3rd Annual Nutcracker Tea Party

For the past few years we have held an annual tea party with the Nutcracker dancers from Ballet Wichita. We were excited to welcome them back again this year! Around twenty littles got together for a morning of treats, dancing and fun. Their faces light up as they walk in to mingle with the dancers that arrive, and we have loved keeping this tradition alive. Special thanks to my talented friend Jill for capturing the event.

The nutcracker supplies that we got in this season have beautiful tones of pinks and blues, so we ran with those colors for the look. We picked a couple fun holographic and oil slick plates to add some dimension to the table, and mixed them with a pretty blush pink. Each guest received a Nutcracker hat or Sugar Plum fairy tiara to wear. Those are a fun way to add a pop of color to the table. I worked with a shop favorite, Avery & Grey, again this year for the party favors - glitter snap clips (when we have had boys attend in the past, we usually do a mini nutcracker for their favor in case you need an idea!). We always like to have fun with our backdrop for this event, and this year was no exception. In perfect timing, Creative Heart Studio posted a nutcracker balloon mosaic template on her website  last week. We had never attempted one of her fun designs, but thought this would be the perfect one to start with. It was a lot of work, but thanks to shop girl, Emily, we had it created just in time for the party to start! The pink nutcracker was a hit and kids loved how whimsical he looked.

Food wise, I kept it rather simple and tried to stick with a morning tea theme. I happily hired my talented sweet go to girls: cookies by Sweet Sugarlicious and cupcakes by September Moon Cupcakery. They did not disappoint - all the littles were excited with their pretty desserts. I picked up some mini cinnamon rolls, muffins and scones, as well as some fruit. The fruit I laid out to look like Christmas wreaths for a fun touch.

The dancers from Ballet Wichita always do such a wonderful job! This year, they sent the Sugar Plum Fairy, Clara in her nightgown, a rat and the Nutcracker. The danced with the children, smiled for pictures, and performed the Sugar Plum dance. The kids were in awe and loved dancing along (if they weren't being shy). I always love seeing the littles that are excited to show off the dance moves they know. We cannot thank them enough for coming and performing for our tea party! I highly recommend snagging some tickets for this year's Nutcracker. They have a new artistic director and he is putting together a beautiful, traditional Nutcracker with a touch of magic!

Thank you to everyone that attended our event this year! We had so much fun putting it together for you, and look forward to continuing this tradition in the future.

Shop this post: Nutcracker Hat Set | Nutcracker Cupcake Kit | Shining Star Plates | Oil Slick Small Plates | Pink Small Plates | Pink Napkins | Pink Chargers | Avery & Grey Snap Clips - Find in store or contact us | Balloons - Contact us to order

Lots of Love,

Through the Looking Glass Party

The Friday before Christmas, we hosted a colorful Alice Through the Looking Glass party and it was a fun way to kick off the busy weekend! My friend's daughter wanted a fancy, non-babyish Alice party and Carolyn pulled it off beautifully. She mixed her enamel flower market MacKenzie Child's dishes with some of our Truly Alice paper tea cups, which set a bright and fun party table.

When the young party guests arrived, they walked through a fun "looking glass" entrance to set the mood for the event. They were then served tasty snacks and sandwiches with some fancy punch. Since it was a garden/Alice themed party, we put back up the turf backdrop and then added a couple fun touches for their pictures. She evened brought in costumes from the movie for guests to dress up in for pictures - so cute! It worked out perfectly for a garden feel in the middle of December. Carolyn also wrote up a pretty poster with an Alice quote and her place cards were a whimsical touch to the table - great handwriting!

For the craft, they made blue dream catchers. Carolyn purchased sewing hoops and blue yarn, plus some decorations to let everyone add their unique touch. The were so enthralled with the craft, I was concerned by the silence! Definitely a creative one to remember for future parties. Plus, the items she purchased to decorate them with, worked out as fun table decor as well.

After eating, crafting and playing dress up, the birthday girl finished up her party with a big smile. I loved seeing everything come together and Carolyn did a wonderful job turning the back space into a Wonderland. Great ending to a fabulous 2016 filled with such fun events! Can't wait to see what 2017 has in store party wise!

Lots of Love,

Nutcracker Tea Party

It's that time of year when little girls wear adorable holiday dresses, their dreams are filled with dancing Sugar Plum fairies and they are in the festive spirit. Yesterday, we hosted a Nutcracker Tea Party at the shop to kick off their holiday season and get them into the spirit of the season. It was honestly my favorite party thus far! When I first got in my Christmas merchandise for the store, I knew I wanted to do something with all of the adorable Nutcracker parties supplies. Then, when I was asked to do the MARK Arts Holiday Tables, I fell in love with the table setting. Definitely inspired me to throw a party for little girls!

Even better, my wonderful friend, Ilex, is on the Ballet Wichita board and thanks to her, we were able to arrange for performers to join! Ballet Wichita's Nutcracker Ballet is a fabulous production that is done on an annual basis. Little girls who love to dance dream of dancing on stage with the amazingly talented ballerinas. It was so fun to have some attend the tea party! The girls were able to take pictures with them, watched them twirl around and listened to their stories. Seriously the nicest group of dancers and they had fun with the littles who were in awe of them.

For food, I tried to keep things somewhat easy since I was feeding children. I asked beforehand if their were any allergies and then planned the menu from there. I went with peanut butter sandwiches that I cookie cutter cut into teapots (kind of looked like magic genie lamps lol), Chick-fil-a nuggets, fruit that I laid in a wreath shape, goldfish in little snack cups and cheese sticks that I decorated to look like nutcracker soldiers. For dessert, I relied on my favorite local bakers to come up with some gorgeous treats: cookies by Sweet Sugarlicious and cupcakes by Hannah Marko. Both looked amazing! I always love working with both of them and highly recommend (especially if you are in the College Hill area). I also put out some macaroons, which ended up being more entertainment than anything because most weren't sure what they were. "Fancy Cookies" ended up being the best way to describe them.

Everything came together great and I definitely couldn't have pulled it off without help from a few people. Shout out to Lily, my new employee, for helping put together the candy backdrop and rallying with me before the event; my brother for bringing the nuggets and getting roped into helping; the Nutcracker performers who also helped with some last minute setup (I told you they were the nicest!). Thank you to all of the attendees at the event! I hope you had a good time and your girls remember this as a special holiday event.

Last, but certainly not least, thank you to my amazingly talented friend Alison Moore who took these amazing photos. You captured everything beautifully and I always love seeing things through your point of view! If you are ever looking for a talented family photographer, she is your girl.

Stop in the store or head over to our website to shop these beautiful supplies and make sure to get your tickets today for Ballet Wichita's Nutcracker performance in a couple weeks!

Lots of Love,