Scarlett turned FOUR with visions of sugar plums in her head. This year I hosted a Nutcracker – Land of Sweets themed party for my little sugar plum fairy! It was such a fun event and Scarlett had the best time celebrating with friends and family.
As usual, I created my birthday party decor with a DIY ideas and tons of balloons. I saved as much as I could of my DIY decorating process to my instagram highlights bubbles. You can find those HERE.
Brainstorming Stage
Before I begin any creative project, I always start with an inspiration board. This first step helps me visually see what I’m dreaming up. It helps me put my thoughts on paper and also double check that it looks cohesive. I don’t always get it right the first time, so there’s always a ton of editing involved in this step.
Here is my inspo board for this DIY birthday party. I often refer back to my inspo board when I’m buying materials for the party, ordering the cake, etc.
DIY Overview
I created a number of things for this event. The centerpieces, nutcracker / bottle brush trees, balloon garlands/ ornaments, party favors, and the balloon tree were all little labors of love. In this post I’ll go over the main DIY projects and my process behind each one.
DIY #1
Jumbo Balloon Ornaments: I used Glamfetti balloons and purchased a silver teacher bulletin board border from Hobby Lobby. I low-temp hot glued the border into a small circle and secured it to the balloon using glue dots (you can also attach it using a low temp hot glue gun– this is just a tad more messy).
Then, I tied fishing wire around the balloon knot and hung from the ceiling using a white thumb tacks. This decor DIY was the best because it took me the least amount of time to make out of everything at the party! LOL It also added so much color to my living room! (I cleared out all the furniture into my bedroom to allow the kids to eat and also dance with plenty of space). To finish the look I mixed in a handful of snowflake balloons and hung them the same way as the ornaments.
DIY #2
Centerpieces: The bucket centerpieces I covered more in detail on my instagram stories. To see more check my saved highlight bubbles for a step by step process.
When creating each centerpiece, I used what I had on hand so each creation is slightly different.
However, the main tools you need to make your own are a bucket/vase, floral foam block, decorative tree picks/pipe cleaners, and crinkle paper. Check out my three different centerpieces below:
Ballerina tree pick / Snowflake Pick / Donut Tree Pick / Gingerbread Tree Pick / Floral Foam / Ivory Crinkle Paper / Iridescent Pipe Cleaner
DIY #3
Balloon Garlands: To create these two balloon garlands I used Glamfetti DIY balloon kits. On their website you can customize your balloon colors and garland length. I love the pops of purple, pink, and mint mixed in with the shiny chrome balloons.
Find the hooray balloon HERE.
DIY #4
Nutcracker and bottle brush tree forest: To create my multi colored Christmas decor I used a few cans of spray paint to transform my Target dollar spot bottle brush trees, large nutcrackers, and mini wooden nutcrackers that I sprinkled around the party.
Spray Paint Colors: Candy Pink, Gumdrop, Ocean Breeze, Brilliant Gold
DIY #5
Ornament Party Favors: Iridescent calligraphy ornament. My good friend, Erika, just started a hand lettering business called Letters by E. I hired her to transform these plastic ornaments (found at Michaels’) into a personalized take away for the guests. I love the way the turned out and how it helped tie in my accent iridescent color.
Letters by E also created my welcome sign and I adore the way it turned out! For inspiration I showed her the invitation and she translated it perfectly! If you need any hand lettering services for events, invitations, etc. I highly recommend her work! You can find her HERE.
DIY #6
Balloon Tree: My DIY grand finale is a massive 10 ft. tall balloon tree. This was a last minute idea that was by far the most time consuming. I had ballerinas lined up to come and teach the girls a little Nutcracker dance. I wasn’t sure how to decorate the back drop for their dance class, but knew I wanted it to be special.
It was a few days before the party and I still had no clue what I was going to do. While watching The Nutcracker ballet movie with my kids I was suddenly inspired!
Around ACT II Clara begins to dream about her Nutcracker coming to life. Her living room tree grows into an oversized height in order to portray Clara shrinking to the size of a toy.
Right then I knew what this backdrop needed- a massive tree!
While brainstorming how to create my tree; I attempted to attach the balloons directly to the wall using glue dots. However, my balloons kept falling and the process wasn’t fast enough for my liking.
I finally decided to apply the balloons with a low temp glue gun.
- TIP! If you ever use a hot glue gun with balloons… make sure the glue gun is LOW TEMP to avoid popping.
