Chloe is ONE! We celebrated with friends and family a couple Saturdays ago with a full on Vintage Disneyland theme. We told the kids to come as their favorite characters OR like they were going to the park, and we covered the home in vintage Disney and pastels. I grabbed as much Disney-themed items from our own loot that I could to decorate with, mostly old Disney books and characters, and then we purchased some key party decor you will see linked below to give the touch of magic we needed! We did this party on a mega budget and I am really excited to share it with you.
For food, we did Build Your Own Waffle Cone Bar! We had chicken strips, Mac and cheese, 3 different kinds of French fries (white potato, sweet potato, shoe string), and toppings including syrup, honey mustard, and BBQ! I know it sounds crazy… BUT OMG. SO GOOD. I used to have a client that did an entire restaurant concept of waffle cones like this, and so when I was trying to come up with “park food” for the theme, I thought of these! It was easy for kids to eat without a table or on the ground, and people really had fun with it. It was also extremely cost efficient.
For the cake I made one myself again, like I did for Rory’s Donald birthday, and then one of my besties found the cake topper at Home Goods for $9 and it completely transformed the cake to theme. I used the GF King Arthur Confetti Cake Mix and Buddy The Cake Boss Buttercream frosting.
The banner I made with streamers took only about an hour and cost me $15! I bought two packs of this set of 6 pastel streamers (the colors were perfection!!) and then I already had a roll of twine in our craft box. My mom and I joked how most people would have probably measured each one out, but we just don’t work that way. I just sorta went for it and followed a general pattern. Although, it got mixed up a few times and then we filled holes with random colors. So use the word “pattern” very lightly. I would guess each strand was about 5-6 feet long so it hung 2-3 feet long on both sides of the twine. And then I layered it when I hung it up so that also made it feel full and large! The key is to simply tie very lightly so the streamers didn’t tear, but other than that it was just a “go for it” effort.
Chloe’s dress is from Lola and the Boys, and my skirt is a few years old from Red Dress Boutique! I wore it for Rory’s baby shower.
I used Knox’s craft cart (after a good scrubbing with a Magic Eraser) for our Polaroid stand. We had this cutie blue camera already and bought 40 film. Kids had so much fun taking photos of each other and there’s just always something extra magical about a Polaroid pic. We had this whole set-up, the cart and garland, as people walked in up front by my blue door, which made it feel very cohesive and Disney-esque.
It was extra hot this day, literally the day before hit the record hottest day, so whereas kids typically play outside the whole time when we do a party… they all were inside. Every last one of them. It was a little overwhelming, but we made it work. There were toys out to play with and we had Disney rides from Youtube playing on the TV. My friend who is a Disney Travel Agent came up and took the kids on a roller coaster ride from start to finish as a Disney Cast Member. It was so cute and the kids had a lot of fun with it. I think the parents did too, to be honest… hehe. All you need to do is type in “POV Disney rides” on Youtube and tons will pop up for you!
The key to a party at home with your kids is to just provide the space to play and have fun with it. Your home will get messy and it will be packed, but I promise it’s so fun. When it isn’t too hot to play outside with record temperatures, we typically have all the kids running amuck outside with the playhouse, trampoline, roller coaster, wagon, bikes, etc. Again, this specific time that didn’t happen, but it usually does! I have a gate on our stairs and literally tell parents as they come in that we have everything downstairs and they can play with whatever they see downstairs! Put things away that you don’t want played with or messed up, and that is it. You do not need to spend thousands of dollars on a party for your kid to make it feel extra magical. It just takes key items that shift an atmosphere into the theme you are dreaming of.
I honestly didn’t know if I would ever go to Disney World – Partly because we never went as a kid and partly because the idea of a theme park (as I know them) just doesn’t sound exactly appealing to me anymore. Sweaty thighs sticking to yucky roller coasters, an unclean environment, and just the general yucky theme parks we all know… I just didn’t believe Disney World would be THAT different. BOY WAS I WRONG. They are clean, kind, everybody loves their job, and the park literally smells like donuts. Everything I dislike about a Six Flags is what Disney does WELL. Disney workers own that they get to make somebody’s day magical and you can see it in every single person employed at the park, from the person driving you on the bus to the coffee carts, to the dancers and characters themselves. They all love that they get to see you that day. There’s just nothing like it. Our trip was one of 7 best friends, most of whom it was our first time ever at Disney. I will be rolling out a Disney Series since it’s just so much information, but in general… it was amazing. Disney is as much for adults as it is for kids. Tip: Our bestie, 
