{Party Bee) Here for the Boos Halloween Table

Happy Halloween!!! I hope you are all getting ready to celebrate with your kiddos and loved ones today!

It isn't Halloween for me and my crew without creating a fun and festive dessert table! This year I went a little low key and used decorations I already had and only made a few desserts, but I think it still turned out pretty BOO-tiful! 

This year I wanted to create some Boo Bombs! These are cute hot cocoa bombs in orange white chocolate, black white chocolate, and milk chocolate topped with a variety of Halloween sprinkles!

I also created mini sugar cookies in a Skull and Jack O' Lantern design. They pair so nicely with the yummy hot cocoa bombs!

Every year it is tradition for my kids to decorate their own sugar cookies, so I baked sugar cookies and created bags of royal icing for some Halloween cookie decorating! I can't forget the fun sprinkles!

This year I wanted to create some cake pops....they happen to be my husband's favorite treat! I made them using a variety of colors, but I think the most fun design is the eye ball cake pop! When I look at them they make me think of the Rockwell song, "Somebody's Watching Me"!

I hope all of my customers and readers have a wonderful day and very spooktacular and happy Halloween night!
 

North Pole Hot Cocoa Dessert Table

This year I thought we needed a bit of extra cheer, so for Christmas I created a hot cocoa bar dessert table! But not just any hot cocoa bar....a North Pole hot cocoa dessert table! 

I was inspired by the wood signs I found at Michaels in November and I knew I had to use my favorite buffalo plaid print table runners and party printables! I figured my table would be North Pole meets rustic farmhouse!

Most of the decorations were things I already had on hand. Some I have had for years, others I grabbed on clearance from last years Michael's Christmas clearance (the best time to get your decor and great deals for the next year). 

The style of the decor definitely created a warm and cozy aesthetic, but it was the sweet treats that really gave me all the winter feels! The table was dressed with snowflake and poinsettia chocolate covered Oreos which made for beautiful decorations as well as goodies to eat! The hot cocoa bombs were the table's centerpiece and the most fun for the kids! They are an activity and treat all rolled up into one...first they watch their hot cocoa bomb open up and the marshmallows pop out, then they get to enjoy! 

My tables wouldn't be complete without my decorated sugar cookies. Cookies are always paired nicely with hot cocoa or a nice cup of hot coffee! This year, I created a buffalo plaid Merry Christmas plaque to carry out the pattern of my table, as well as hot cocoa mug cookies in the shape of penguins and gingerbread men. They are the perfect touch of cuteness!

Finally, I chose adorable character mugs to fill with hot cocoa mix favor bags! Who wouldn't want to have a cup of cheer out of a Santa Claus, Reindeer, and Gingerbread mug?! 

Christmas this year wasn't the same as previous years, but this table helped create a festive winter wonderland for the family to enjoy!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas with your family and I wish you a very Happy New Year!

{Party Bee} Farmhouse Halloween Dessert Table

  

Every Halloween I love to create a dessert table with a specific theme. It is just something fun and special that I like to do for my family and it has now become an annual tradition that we all look forward to. 

This year I was inspired to create a Farmhouse Halloween dessert table! My house is decorated with lots of farmhouse decor, so it was definitely easy for me to incorporate Halloween items to give it the perfect holiday feel! Also, keep in mind that when you are wanting to decorate on a budget, it is great to be able to use items in your house that you already have, instead of having to buy all new decorations and supplies!

 

I absolutely love black and white buffalo plaid, it really is the perfect farmhouse Fall decor, so that was the foundation for my table design.With the addition of the pumpkins, the pop of orange really gave it that Fall and Halloween feel.

When I was deciding what to incorporate into my table, I thought perhaps it would be fun to create a "Boo Bar"....which is really just a Halloween themed hot chocolate bar. My choices of toppings were mainly the same, but with the addition of candy corn! Love or hate the candy, it just looks so nice in Halloween decor!

Chocolate covered Oreos are always a must on my dessert tables, but this year, I placed them in mason jars and turned them into a centerpiece arrangement. I really loved the way this looked and I can't wait to create more of these arrangements in the future!

What is a dessert table without decorated sugar cookies?! This year my sugar cookies were comprised of cute and simple Halloween designs; a friendly ghost, a smiling jack O' Lantern, creepy candy corn, but I thought it would be fun to add a little gnome for extra cuteness! And boy was he adorable!!!

Though, I must say that the highlight of this table was the beautiful cake that my best friend made! It was just simply stunning and to top it off, it was the most sinfully delicious chocolate cake!

