fun photos from the party. I also am a huge fan of creating several interactive stations because it allows people to mix and mingle, and also helps divide the space up so that not everyone is crowded into one area.

I ordered these Ice Cream themed Photo Booth props as a digital download on Etsy. I printed them on heavy cardstock paper and then cut them out (there were detailed instructions on the best way to cut them out). And then I grabbed some wooden disposable chopsticks and krazy glued them to the back. I then got my chalkboards (for instructions), polaroid camera and placed them along the counter.

Party Favors:

I think it is fun to get super creative with party favors. I think of invitations as the sneak peak to a party for guests (it sets the first tone), and party favors as something that they will take away from the party. I found little popsicle boxes and ice cream pints on Etsy that I assembled (fairly easy!). And then I shopped the $1 aisle at Target and also Yoobi (a really fun school supply brand) for ice cream themed party goodies. Dannica’s birthday party is right before kids go back to school, so I thought in addition to party treats, it would be fun for kids to go home with school supplies like popsicle highlighters, ice cream erasers and little markers. For more details on the party favors, I have videos with all details under my highlights on my instagram page @aenny04.

I hope this post will provide you with some fun ideas and inspiration for your little ones if you ever plan on throwing an ice cream themed party! We had so much fun with our close family and friends celebrating our little Dannica turning 3!! We are so grateful to everyone who came and showered our baby girl with love and made her day absolutely unforgettable <3