So it’s no secret that I LOVE throwing parties. I’m often asked what’s my secret to pulling my girls’ parties off, and the answer is simply this: Alli Finlay.
Really, guys, I get soooo harebrained when it comes to parties that my creativity could be the death of me (occasionally literally — remember when I cut my wrist overlaying carpet last year? or when I burned my face off making heart pancakes? yeah…), but Alli is totally the yin to my yang, logical and logistical. Every time I’ve thrown a party, Alli’s there in the trenches with me the night before, potting succulents and frosting cakes by my side. There is seriously no way I could ever repay her for everything she’s done for me (unless we win the lottery this week of course — then I owe her a cool million or so), but when she mentioned that she actually wanted to throw a party of her own, I was like, “Yes, payback! (The good kind.)”
Alli’s little girl, Clara, is adventurous and funny and sweet — and was totally excited about her upcoming birthday. Turning three is a big deal in toddler world, so Clara deserved a big party. Alli came up with a killer concept, Tinker Bell’s “Secret of the Wings,” a movie in which Tinker Bell ventures from the green seasons of Pixie Hollow into the Winter Woods and meets her long-lost sister, Periwinkle. I was immediately in love. If you’ve seen the movie (or if you’ve seen it a million times like we have), then this party will totally make sense to you. For those Tinker Bell-less #boymoms out there, let me explain: There’s a creek between the warm and cold fairy worlds, and no one’s allowed to cross. However, Tinker Bell and her fairy friends do help the animals cross over when it’s wintertime, and when the animals hop into the Winter Woods, their coats turn white. (Then Tinker Bell decides to break the rules, meets her twin sister and an accidental disaster ensues. A preserved periwinkle flower helps her save the day…and Pixie Hollow.) We decided to run with this crossing-over concept, playing on the idea of the animals changing as they entered winter. Alli wanted to do a table that was half Pixie Hollow, half Winter Woods (um, YES), and the rest is history! Snowflakes, a little lavender mixed amongst fairy green and winter white, periwinkle flowers, half-white bunnies, a hint of Tinker Bell without being a Disney-fied theme…it was magical! Between my harebrained-ness, Alli’s logistics and a lot of help (especially from the grandparents — Caryn who orchestrated the entire fairy-house craft and Phyllis who gathered mushrooms and stumps galore), it turned out gorgeous. I mean, E.V. basically died and went to fairy heaven when she saw everything…and hasn’t stopped talking about it since. In fact, I’d pretty much like to pick up this party and plop it down in March when it’s Cricket’s big day because it was so pretty.
Here’s a glimpse at Clara’s Tinker Bell party, which was truly filled with faith, hope and pixie dust! Let’s hope this begins to repay Alli for all the late nights I owe her back. ;)
(Um, sorry for the crummy screen shot because technically I still haven’t received and invite to photograph, ahem Alli. ;) )
