Aloha, 26!
For the past couple years, I did not do anything major for my birthday. Just your typical family birthday dinner, and Benny would take me out for a date. However, this year I wanted to do something special! A few months prior to my birthday, I had purchased some decor for my friend Alex’s Hawaiian themed Bachelorette, so I figured I’d reuse the decor and host a little soiree of my own. Also, given that my birthday is in early January, I thought it would be a fun theme to take away some of the winter blues! (In hindsight, I am so glad I took the opportunity to gather with friends and celebrate…. because #2020).
The Invitation
I am a HUGE fan of Canva. I originally used it as a tool to create materials for my classroom, but it has quickly turned into my go-to for party stationary! This was quick and easy to make, and perfect to send out digitally to my girlfriends.
The Decor
Tropical themed parties are making a major come back! I was able to get so many adorable and affordable pieces of decor at local Dollar Tree’s, Party City & Amazon. Some of my favourite items include:
‘26’ gold foil balloons (Dollartree)
Gold ‘Aloha’ banner (Amazon)
Banana Leaf table runner (Amazon)
Artificial monstera leaves (Amazon)
Glass & Gold tableware (Value Village)
Tropical themes plates & cups (Party City)
A photo booth!
Gold foil background (Dollartree)
Pink & white balloon banner (Dollartree)
Fresh Fruit- especially pineapples.
The Flowers
I had spent hours trying to track down a florist who would be able to get me some tropical flowers for this event. Given that it wasn’t a large event like a wedding or shower, and that it was January, it was incredibly challenging to find a place that was able to order in some tropical foliage and blooms. When I expressed this to Uncle Andrew (the cool uncle, who also knows all things plant and garden related), he jumped into action and said “leave it to me!”. When he showed up with the biggest, most beautiful flowers and plants I have ever seen, I was floored!!
His must haves for a tropical party include:
Monstera leaves (LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THESE THINGS!)
Birds of paradise
Banana leaves
Blushing Bride
Ginger Flowers
Anthurium
The Food
Aside from your typical appetizers and drinks, no tropical birthday party is complete without Hawaiian pizza!
The food highlights for the party were the cake and cookies! The cake was made by Courtney Kay Cakes. Meanwhile the cookies were made by Sarah at Sarah’s Cookie Co., and they were the perfect little goodies to send our guests home with at the end of the party!
When a party doesn’t Quite go as planned…
When the day of the party finally arrived, Ontario was hit with a record breaking 35-50 mm of rain and freezing rain (perks of a January birthday…). An hour or so before the party was set to start, my sister noticed that some water was beginning to appear on the kitchen floor… which soon turned into a flowing stream of water.
At first, I was SO disappointed for a couple of reasons. First of all, a number of my guests were coming from further away, and the freezing rain meant they had to cancel due to poor road conditions. Secondly, OUR KITCHEN WAS FLOODING! However, the show must go on! We moved the kitchen table and reconfigured some of the decor- and the party went on as planned.
Overall, I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to celebrate with some of my friends, and look forward to hosting more birthday parties in the future. (Once it is safe to do so, following all social distancing guidelines…. Because #2020)
Cheers,
Becks