To complete the dessert table, I made some chocolate covered marshmallows and yogurt covered pretzels drizzled with chocolate. These were so simple to make, but were the perfect addition to this dessert table!

I am just a sucker for a cute cup and cozy! So to incorporate the cup into my theme, I added a little printable tag to the cozy. It is the little touches that just make the table come to life!

I absolutely loved how this table came together and my kiddos loved it as well! I am already looking forward to next year! I hope you and your family had a safe and Happy Halloween!

{Party Bee} Let's Get Corny this Halloween!

Last Halloween I thought it was time that we get a little corny and I went absolutely candy corn crazy with my dessert table and decorations! In addition to getting my baking on, I also created a printable party collection to go with the fun and festive theme. Even if you don't like the taste of candy corn, this collection can be cute on its own or you can compliment the decor with candy corn themed treats! With a colorful palette of orange and yellow, this is the perfect collection to brighten up your Halloween! 

The entire collection is $20 and comes with the following:

- Placemat
- Decorative double point pennant banner ("Let's Get Corny")
- Circle tags
- Menu tent cards or Place cards
- Decorative Candy Corns
- Water bottle labels in 2 designs
- 4x6 signs in 2 designs
- Straw flags

To order this collection, just send me an email with the any menu items or place cards names that you need personalized, receive the files electronically, print out what you need, then cut and assemble!

CLICK HERE to check out my party table for inspiration!

Have questions? Refer to my FAQ's page or send me an email!

{Party Bee} Ava's 8th Birthday Mermaid Spa Bash

A few weeks ago, my daughter, Ava, had a mermazing birthday party with her closest friends to celebrate her 8th birthday! Ava has loved mermaids for years now and after her 7th birthday party, she immediately told me that she wanted to have a mermaid party for her 8th birthday. Once she mentioned this to me, I knew I had plenty of time to come up with a bash that would make a total splash!

Ava has always been a big fan of getting her nails done and just being pampered. She loves bath bombs and all things girly. So several months back I decided that we wouldn't have just a typical mermaid party, but it would be a mermaid spa bash where the girls could get a little pampered.

Our main color palette consisted of pink, purple, and blue and I designed an elegant mermaid themed printable collection that featured a beautiful mermaid and sea creatures using water color illustrations. 

 

Every party I have more my kids, I always create decorated sugar cookies and chocolate covered Oreos. This year I made under the sea cookies featuring a mermaid tail, starfish, shell with the birthday girls name, a number 8, and a magical mermaid cake. I kept the Oreos relatively simple by created a gold mermaid scales pattern and adorning them with purple and blue white chocolate flowers.

When I am designing my table scapes and dessert tables, I try to reuse what I can from previous parties so that I can keep to a budget and make use of the items I already have. If you have seen my previous parties, you may actually recognize some of these items, such as the pearls, white ceramic serving dishes, sign holders, floral centerpieces, white crates, glass jars, kraft paper backdrop. I always recommend taking a look around the house before purchasing anything and then if you need additional decor, always start at the dollar store and don't forget to shop holiday clearance sales!

A couple years ago I made my daughter mermaid tail cupcakes for her 6th birthday. Because they were so cute and I didn't want to reinvent the wheel, I made them again! They really added so much color to the dessert table and added to the overall mermaid theme.

Right after Christmas ended and everything went on clearance, I purchased numerous plastic ornaments. I thought that I could get them to look like bubbles by hot gluing them together in groupings. I placed them around the tables and I just loved how they turned out!

Once again my friend, Natalie, created an amazing cake for Ava's birthday! She really outdoes herself every year! The detail work on this cake is impeccable and the best part is it is even more delicious than it looks!

Each girl was given a place setting with all of the supplies they would need for their spa day. Walmart clearanced out plastic dishware a few months ago and my best friend grabbed some to use as their water bowls to soak their fingernails before their manicure. Inside the bowl I placed a hand mirror, cloth headband, toe spacers, and a kraft container with some special party favors. One of my favorite dollar store finds was a plastic cup with infuser. It was the perfect way to add that spa feel while providing reusable cups to the guests and offering different fruits to infuse their beverage!

Inside the kraft containers was our special thank you party favors. Each girl received a pocket mirror, small loofah, a mermaid tail bath bomb, and a little nail polish to continue to their spa experience at home!

To celebrate the birthday girl, we created a special table that had decorations and accessories that were only at her table. Particularly, my best friend created the most gorgeous sea shell crown for her to wear! It is just breathtaking!

