Arts & Style

Forget the cardboard party hats and grocery store sheet cakes. Parents are putting more effort into their kids’ birthday parties. Check out these three themed celebrations:

A Splish Splash Bash

Cage’s first birthday at his home off Culbreth Road

For Corey Williams, CHM’s style editor, all of her kids’ birthdays are special, but particularly the first. “The first year is the challenging time when they’re up all night,” she says. “So it’s just nice to celebrate with friends and family and say, ‘We did it!’”

Cage’s celebration, which was attended by about 60 people and cost about $1,000, started with a theme – rubber ducks. “He doesn’t have any opinions at this age,” says Corey, “so I get to do whatever reminds me of him. He’s my little rubber duck. He’s sweet, he’s cuddly, and he just sits there.”

A former event and wedding planner, Corey was the force behind the party, from making the food and the cake to appliquéing rubber ducks on her kids’ outfits to creating the centerpieces – vases from Michael’s with rubber ducks floating in blue water.

Baby Cage sat on a quilt that Corey slept on as a child. As she did with her older two children, Walker, 6, and Bennett, 3, Corey covered the quilt in fabric that matched the party’s theme.

“I personalize everything,” she says. “It makes it special.”

Monkeying Around

Ava’s sixth birthday at her home in The Oaks

It all started with a dress. While shopping for Easter attire, Ava Brogren’s mom, Carrie, spotted a girl’s yellow dress for sale on etsy.com with sock monkeys printed on it, which Ava fell in love with, and a birthday party theme was born.

Of course, with a theme so uncommon – not like Barbie or Dora the Explorer – Carrie knew she’d have to be a bit more involved in making the decorations and designing the activities for the party, which cost $500.

The kids’ table featured homemade felt sock money placemats and red and yellow floral arrangements with sock monkey ornaments. Carrie ironed sock monkeys on the cloth napkins. Kids decorated sock monkey hats and bags with fabric paint and made bracelets with – you guessed it – clay sock monkey beads.

One facet of the party that didn’t include the theme? The grand finale. Ava’s parents surprised her with her first brand new bike, a pink and blue Schwinn. “I’m so lucky!” she exclaimed.