A PERFECT PARTY FOR A PERFECT GIRL
If you had a daughter turning 7, what theme would you choose for her? I always joke with my clients that for their child’s first birthday, the parents should choose their own favorite theme, because by the time he or she turns 7 years old, the child will already be doing the choosing for them!
So what type of girl is Ellie like?
First thing that pops to mind is that she is a gymnast:
Ellie in the process of doing a gymnast’s split-leap. Special thank you goes to Cocoon Studio for these pictures!
So it was literally a no-brainer that Ellie, being the gymnastics-enthusiast that she is, would choose a Gymnastics theme for her big 7th birthday!
Ellie’s Entrance
Ellie and the gang from Club Gymnastica
I just love the choice of this theme, because it comes totally out of left field. I mean, for the past 5 years, which past client of mine has ever suggested, or even thought of a gymnastics theme? None.
But a theme, no matter how unique it is, is only as good as how you flesh it out and execute it in real life. Here’s how Party Magic did it.
Let’s shout, hip hip, hooray, with Ellie and family!
CONCEPTUALIZING ELLIE’S GYMNASTICS PARTY: IT ALL STARTS WITH THE GRAPHICS
If at any point in time while you read my blog you had the impression that I do all the work, you are sorely mistaken. As with anything worth doing, it takes a team to execute our parties, and most of the time the whole process begins with the artwork.
For Ellie’s party, my amazing graphic artist Pat The Lion (you will find out more about her soon) custom-drew her own interpretation of Ellie-the-Gymnast, set in a gym background. This served as the main graphic for Ellie’s invitation:
Yes, for all of our invitations, Pat The Lion draws everything from scratch, using her handy digital drawing tablet.
For the invitation printing, my client Jake decided to do it 3-D:
Very cute huh!
Part of the advantage of doing all your graphic work in-house is that you get to maximize your graphic mileage by incorporating the same artwork for your place-mats, water bottle labels, and even your giveaways:
Pat even drew a whole set of graphics for the boys!
THE COLOR PEG
I’ve seen some parties that did everything right: full ceiling decor, large props, and backdrops that incorporated lighting, only to fail in one tiny detail: the color scheme. My personal pet peeve is what I call the “primary color party”, where all the decor is just red, blue, yellow, and green. You all know what this looks like. (And I’m not even going to post a sample photo here, because that photo would totally wreck this color-coordinated blog post!)
At first, Ellie wanted more blues, but as the date drew nearer, her choice of color changed to lavenders and pinks. In the end, everyone settled (to my energetic agreement) to more pinks. I decided to add the brighter fuchsia, and mix in a bit of silver glitter to add a more modern and “spunky” feel to it:
THE DECOR ELEMENTS
One reason why I love the venue Santolan Town Plaza so much is because of the vast amount of daylight that it has, thanks to large black window frames scattered along every wall.
While doing an ocular visit, an idea struck me: what if you stick translucent vinyl stickers on each “square” of the window, composing of each letter of Ellie’s name? I must have gotten this idea from looking at pictures of New York gyms with window decals:
Here’s what happened:
Thank you again to Cocoon Studio for all of these photos!
For the stage, I wanted to keep things simple but impactful, hence the 3D Ellie figure in the middle flanked by 3 gymnasts in various poses. The stage floor is topped off with yoga mats, while everything is framed with an organic balloon arch off to the left and right:
The photo-op was a mini ball-pit with a Gymtastic sign on top. I adorned the left and right of the pool with pink lighting tubes to give off that more rugged, modern look to the whole setup. Finally, an organic balloon arch drops from the ceiling right down to the pool!
I wanted to use the ball-pit / swimming pool concept because it’s more dynamic, to stay in touch with the theme. Needless to say, the photo-op was the biggest hit among Ellie and her friends!
Not to mention, to Ellie and her mommy too!
For the dessert area, we put up a donut wall, with a pair of clear acrylic pedestals and a pair of geometric display stands to the left and right. This was all framed by an organic arch mixed with the extra large 36″ balloons and chrome silver and pink balloons.
These “medal cookies” by Sugarplum Pastries are super cute! Yes, they are edible.
DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS
Upon entering the party, kids go to the registration table and their own personalized medal, sourced and packaged by the Party Magic team:
Remember the graphics Pat the Lion did? Here’s how it turned out:
Another great thing with Santolan Town Plaza is that it has this spacious balcony area, which was perfect for a mini-golf area:
And a giant Jenga puzzle!
Finally to cap things off, here’s the superbly done NDE video by none other than Lemon Three Films! I just LOVE that choice of music.
Tingnan ang post na ito sa InstagramAbsolutely anything for you, my princess! Thanks to @lemonthreefilms for the vid!
A big, big THANK YOU to Jake, Tita Laarni, and Louisa for trusting Party Magic.
The happiest 7th birthday to our dear Ellie!
Love,
Michelle
