The latter part of the La Maisonnette renovation took place during the Summertime, when hot air balloons dotted the blue skies everyday. My youngest daughter was two at the time and would call out "hot balloon" several times a day...and each time held the same amount of excitement as the previous exclamation. It was so, so cute.
We recently looked through some of the many pictures we took during those last months at the cottage and I was reminded of these sweet experiences with her. Since we'd just begun her birthday party planning, it was decided that a "Hot Air Balloon" Birthday Party it would be! This was such a fun party to plan, and it made me nostalgic for those days when she and her two older siblings would hang out on the balcony watching hot air balloons every morning and then again at sunset. I love those memories.
p.s. here is a picture of the balcony by day and by night.
The inspiration for the color scheme came from this wrapping paper I found in a local children's store called Clover . I loved the stripes, polkadots, and overall vintage look. I had the paper dry-mounted on foam board and originally wanted to use it as a backdrop; however it ended up being the perfect piece for her "pin-the-flag-on-the-hot-air-balloon" game. I cut a kraft brown muffin cup in half and used it for the basket. I free-handed the hot air balloon (as you can tell by it's slightly wobbly shape), and then used pom pom trim for decoration...everywhere :)
I only own a couple of tablecloths, so it's good to have a nice, basic one I can re-use for different occasions. I'm not sure if you remember, but I used this same cloth for my oldest daughter's
Paris Party too.
Cupcake liners doubled as snack cups--choosing colors that coordinated with the hot air balloon paper--and I filled them with little savory snacks my daughter likes to munch on. I had to make some kind of effort to compensate for that huge, chocolate cake she requested!
Lucky for us, a dinner guest who joined us the previous night brought hydrangeas as a hostess gift--so happy to realize they matched the paper too! When it came down to the wire, I realized the table needed some extra pop of color. And speaking of color, how about that giant, red balloon? Totally worth the $12 it cost me--the kids were enamored with a balloon of this size and brought an element of surprise to the party. Plus, it didn't collapse within the day like regular-size helium balloons do. This bad boy is still afloat and continues to bounce around the house...over a week later!
Little boxes decorated with vintage stamps and twine served as party favors for the little ones. They held little hot air balloon necklaces, which were just vintage pendants I found on Etsy made into a piece of jewelry with the addition of some thin, satin ribbon. They weren't expensive or difficult to create, and my daughter loves having a memento from her birthday party, after the fact.
There are so many fun ways to recreate a "hot air balloon" party with just Etsy alone--here are some of my favorite finds I just couldn't squeeze in:
tags for invitations /
rubber stamp /
cards for invitations thank you's / more
vintage cards /
vintage mug - use as a vase /
more tags /
tape /
vintage stamps for invitations /
fabric
Update: Following the trend of using postage stamps as inspiration, I've posted a few new
birthday party ideas