Well, this birthday really taught me that an event planner should be ready for anything and has to adjust to the environment. I had plans...oh great plans for this birthday! They did not all work out, but in the end, it turned out pretty great!
My son loves Fireman Sam! It's a British cartoon, but he watches a Russian translation of the cartoon. He sings the theme song, runs around like his favorite character and swings down playground poles like a fireman. Too cute! When planning his 4th birthday, it was either Fireman Sam or garbage trucks, which are attached to him like a right arm, ha! Well, we thought it would be more fun to do a Fireman Sam birthday. Trash trucks - next time!
With the pandemic slowly subsiding, we were finally able to have a birthday party at a local park and invited a limited amount of people. I had plans for a fun backdrop with a balloon garland, lots of dessert table decor and games for the kiddos. However, when we arrived at the park, it was windy and half the park was taken over by a group practicing self-defense. Most of my plans went out the window...there was some disappointment and frustration, but I had a great and supportive group of assistants with me who helped me bring it all about! Yay!
DECOR
We tried to put up the backdrop, but even with the sandbags, the wind was too strong for the backdrop to be steady on uneven ground. So I nixed that idea and just wound the balloon garland around a tree and dragged a picnic table to the tree. And here's what we got...
I picked the red, yellow and white color scheme to go with the firefighter theme. Unfortunately, I did not realize the picnic tables were so small, so I ended up downsizing the decor for the dessert table. It still turned out pretty cute!
I got firefighter-themed rain boots in which I placed yellow and red tissue paper as if it was fire. Found cool looking fire hydrants and placed various fire trucks around the table. I found Fireman Sam figurines, which I put on the fire trucks and on the stands. It was very hard to keep little hands away from the toys...ha!
I placed the favors in woven bins I got at Home Goods - yes, my go-to store! As you might have noticed, I like to have favors with some thought put into it and that go with the theme. I got these drawstring backpacks and placed inside the following: firefighter face stickers, mini fire trucks, and mini firefighter coloring booklets. Something the kids can use and have fun with!
DESSERT AND FOOD
As always, the dessert was amazing! Unfortunately, during transport, the cake for some reason dipped to one side, which sucked, but it was still really good. Ha! The bakery did a great job incorporating the figures and fire truck I gave them...loved it! We had to take sideways photos so the lopsided was not as noticeable. The same bakery made delicious fiery red velvet cake pops. I made jello with chocolates in various firefighter-themed forms and fruits kabobs to match the color scheme and my mom made cookies. This was just enough for our small group of guests!
All in all, everything turned out great! Due to the other group of people at the park who took up a lot of space, unfortunately, we were not able to really play the games I planned because of the location and spacing of our party. But the kids still had an amazing time and really, this is for them! If the kids are happy, the parents are happy!
Vendor Credits:
Location - Grape Arbor Park, Calabasas, California
Planning and Decorating - SMLA Happy Events
Decor - Home Goods, Amazon
Cake and cake pops - House of Pastry
Other desserts - SMLA Happy Events
Photography - SMLA Happy Events and Lilia Shaa Photography