Hello lovelies, I’m so thrilled to share my son’s 3rd birthday party with you. I’ve been DIY’ing my little heart out for the past few weeks with anticipation of throwing an amazing party and sharing some fun ideas with y’all. Liam is one of those special kids who gets to celebrate his birthday all month long, which for the parents, can be a bit overwhelming. So I thought this year we’d make it a holiday themed party. This way I could kind of kill two birds with one stone. With Christmas music on constant rotation, we dreamed up a modern, boy-approved holiday cookie decorating party. The girls can’t have all the fun! So, lets dive right in, shall we?

Upon arrival we greeted the moms with festive holiday corsages made with pine branches, jingle bells and ribbon. Meanwhile, the kiddos got a special treat from Bon Puf’s cotton candy. I found this super cool company floating all over the internet, so we had to bring them into the mix. They have the best holiday flavors of egg nog, cotton candy and sugar cookie. So perfect, right? Liam mainly sucked on candy canes, which I couldn’t get him to take out of his mouth, but, oh well it looks cute, right?!

During the winter months I feel so lucky to have a mantel to gussy up. Our mantel this year is the perfect mix of modern and whimsey. Last year our mantel was modern with glam accents. Check it out here. The idea took shape when I dreamt up this modern advent calendar centerpiece. I found a manzanita branch and painted it white, and took clear ornaments (found at Michaels) and stuffed them with bits from around the house while keeping a color scheme in mind. How cute are those itty bity stockings? This etsy seller made my day when I found her company. And, Kristina, bless her heart, handmade clay ornaments with all the kids’ initials. Such a cute idea! We added bits of whimsy with the stuffed felt animals, trees and candy canes. I also wrapped the white candles with red tape for extra character.

A little something funny to note; if you look closely at this picture above you’ll notice a little something green in the fireplace on the far right. See it? Well, those are Liam’s underwear, ha! I only noticed them while looking through these photos after the party! And sure enough, there they were the day after the party, still in the fireplace. I mean seriously, how did I miss it! This cracks me up because it shows that while we tried take to make everything SO perfect, at the end of the day, this is a house with a 3 year old running around like a wild man.

I found these sweet little aprons from Hobby Lobby and potato stamped them. You can see a few of our other potato stamp projects here and here. I seriously wish I had gotten more because it’s such a good gift idea!

Loved using these American Bridal milk bottle. Perfect size for the little ones.

Like any party with adults, we had to create a naughty and nice bar. I mean, with the decibel level going higher and higher in our house, a spiked coffee was just what the doctor ordered.

This was such a fun party to put together! I loved getting carried away with all the decorating. I, like you, see so much inspiration, so it was nice to let my imagination run wild for my special little man. They only turn 3 once, and this could have been one of the last years that I actually got to decorate just how I wanted. Selfish I know, but he loved it! I hope you did too, and I hope it inspires you to add a bit of whimsy into your holiday party or decorating this season.

Cheers!
Jillian

Design and styling: Jillian of 100 Layer Cake / Photo: Scott Clark Photo / Cotton Candy: Bon Puf / Cake: Hot Cakes / Mini stockings: Ahnalee Marie / Candy Cane, Tree and gingerbread man pillow: The Land of Nod / Paper plates and cups: Ikea / Silver Stars: Fire and Cream / Birthday candles: Fire and Cream / Aprons: Hobby Lobby / Paper Straws: Michaels / Red glitter letters: Michaels / Cheers cocktail napkins: Target / Small bottle and circle dot garland: American Bridal