I was so happy with how this picnic themed birthday party came together! During the planning phase of the party I knew the party needed to be outside to accommodate the décor I was envisioning, so I was thrilled when there was no rain in the forecast on party day, and since the backyard is shaded in the later afternoon we had a dinner party so we didn’t bake in the heat.
Picnic Themed Birthday Party Décor
The Picnic Table
I wanted the kids to get the feel of really being on a picnic, but with a whimsical twist. I found these table tops and rug (smaller version here) for a reasonable price at Ikea which I propped up onto a few books to lift them off the ground a bit. We are going to repurpose the tables (with the legs of course) and rug in my office. I used two clothing racks I had to hold the balloons. All the white linens are a combination of inexpensive white bed sheets and curtains. I used jute twine to tie the greenery to the racks and tucked the linens around the ends of greenery.
The balloons are from Hobby Lobby and I followed this tutorial and it was surprisingly pretty easy to make! I would definitely recommend the balloon machine… seriously, just trust me. Our balloon arch is more of a balloon line because we didn’t have anything for it to lean up against, but it ended up working out just fine! Lastly, I added in the smaller details. I started with a burlap table runner and a leafy garland for the table. To add height to the table I picked up flowers from Aldi and divided them out to make four arrangements. I grabbed some throw pillows from around the house and put them on the rug for some fun seating. To soften the corners I used things from around my house- a lantern and a galvanized vase with faux florals.
The adults sat around our patio dining table, which I decorated with a small vase of flowers. This was a party for a little girl, so it was mostly family and cousins.
The Tree
To continue the whimsical feel of the party, I also dressed up the tree with white linens.. There was a last minute malfunction with the linens when one fell out of the tree right before the party. Since we had already put the ladder away I just tied it to a lower branch. It doesn’t look as good, but you get the idea! I then hung a bunch of greenery hoops of various sizes to the tree branches. I made these hoops four years ago and have used them so much! They are just embroidery hoops, greenery of your choice and I used jute twine to tie on the greenery.
Picnic Themed Birthday Party Food
Main Menu
To go along with the picnic theme we had sandwiches, fruit and lemonade. I found sandwich recipes online, typed them out and displayed a menu of how to build each sandwich. The fruit cups were filled with berries and put in tiered tray to give the spread some height. This lemonade recipe has never failed me, and the kids have fun squeezing the lemons. I used a large crate to put the lemonade on, added some kettle chips and that was the menu! I found some inexpensive picnic type boat baskets at Hobby Lobby to use as plates.
The random cups on the table are a Pinterest picnic tip I found. They are filled with water and pennies and are suppose to repel flies. I would say for the most part it worked!
The Cake
It took some thinking, but we decided on a tree stump cake. I don’t have a picture of the inside of the cake, but it had layers to look like a tree. We added some fake succulents to the top and we had a tree stump!
To go along with the cake we also make smores marshmallows. I used rock candy sticks that I got at the craft store and stuck them into each marshmallow. Then dipped each marshmallow into melted chocolate and then rolled it into crushed graham crackers. They were as fun to make as they were to eat!
0
20
20
