Strawberry Shortcake Party

Are you planning a Berry Special birthday party for your little girl?  Here are some ideas from my daughter's Strawberry Shortcake 3rd birthday party!

It started with my Strawberry Shortcake board that I created on Pinterest.  This was my very first party using Pinterest to gather my ideas.  Pre-Pinterest days, I googled party ideas and compiled a list of links and pictures.  Pinterest has definitely changed the way I plan parties!

I wanted to have colorful and fun party for my daughter's 3rd birthday.  Pink and green is a great color combo for a party theme.  There are plenty of pink and green decorations available at your local party store.  You can save money by using solid color decor and party supplies.  If you have solid color items leftover from the party, you are not stuck with a particular theme.  For example I used solid pink and solid green plastic cups instead of purchasing strawberry shortcake cups.  I was able to use the leftover green cups for my sister's baby shower. 

Strawberry shortcake looked different when I was a little girl.  In my opinion, the newer Strawberry Shortcake is much cuter! I created the custom invitations myself because I didn't see anything at the party store that caught my eye.  I believe that a great invitation can set the tone for what your guests can expect for your party.  The green stripes added that signature strawberry shortcake look, but was a subtle touch instead of putting an actual picture of Strawberry Shortcake. In the dollar section at Michaels craft store, I scored the green, pink and red buttons and the paper flowers too.

Making your own birthday banners are a great way to be cost effective and to add custom details if you can't find one that matches your theme.  Using my Cricut machine I made this strawberry banner using a heart shape, flower shape for the leaves, and cutout the lettering.  I also used a round paper punch for the polka dots.  I saved money by using things I already had in my scrapbook supplies!

Candy/Party favor buffets are great for large birthday parties.  It makes it easier rather than having several individual goodie bags and making sure each bag has the right ratio of toys and candy.  This gives the kids (and adults too!) a fun way to pick what kind of candy and favors they want! As I was planning the party, when I went to several different stores I looked for party favors, colored candy, or containers.  Candy buffets make a huge impact when you stay within a color theme. 

Using crepe paper, I made a colorful and inexpensive backdrop for the candy buffet. I also hung a favor sign that I made that said "Thank you berry much!" 

What better time to make chocolate-covered strawberries, than a strawberry shortcake birthday party!  A friend told me about Dolci Frutta for making chocolate covered strawberries.  It's a microwavable chocolate that you melt, stir and dip your strawberries! So easy and fast! I found it in the produce section at the grocery store.

 I love to bake but after making my first fondant cake here, it gave me new appreciation for bakers who work with this messy goop!  Before I didn't know why it was more expensive for fondant cakes, but now I know why!  Making home-made marshmallow fondant to cover the cake and using a silicone mold to shape the small buttons and bottom border was very time-consuming. Thankfully my best friend Brandi who had taken cake decorating classes before, helped me make this cake.  I would have given up if I didn't have her there to help me. 

 I made strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting (here's the yummy frosting recipe: Sprinkles' Strawberry Frosting). 

We hand-shaped the strawberries out of the fondant and they ended up being the perfect little candle holders.

Everyone loved the decorations and the candy buffet, but most importantly my daughter enjoyed celebrating this day with all our family and friends!

 

Thank you BERRY much for stopping by and hope you come back for more creative ideas! :)