Its a Jolly Holiday with Isla!
A child's birthday is such a precious thing. The opportunity to celebrate the life of someone you love so dearly, to put them in the spotlight for the day, a day to take the time to show them in such an obvious way that they are so special.
I was able to celebrate the third birthday of my daughter recently. She adores Mary Poppins, anything pink, if it has lace, glitter or a flower of any kind she must have it. Isla Jayne is a special, sweet-tempered and dainty little girl. Knowing all of this about her made it pretty simple to come up with the theme of her party, a Mary Poppins Tea. However, I had the desire to be very intentional about making it a party for her, meaning not wanting it to be over done or overwhelming.
My mom shared a simple rule of etiquette with me that helped keep the tea party manageable for an introverted three year old little girl. That rule is to have one more guest than the year the child is turning. In this case, Isla was turning three, so we invited four little guests.
It is no secret that children thrive in structure and routine. At birthday parties, we want our children to let loose and just enjoy themselves. However, I have found that they can quickly become overwhelmed. I did not create a schedule or any type of true time line, but I did have set activities that would flow from one to another easily.
When each child arrived to Isla Jayne's tea party they found a personalize chalk board at their seat. This allowed the children to feel welcomed and it got them involved in a gentle way. They were able to begin to engage when they felt comfortable.
Once everyone had arrived, became comfortable with the environment and acquainted with each other, we introduced the food and tea. Food is another thing that can quickly become a task and unpleasant for a young child. To avoid any aversions to eating their lunch it was important to keep the food recognizable, fun and attractive.
To keep the simple kid food, if you will, in theme with the party, I cut PB&J sandwiches into smaller triangles without any crust. Then I made open faced cucumber sandwiches and put yogurt topped with berries in glass sundae cups. To be honest though, it is a child's birthday and the child that this party was for has a serious sweet tooth. So, we had lots of sweets, pet ti fours, french macaroons, spoons full of sugar (naturally), chocolate covered strawberries, and a chocolate birthday cake.
To display all of the yummy treats, I stacked different sized cake plates on top of each other. By using glue dots, it allowed the cake plates to remain sturdy enough for three year old's, but was not permanent. That way they could easily be disassembled.
I was able to find the cake plates in the dollar section of Target, Goodwill and garage sales. This helped make the party more budget friendly and affordable.
To keep the Mommy's happy and their tummies full as well, I created a separate food and drink area for them. They were provided with the same items as their daughters, but also some added foods such as cheese and crackers, potato salad, and to drink we had mimosas, coffee and tea. Having an area for the adults also allowed the little girls to have their own special place where they could enjoy a little independence to play and pretend.
The flowers on the tables are in small tea pots that I have been given or collected over the years. The one in the picture above belonged to Isla Jayne's namesake, Isla Brown Taylor, her Great Great Grandmother. My mother and I both love heirlooms and we also love to hunt for treasure at some unsuspecting places. If that is not something you enjoy, please check out our Etsy shop "wrinklesandgrace". There you will be able to find affordable treasures that could help you create the practically perfect party.
Family also makes a party special and in the case of Isla Jayne's Jolly Holiday, her aunt and grandma made it extra special. They dressed up as Mary Poppins and Bert. They were the perfect addition to the tea party fun and birthday excitement. Next week my mom will be sharing how to create Mary Poppins accessories and Bert's whole costume DIY.
Finally, I wanted to be there for Isla Jayne, not for the guests. Polite and hospitable, but I wanted to keep my focus on the birthday girl. My husband and I made the choice to have Isla's siblings busy with something else at the time of the party for this particular theme and size. This decision made it easier to give focus to Isla Jayne. Being a sibling in a mix of a family of six, it was important to us to be intentional about giving our little girl these few hours. We wanted her to know how much she is loved, that she is special and has a great purpose. We wanted to make a little dream come true for her. To show her that dreams and aspirations are attainable. We wanted to reflect the love of Christ to our daughter. Our Savior gives His time to us, He gives us great resources, great vision and greater love than we can fathom. As parents, we desire to make sure our children know we are present in their lives just as our Father in heaven, whom also desires to be present in our lives. We desire to give them all that we can, and to show them that they can change the world. Isla Jayne loves Jesus and loves to dance and worship. I adore watching her grow in relationship with her heavenly father. I can not wait to see her light up the day when she discovers the plans God has for her. When a person makes God the center of who they are, when they give their future over to the purpose He created them for, He wants us to celebrate. We are told in Luke 15, "I tell you in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." Also, in Acts 16:32 we are told, "and he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household". We are created to celebrate as a family, as a family of Christ, and as a household who believes in his love and wonder. Each person is knitted together inside their mother, with a purpose, for a purpose. That is something to celebrated.
My desire is that even the third birthday of my daughter, something that could be so fleeting, so trivial, would bring God glory. A way to show my three year old daughter that the gospel is alive everyday all around her. She is loved by someone that has a greater love for her than even her own Daddy and Mommy could love her. I didn't just want each detail of the party to be intentional, but I wanted the purpose and the core of it to intentionally point back to Christ.
