Carolina’s “It’s a Small World” first birthday party went off without a hitch! With the 20+ people that were coming, I would’ve enjoyed being able to have it outside, but it was already too chilly here in Idaho, so we set up inside.

Although my sister-in-law made Carolina’s custom party decorations, I still had some work to do the week before. I took the PDFs of the decorations to Office Depot to have them printed on cardstock and while I was there I learned that they could select parts of the file to blow-up – thus the giant small world “castle” poster and name banner came about. Both were pulled from her invitation – and they turned out so great – I was giddy watching them come out of the printer! The cost of the printing was surprisingly affordable as well. The buntings, banner, and cupcake toppers needed to be assembled, which was a little time consuming. I purchased some twine, mini clothespins, and small popsicle sticks at Michaels.

 The day of the party, I set up a drink table with mason jars, orange sherbet punch, water, and a little candy station in matching colors.

 I also whipped up this bib while Carolina was taking her nap – it was fabric I’d had for a year and hadn’t done anything with yet, it was perfect for the party!

 We also set up a cake table since all the counter spaced was used to set up dinner (pizza and salad). I had previously planned to just do cake and appetizers – cheeses from around the world! It would’ve gone with the theme so well, but since we had to have it at dinner time I thought pizza’s went with the theme because… they’re round – mm, ok so that wasn’t totally themed, but it was easy – and that was my main goal. If I had had my food planned out earlier Jeran would have totally made themed food labels for me as well.

 Favors were doughnuts from our favorite local doughnut shop, pre-ordered to match the colors. While guests were arriving I played the “small world” ride soundtrack and Fantasyland suite soundtrack from my  Musical History of Disneyland boxset.

 I would’ve loved to just cover the mantle with globes – but wouldn’t you know, vintage globes are hard to find! I went with one of the buntings, a globe, flowers, Carolina’s one year picture, and some items from the bookshelf in her room.

12 months of Carolina

 My sweet girl wasn’t feeling very good, suffering from an ear infection, but she perked right up for her party and absolutely LOVED her cake.

Throwing parties, or any type of large gathering is not my strong suit. But I took a lot of cues from my sister-in-law, and tried to make it as easy and low-stress as possible so I could just enjoy the day. 
Oleander and Palm (my sister-in-law’s website and Etsy store) is the way to go if you want something different and custom, and you want a little help with it! Don’t forget to enter the giveway for free printables of the invitations and decorations for a “small world” party of your own!

What do you think of this theme? I say it’s totally gender-neutral. What unique Disney themed parties are you thinking up? 
Don’t forget to enter to win a free set of “small world” party printables OR a Disney quote print by entering the Rafflecopter giveaway below! (If you missed the first part of this two-part series, click here!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read more from Jessica on her blog, Idahome. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, or on Instagram at @jesshner.