BABYMANIA!

The party I am about to share is one that is very near and dear to me (and here is my official apology for the lengthy post because I plan to share every last detail...because after all, I'm a girl who loves the details!).  The party was a 1st year celebration for our twin babies Liam and Elle.  Our family and friends were kind enough to travel near and far to attend and having most everyone in our lives there was really the best part of the day.

The theme for our party was BABYMANIA!  BABYMANIA?!   Yes, BABYMANIA!  Now you might be scratching your head asking why on earth I came up with that theme.  Well to put it simply, because every one in our lives seems to be CRAZY about these babies, just like every one was once CRAZY about the Beatles.

I wanted a motif as unique and special as they are to us. My husband and I both LOVE The Beatles, and since the babies were too young to really be into anything yet when I started planning months prior (and we figured all those princess and Star Wars parties will be coming soon enough), we decided to go with something that was so “us.” So out of that, BABYMANIA was born.

I racked my brain trying to come up with concepts and a color scheme that wasn’t too girly and frilly, and not too boy-ish either.   I took a cue from the “Yellow Submarine” and incorporated a lot of yellow since it’s such a bright, happy color and of course gender natural too. I also pulled hints of turquoise (for my son) and hints of hot pink (for my daughter) into the mix.  I love color and I think the look and feel turned out to be really cheerful and fun!

Here is the invitation ensemble.  My favorite part was the creative wording that my clever husband helped me come up with.  We incorporated several different Beatles songs on the invite, the enclosure card and even on the back of the address label. 

Upon the arrival of our guests, we had them select a prop or two to use for the photo booth.  We had custom "fan buttons" made for each guest to wear as well as John Lennon glasses, Beatles mustaches on sticks and signs to hold up that all had a woman's name featured on them from different song titles.  This was also where we had a Beatles notebook for each baby where guests could share a fun memory or birthday wish for them.  Having the wish books and photos of each guest will be a great way to remember everyone who came to the party.

 

The table decor was inspired by the song lyrics “They Say It’s Your Birthday, It’s My Birthday Too, Yeah” since the babies obviously share the same birthday. I did a classic birthday motif by having wrapped gifts, a cupcake arrangement made out of fresh flowers, and a pennant sign, which all sat on top of an array of Beatles folders that I found months prior.

Other table décor included a record at each person’s place setting (I found vintage records from thrift stores and designed and printed a new label to go over top), a napkin with a “Ticket To Ride” napkin ring, and a tented menu card.

Speaking of the menu, here is what we ate.  Of course we had to have our food creatively titled!

 

And here is the "Octopus's Garden" salad station, and let me point out that cute little fella that my husband actually made!  Making the octopus was one of several projects he took on.  He did it by twisting, stuffing and stapling butcher paper together.  My favorite element were the suction cups he made out of cupcake liners.  To further the concept of the salad station looking like an "Octopus's Garden," I covered the entire top of the table with loose lettuce leaves, pulled off from 7 heads of lettuce to be exact, and scattered a few flowers cut out from bell peppers.

Since you can't very well go on a MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR without having any MAGIC, we thought it would be fun to hire a magician to come and perform tricks for the kids for the entertainment.  I’m pretty sure some of the adults were quite entertained as well!

And I certainly can't forget to mention the headlining act!  I asked (okay, maybe bribed) my husband to make a special appearance as John Lennon, dressed head to toe in a Sgt. Pepper costume.  He lead us all in singing “Happy Birthday” to the babies as he presented them with their birthday cakes.

My husband also took on the job of creating a photo montage, set to all Beatles music (“In My Life”, “Here Comes The Sun,” and “All You Need Is Love”), which highlighted the babies’ first year. This one was by far the most touching (and tearful) part of the day.

 

  

The "They Say It's Your Birthday" cakes were so adorable and made by my special friend Ruth Denton.  She is a seriously talented confection queen and can make anything!  The cupcakes turned out darling too!

 

What's a party these days without a sweets table?  Thank you Amy Atlas (my sweets table idol!).  The theme for this was "All You Need Is Love And Sweets" and my favorite treats included the "Apple Records," "Marmalade Skies Jam," "Yellow Submarine" Twinkies (an idea that came to me at 3 am!) and the jumbo "Marshmallow Pies."  The pedestal stands were also fun to make which were basically candle sticks that were spray painted white, with a record glued on top.  Easy, re-purposed and unique!

The "Ultimate Beatles Fan Bag" were the kid's favor bags.  Contents included fun things like "Kaleidoscope Eyes," "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" Ring Pops, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" Clappers, and a roll of pennies aka "Penny Lane."

 

The adult's favors were made by my husband and were a compilation CD of "#1 Beatles Hits."  Of course you have to have #1 hits in honor of babies turning 1!

In lieu of gifts, and since the party was 2 weeks before Christmas, we thought it would be a nice idea to have “Liam And Elle’s Giving Tree” where guests could bring an unwrapped toy to be donated in their honor to children in need that holiday season. It was really awesome being able to give so many great items away to children who needed a little something extra to lift their spirits during Christmas time.

And here are the 1 year old guests of honor showing off their best tricks and my daughter's distike for cake.  Can she really be my daughter by not wanting to eat sweets?!?!

And last but not least, here is the thank you note we sent out inspired by the beloved Polaroid, you know since Polaroid pics were huge back in the 70's.  The back of the photo thank you card had the Beatles autographs on them, kind of a fun detail!

And while on the topic of thank you...

I'm sending "ALL MY LOVING" thanks to my family and friends who offered their time, talents, and helping hands to pull this thing off.  "A DAY IN THE LIFE" of Liam and Elle would not have been possible without you.  BABYMANIA will forever hold a special spot in my heart.

VENDOR CREDITS:
– Event Design/Invitations + Misc. Printed Pieces: SHE PAPERIE + design boutique
– Photography: Jeanna Hayes Studios
– Sugar Cookies: Truly Scrumptious
– Cupcakes: Dainty Cakes
– Smash Cakes & Candy Apples: Ruth Denton
– Guitar Cake Pops: Sugar Mama
– Custom Buttons: Wacky Buttons
– Venue: The Plaza At Whitney Ranch