Now that I had my attachment solution, I knew I didn’t want to glue over 200 balloons directly to my wall. To avoid this issue I hung white bulletin board paper with push pins and packing tape. (I picked this type of paper because it’s really long and not too heavy).
Next, I outlined a tree shape to help guide my design. I would suggest cutting the excess paper of your tree outline out at this point. I waited until the end to cut the paper incase my tree shape needed to change. However, cutting the paper around the volume of balloons was rather tricky and hard to get a clean cut.
Next, I started blowing up and gluing over 200 white balloons to my wall. The whole process is saved to my instagram highlights if you want a more detailed play by play.
I used a mix of two balloon sizes: 9″ and 5″ balloons to give the tree some dimension.
Last, I added a iridescent star balloon and various colored (5″ size) balloons to create an ornament effect. This last step really made my tree come to life! At the last minute I decided to add a few strings of garland to give the tree more dimension and again pull in my iridescent color accent.
I know right now you might be thinking there is NO WAY I want to blow up all those balloons! Let me assure you, it did take me some time, but you can always make a much smaller version of this tree. I also used my trusty balloon machine– it’s a total life savor! This machine is affordable and blows balloons up in seconds! If you plan on throwing any type of party in the future; I would insist that this machine is a must have!
HELPFUL TIPS
When attaching the balloons to a wall or flat surface:
Tip 1* cut the balloon lip just after the knot. This step creates a clean balloon shape for you to glue easily to the paper.
Tip 2* feel free to low temp hot glue the balloons in multiple places. First attach the balloon to the wall/ paper, but if needed also to surrounding balloons. This can help close any gaps or add needed dimension.
Entertainment
To keep the party guests busy I invited two ballerinas to read the kids a ballet themed book. After the story time they taught a Nutcracker dance to those wanting to participate.
Knowing that the ballet dancers were bringing in costumes for the mini performance; I provided a dress up corner using this wardrobe rack. I offered wands and tiaras for the girls to grab incase they wanted to feel like a real sugar plum fairy.
For those who didn’t want to participate in the ballet lesson; I provided our household favorite, Young Wild & Friedman sensory kits! These kits were custom made to match our Land of Sweets themed party.
To create an open play area I covered my coffee table with a plastic table cloth (for easy clean up). Next, I placed out a handful of painted bottle brush trees. Then, hung a pair of ballerina balloons. Finally, I set out three Young Wild & Friedman full size sensory kits and invited the guests for open play.
The sensory kits were an instant hit with guests from all ages. Everyone had a blast exploring this open ended station! I also really enjoyed seeing everyone’s different creations!
I would highly recommend this activity table for any of your future kid parties! It worked so well for early arrivals and for littles ones who didn’t want to participate in the ballet dance lesson.
If you haven’t already heard me rave about these kits on my instagram; then you heard it here first. LOL These KITS ARE THE BEST! My kids can sit and play with these sensory kits for hours! Also, the quality of her hand made play dough is amazing! Young Wild & Friedman sells various themed kits which are all so cute! Make sure you check out her website HERE to view the entire shop.
Featured Party Shop Favorites
Here For the Cake designed our cake and it was a real show stopper! Not only was it delicious, but it was also decorated impeccably front and back! I gave Susan, the baker and owner of Here for the Cake, a few ideas what I would like to see on our cake, but overall gave her creative freedom to do what she does best. As you can tell from the pictures she knocked it out of the park! A real masterpiece – front and back!
Most of the party goods at this event were supplied by one of my party shop favorites- Ellie and Piper Co. I ordered the Nutcracker cupcake toppers, peppermint swirl plates, iridescent snowflake plates, mint eco friendly plates, confetti, iridescent straws, red/pink stripe napkins, and my personal favorite- the lilac paper table runner! I loved the quality and variety of themes this party supply shop carries!
Pearl and Jane created a custom felt ball garland for the party and I can’t get enough of the pop of purple next to the peppermints! I laid the garland across our dining table and sprinkled confetti from Ellie and Piper Co around the trees and garland.
Special thanks to:
- Aztec Events & Tents for the linens, kids party tables and chairs
- The dance teachers for providing the costumes and ballet lesson.
I hope you enjoyed a look into our Nutcracker birthday! If you feel inspired for a future event, don’t forget you an pin any of these blog images to your Pinterest!