DIY Party Loot Bags

Well it's official...my little baby boy is 1 year old. We recently celebrated with a Teddy Bear Picnic themed birthday party. In keeping with the theme, I put together these cute (and super simple) loot bags.

Source: Simply Sophisticated Events

 

Filled with outdoor toys like sidewalk chalk, bubbles, bouncy balls, kazoos, and stickers, these loot bags were easy and inexpensive to put together. All you need are paper lunch bags, a stamp and ink, and some ribbon. The great think about these loot bags is that you can customize them for any event you might be hosting. By changing up the stamp and ribbon, you can use them as favour bags for a bridal or baby shower, lunch bags for a picnic-themed party, or even doggy bags for a dinner party.

The first step was stamping the paper bags with a "thank you" message. I chose to use black ink because it would show up on the brown bag best. But you can definitely think outside the box on this step and match the ink colour to your theme.

Source: Simply Sophisticated Events

Next, I used a single hole punch to punch out two holes so that I would be able to thread the ribbon through to keep the bag closed and make it easier to carry.

Source: Simply Sophisticated Events

After filling the bag with all the toys, I threaded the ribbon through the two holes and tied a simple double knot. I chose to use grosgrain ribbon, but there are quite a few options you can use to tailor the look to your event's theme. I think this would look great using raffia, twine string, leather cord, yarn, etc. You can also add a personalized name or favour tag at this stage.

Source: Simply Sophisticated Events

Source: Simply Sophisticated Events

So three easy steps and you have cute, personalized favour bags that can be used for multiple occasions.

I'll be posting more ideas and pictures from my son's Teddy Bear Picnic themed party so check back soon!

Big Girl Birthday Party Ideas

You don't have to be six years old to have a birthday party, in fact, we believe the bigger the number, the bigger the party should be!

If you're thinking of throwing yourself a "Big Girl" birthday party, take a peak at some of these decor and favour ideas, we promise they'll make you want to throw a party every year.

Cocktails & Tiffany's Theme



{Photo Source: Polkadot Prints}

Q & A: Kids Birthday Party Advice

Q: I'm throwing a birthday party for my soon to be 5 year old daughter and I have everything ready to go. From the theme to decor, to the food being served, I'm all set. I just have one question, when would a good time be to let her open her birthday presents? I want to make sure she's not overtired by the time cake and present time arrive.

A: This is such a great question. While it's customary to wait until after the birthday candles have been blown out to open birthday presents, we understand sometimes the anticipation is way too much for the little birthday girl (or boy) to handle. It's really a matter of personal preference for the parents of how they want to handle this situation. If you're wavering on going the traditional route, here are a few tactics other parents we've worked have used for the gift opening dilemma.

• Opening gifts mid-way through the party and saving the birthday candle blowing ritual as a means of ending the party.
• Letting the birthday girl/boy open presents after the party has ended (in private) and then sending their gratitude with a personalized thank you card to each guest.
• Turn the gift opening into a fun activity like these ones from Party Kaboose:
• Turn gift-opening into a treasure hunt. Before the party, write clues which lead to various locations in your home. For instance, "If it's a gift that you want, it's a gift you'll see, when you look behind the TV." After children arrive, an adult hides the presents in the various locations. When it's time to open presents, the host hands one clue at a time to the birthday child who finds the gift and opens it on the spot.
• Form a circle with the birthday child at the head. Guests hold their gifts in their laps and going around the circle, guests hand presents one at a time to the birthday child who stops to open each gift before taking another. To make the circle strategy more festive, you might turn it into a game. Pass the presents slowly around the circle as music plays and when the music stops, the present that the birthday child is holding is the one that is opened next.



{Real Party} Parisian Inspired Birthday Party

The girls over at the Icing Designs blog create the cutest hand-illustrated and hand-glittered invitations, cards, cupcake flags and gift tags that we've ever seen. Not only are they brilliant designers, they're also pretty crafty when it comes to planning their own parties.

Using a champagne and pink colour palette, the girls planned an entire DIY party for their girls third birthday party, and used Paris in the Springtime as the theme. For more information on how they put the party together and to learn all of their DIY tricks, visit their blog.

But first, here's a sneak peak at this very chic Parisian party. All images courtesy of Icing Designs.

Do you have a party or wedding to share with our readers? Email us at simplysophisticatedevents@gmail.com, we'd love to feature your special day on our blog!

DIY Flower Headband Tutorial

We're taking a break from the usual wedding post today to share a cute idea for a little girls birthday party that we found on the blog Ruffles and Stuff. 

Blogger (and mom to a super cute little girl) Disney recently threw her little princess a birthday party filled with tons of DIY projects. Even the paper plates were custom cut for a little extra flair.

While looking through her photos and DIY tutorials, we loved these home made flower headbands that she used in the children's loot bags.

{Photo: Ruffles and Stuff Blog}

To learn more about the birthday party and how she made the headbands and other decorations, click here.

Wordless Wednesday: Winter Candyland Birthday Party

Source: Hostess With the Mostess Daily Blog
Photos: Fresh Chick Design Studio