Donut Grow Up

Something I pride myself in is throwing a dang good party! I love coming up with decor and food ideas, but the thing I love most is friends and family coming together to enjoy each other's company. Our most recent get together was my older daughter's birthday.

Elliot turned three on August 6! Even though she is still little and probably won't remember much about these first few parties, I still want to make her and the day feel special. After all, I do want to make the event enjoyable for those invited; why not do it right? This year she had a DONUT GROW UP party! If you haven't caught on, it was doughnut themed. 

Elliot is like her momma and is all about doughnuts, especially the ones with "sparkles" (otherwise known as sprinkles). So, we ran with the idea. Since doughnuts are technically breakfast food we scheduled her party around brunch time and added some other brunchy favorites to the menu! 

Our party food consisted of things I knew everyone would enjoy! 

♥ Mini Chicken + Waffles
♥ Rainbow Fruit Salad
♥ Gigi's Sausage Balls
♥ Bacon Bouquet
♥ Cheesy Hash Brown Bites
♥ Donuts (Of course!)
♥ Vanilla Cake

Since her party would be at 10:30am, we had to create a schedule and know when we would prepare what. A few days before the party, I sat down and ordered the chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-a, our cake from Publix, and the donuts from Krispy Kreme. I also wrote out what time I would need to pickup or make each item. The morning of the party I picked up the catered food and came home to prep the rest of the snacks.

The Mini Chicken + Waffles were super easy to throw together, so I tackled them first! I purchased the Mini Eggo Waffles and heated them all in the oven, then attached one Chick-fil-a nugget per waffle with a wooden toothpick. My mom prepared the sausage balls the evening before, with her special recipe. I cooked the bacon in the oven, laid flat, on wooden kabobs until it was crispy and placed them in small vases as if they were flower bouquets!  

The Rainbow Fruit Salad was just chopping and layering the pretty colors. I chose five different colored fruits, with the intentions of layering them so that our guests could see each pretty layer.

♥ Watermelon
♥ Blueberries
♥ Cantaloupe
♥ Pineapple
♥ Green Grapes

I think having either fruit or veggies, maybe both, is perfect for events! Don't waste money on the prepackaged trays or bowls you can find at Publix or Walmart. You can save money and end up with more food if you make them yourself. Plus, the produce is fresher and will look more expensive! 

Cakes are a no brainer for me! The Publix near our house will usually create any idea that I can come up with. Publix cakes are moist and delicious... and not to mention, inexpensive! 

Did you know if your order your child's first birthday cake from Publix, they will give you a free smash cake? I did this with both of my girls and it saved money for our cute little party favors! 

For this birthday, I wanted a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream. I asked for a pink drip down the sides and sprinkles wherever that fell. I didn't want a boarder around the bottom, but just a few sprinkles where the pink drip... well, dripped. The cake itself really was simple.

I added the KK donuts on top and the little sign that I found on Amazon.com! It looks like I paid much more than I did! Easy peasy!

As for decorations, we tried to keep it pretty simple. We had lots of balloons, including a balloon garland that we used as a back drop for our photo booth. I ordered doughnut themed props and a few inflatable floats off of Amazon. I love to see the goofy pictures that come from this and always share them on facebook and tag our guests after the party. It is so much fun!

For party favors we gave out donut holes in clear goody bags with little tags that said, "Thanks a hole bunch! Love, Elliot Rea".  They were a hit! And really, who can leave a donut party without donuts?!

Elliot's 3rd Birthday turned out cute and she is still talking about it! I can't wait to share our next event with you.