When I originally thought of the spa party theme, I knew that we had to have the girls dressed the part, because what is a spa party without a robe?! I found these girls' satin robes on ebay of all places and got pink robes for Ava's guest and she chose a pretty blue to stand out from her friends.

I always have kraft paper bags on hand for when I package cookie orders, so it was easy for me to create these simple bags for the girls to take all of their party favors and accessories home. I even was able to reuse the pink doilies from one of Ava's previous parties to help decorate the bag.

I love to have a game or two for guests to play and win prizes. This year I created a pin the fin on the mermaid tail. It made for a pretty decoration and a fun game!

 

 

Photos in front of her dessert table and decorations is always a MUST! Especially photos with mama, grandma and grandma, Gabby, and her Aunt Kathy who made a special visit from Chicago!

I wanted to add to the spa experience with a water bar where the girls could choose to infuse their water or fresh lemonade wit strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cucumbers, or lemons! I even had a small adult station so they could infuse their lemonade as well and make a "Siren Song Cocktail".

The festivities started with the girls changing into their spa attire, then shortly after that, the girls applied a cucumber yogurt face mask and placed cucumbers over their eyes. This was probably the cutest thing ever! Some girls loved it and others weren't so fond of how the mask felt. 

Once they completed their masks, it was on to mani and pedi time! Thankfully I had a lot of helpers to assist with this part!

Last year the kids had so much fun with my friend turning them into puppies with incredible face painting, that we had to have her back again, but this time she transformed Ava and her friends into mermaids! Her painting skills are just off the charts!

Musical chairs is a game that we just don't see played very much anymore. It was always played at birthday parties when I was a child. When I introduced Ava to it a couple years ago, she found she liked it so much that she wanted to play it at her parties. The kids had a blast!

Because we didn't want to ruin the girls' freshly painted faces, we had to ask them all to play pin the fin on the mermaid tail using the honor system and they just had to shut their eyes.

 

 Cake time and singing happy birthday to our little mermaid, Ava!

A group shot of the beautiful mermaids in their spa attire! 

This party definitely made waves and was absolutely magical! Here is to mermaid kisses and starfish wishes for a wonderful 8th birthday! Happy birthday, Ava!

{Party Bee} Let's Get Corny this Halloween!

Every Halloween I love to pick a theme to decorate my dessert table around. This year I thought it was time that we get a little corny and I went absolutely candy corn crazy! Not only did I create a printable party collection, but I also got crafty and got my bake on!

I used a candy corn color palette of white, orange, and yellow, but I wanted to add black to the mix because it is of course Halloween, and I thought it needed some contrast. This definitely turned out to be a bright and colorful dessert table!

My centerpieces were a combination of mason jars and pumpkins spray painted to resemble candy corns. They definitely catch your eye and add a pop of that candy corn color! Each place setting was comprised of a placemat, candy corn mask (that I stumbled upon at Michael's Craft Store), and a wood candy corn painting activity (that I found at Target in the dollar section). Not only did each place setting function as party favors, but they also added to the table decor!

As I tried to figure out what exactly I wanted to put into the festive mason jars, my daughter and I stumbled upon a sweet treat in a candy store. They were selling these giant marshmallows dipped in white chocolate and covered in colorful sprinkles. My daughters eyes lit up and right then I knew that is what I was going to make to fill my mason jars! But of course, my marshmallow pops would be made using white, orange, yellow, and black sprinkles to coordinate with the table scheme.

Water bottles wrapped in coordinating printable labels is always a must. They work as both simple and inexpensive decor, but also as a way to help wash down all the sweet treats!

When planning a party, one of the first places to go look for supplies is the dollar store! You never know what great things you will find. During my visit I was able to get small tubs of candy corn cotton candy. You have no idea how excited my kids were for these. Cotton candy and candy corn are probably two of my family's favorite things...and this combines them both into one treat!

I always love to make decorate sugar cookies for my tables. This year I decided to give little candy corns a make-over and dress them up in their very own costumes. I created a Franken Corn, Dracula Corn, Kitty Corn, Mummy Corn, Mr. Corn, and my daughter's favorite, a Uni Corn.

Chocolate covered Oreos are a fun addition to my party tables, and this year I wanted to keep the design simple. So I chose to make them using the candy corn color palette and top them with an actual candy corn. They are simply sweet!

I love the way pennant banners look for parties. They are just a fun and festive way to add to the party theme.

Going candy corn crazy was such a fun and easy theme and the perfect way to liven up my dessert table this year! It is time to Get Corny! Hope you all have a Happy Halloween!