We recently attended an amazing Olivia the Pig themed party for our 5 year old neighbor. Here are some of the fabulous birthday party ideas her mom used that I plan on stealing borrowing and you should too.

Forgo the disposable party supply table cloths and buy bold pieces of fabric.

Make your own birthday banner. Not only is it reusable for multiple kids it also makes a great keepsake for the child’s memory box.

When it comes to goody bags, skip purchasing the themed ones and decorate the bags yourself! Also, try matching the items inside the bags to the party theme and ensure they are age appropriate for each party-goer. For Example because my children are younger the hostess included Olivia board books in their goody bags.

As adults we often think to have fresh flowers at our parties, why not have them at a party for kids? Especially when you can tie it back to the party theme.

And lastly, I LOVE these custom water bottles. The hostess even provided red and white paper straws!

So, which one of these fabulous party ideas would you like to steal? How would you make it your own?

About Kelly Tirman

Kelly Tirman is Natural Connector, Crowdsourcer, Curator and Change Management Professional specializing in Social Business. She currently works as an Enterprise Social Business Strategist for Wells Fargo however in her “free-time” Kelly blogs on several topics including Urban Living, Raising Multilingual Children, Organic Beauty and Social Commerce. She happily resides in San Francisco with her husband and two children.

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This past weekend we celebrated Ivey’s second birthday with a “mariposa” themed party. Here are some of the fabulous birthday party ideas that worked for me, many of which I have ripped off borrowed from friends and Pinterest and you should too.

Let them eat cake! With so many kids with allergies these days, why not bake up some allergen-free cupcakes? Talk about pure joy! Top them off with a basic buttercream frosting and these cupcakes will quickly become everyone’s favorite with or without allergies.

Make your own party favors! With help from my friendly neighbors I was able to quickly leverage a valentines card I found on Pinterest and turn it into a cool bilingual party favors.

Every kids party needs kid friendly finger food. Instead of the traditional Cheddar Bunnies serve some organic cereal in snack sized bags. These little baggies are another one of those great ideas I found on Pinterest.

When it comes to goody bags, skip spending money on the actual bag and decorate inexpensive bags yourself. These mariposas were actually created by slapping paint on little Linden’s feet, which BTW is another great idea from Pinterest. In lieu of cheap dollar store items provide goodies that are actually useful like organic granola bars and travel-sized all natural sunscreen.

And for my all time favorite… Make clean up easy! Stamp these paper Ace® Yard Bags with these cool stamps to easily collect compost, recycling, and trash items.

Special Thanks:
Just want to give a quick shout out to the following… Momma Janet for volunteering her brilliant baking skills while the rest of us finished making the party favors and drank champagne. All our family and friends who attended the party as well as Sunbow Sunscreen and Cascadian Farms for providing supplies for the goody bags. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We couldn’t have had this party without you.

About Kelly Tirman

Kelly Tirman is Natural Connector, Crowdsourcer, Curator and Change Management Professional specializing in Social Business. She currently works as an Enterprise Social Business Strategist for Wells Fargo however in her “free-time” Kelly blogs on several topics including Urban Living, Raising Multilingual Children, Organic Beauty and Social Commerce. She happily resides in San Francisco with her husband and two children.

Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google+