Strawberry party: Ava is 1!

I’m thrilled to share this strawberry party that features my new strawberry theme paper goods and printables! My wonderful customer Catherine loved the idea of a strawberry theme party for her baby girl, Ava, so she started party planning well in advance. She says, “I was fortunate because Target had so many cute strawberry items in their dollar bins in April and May. I started buying everything I could find from Target even before the invitations went out!”

Ava’s strawberry theme invitation set the tone for the whole party, with red gingham, pink polka dots, pink gingham, and flower accents.

As guests arrived, they were welcomed by a DIY printable sign, a gingham-lined basket of faux strawberries, and strawberry coasters that Catherine used throughout the party. She says, “they were cardboard coasters that I found in the Target dollar bins – 8 in a pack for $1, and I bought 8 or 9 packs. I had so many of them that I ended up just tossing them all over every table at the last minute!”

In the living room, a printable banner was hung on the mantle.

A printable sign was displayed at the food table, which was covered in pink gingham and strawberry fabrics. And of course all of the food was strawberry themed, including strawberry covered pretzels, strawberry gummies, wrapped strawberry candies, and strawberry cakes!

Instead of serving a single large cake, Catherine created a display of cakes, each of which was served on a tiered cake stand. All of the cakes were homemade using this cake recipe, and frosted with Catherine’s traditional family recipe for cream cheese frosting.

Personalized water labels are always a big hit! The little bottles shown here are Deer Park minis, although the labels fit just as well on full size water bottles, too.

Strawberry lemonade was served, with large paper cups available for adults and small cups for children. The pink striped paper straws are from Pink Lemonade Party on Etsy, the cups are from Party City, and the stickers on the cups are from Chickabug.

Catherine customized a plain green striped tray (from Target) by attaching striped ribbon (from Michael’s) using double-stick tape. She says, “Putting the ribbon on the tray was the very last thing I did before going to bed at 2 am the night before the party as my mom was yelling at me to ‘put the double-stick-tape down and GO TO BED!‘ So I’m glad you noticed it!” : )

The sweet little strawberry-topped toothpicks are Martha Stewart Vintage Girl Strawberry Drink Picks, which Catherine found on clearance at Joann’s. They’re also available on Amazon.

Each dish on the table was labeled with a printable buffet card.

The caterer created mini strawberry shortcake shots by layering fresh strawberries, whipped cream and vanilla pound cake in individual shot glasses.

A variety of sandwiches, fruit and vegetables were also served for lunch.

The wooden strawberry baskets came from Pink Lemonade Party on Etsy. The faux strawberries came from Michael’s and Hobby Lobby. Catherine says, “It was a good thing I bought faux strawberries at the last minute… I was originally planning to use real strawberries in the baskets that were on the outdoor tables, but I think they would have literally disintegrated in the 104 degree temps we had that day!”

A white drink bucket (from Target) is the perfect thing to hold water bottles on ice! The fabric, Michael Miller Strawberry Blossoms, was used throughout the party. It was cut into large squares and runners for the tables, and small squares for the berry baskets and favors.

A white tent was set up in the back yard, with plenty of seating for adults and for kids.

The kids’ table was set up with party hats, crayons, and baskets of stickers and other goodies to keep kiddos busy!

The hot pink, medium pink, and lime green party lanterns came from Target.

The little three-tiered cake with a candle on top is for the birthday girl!

A printable banner was hung in the area where Ava would be eating her cake.

Cake time! Ava is so sweet, in her pastel pink monogrammed bib! She’s wearing a dress that was handmade for her by her grandmother.

The party favors that Catherine made are really precious! There were separate treat baskets for boys and for girls, set up in strawberry baskets that were decorated with strawberry fabric, ribbons, twine, and printable favor circles.

The boys received plastic tractors and red horns from Party City. The girls’ baskets included strawberry sunglasses from Party City and strawberry notepads from Target. Both the boys and the girls also got strawberry flavored snacks from Annie’s Organics, Plum Organics and Revolution Foods.

I really like the double-layering of the grosgrain ribbon and the twine! (It’s the little things!) The buffet card on a photo clip is a nice touch, too.

Such an amazing party – thank you so much for sharing, Catherine! Happy 1st birthday to Ava! : )