My niece Caitlin's 5th birthday party was a sweet success, thanks to the hard work and creativity of her mom (and my sister), Jennifer. We were unable to make it to Caitlin's Sweet Shoppe, but Jennifer has graciously shared photos of the party. Photos in this post were collected from several sources, including Nashville photographer Sally Kent.
The fun started with Caitlin's invitation, pictured on the right. Lollipop sticks and cellophane bags made them look like suckers. An enclosure card gave extra details.
This party was a dessert-lover's dream, with cupcakes, cookies and candy.
Jennifer made cupcakes and dressed them up with cupcake wrappers and toppers from her shop, The Polka Dot Party.
One of Jennifer's neighbors captured this shot of cookies. Lisa from Batches brought the theme to life beautifully with suckers, gumballs and personalized gumball machines.
Jennifer has recently added this Sweet Shoppe line to her shop. Check out the precious cupcake topper designs below.
Jennifer has a number of products in her Sweet Shoppe line, including cupcake toppers and wrappers, bottle labels, banners and signs.
Custom water bottle labels add a special touch.
And you know we love our Starbucks Frappuccino bottles! Jennifer and I couldn't coordinate details to get my collection to her, so in the weeks leading up to the party, she and her husband drank 36 bottles. Not a bad assignment!
Jennifer held Caitlin's party at their church building. A playground allowed some outdoor time, but Jennifer had plenty of activities planned for inside play too. Stations included candy jewelry making, Pin the Gum Ball on the Machine, the board game Candy Land, and an activity time led by Jen's husband, Dave.
The highlight of the celebration came at the close of party, when Caitlin's Sweet Shoppe opened.
It was a child's dream come true! Jennifer set up a white tent and filled it with candy. Each child was given a party bag and invited to fill it with as much candy as he or she wanted. Can you imagine how exciting this was for the little ones at the party? Jennifer decked out Caitlin's Sweet Shoppe with fabric streamers, glass jars of varying shapes and sizes, gumball machines and personalized signs.
Pretty banners celebrated the birthday girl. Jennifer puts a lot of detail into these banners. Check out all the ribbon ties! Speaking of cute, take a look at the birthday girl.
Five-year-old Caitlin is a spirited little girl who might follow in her mom's footsteps. She enjoyed making cards while Jennifer worked on party details, proclaiming, "I am a party girl, too!"
Above, a few of the faces that made Caitlin's celebration so sweet.
Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing Caitlin's Sweet Shoppe with us! You can visit The Polka Dot Party on Etsy here and on Facebook here.
Yesterday was Mary Ashley's birthday, and so far 9 is divine! I am planning her party for this weekend and can't wait to share the details.
