Oliver is obsessed with any and every vehicle. Last year, we did cars and trucks. This year, I was going to move away from transportation and throw him a superhero party but he wanted planes. So planes, he got!
I love getting fun, themed straws and putting them in plastic cups. In my opinion, they’re a bit more unique than traditional paper cups. And the lids are key at a kid’s party. I also used special straws at Lilly’s ice cream social and Oliver’s puppy party.
Upon arrival, every pilot received their license. It takes a bit more planning and nudging as I had to ask classmate’s parents for pictures. Then I printed them out, in color, and laminated them. Actually, my friend did. It pays to have a BFF who’s a school teacher!
Every kid’s party needs a piñata. From 2-12, it’s always the biggest hit.
And these days, it’s all about the slime. Sorry parents! But it couldn’t be just any old slime, it had to be in theme. So our mini colorful planes were high in the sky, floating through the clouds. I used these plastic jars with lids so the kids could take theirs home.
What’s an airplane party without flying some airplanes? These foam gliders were a major draw.
There was also a paper airplane making station with custom paper, of course.
If you’re gonna go international, you’ve gotta have your passport. Luckily, Oliver’s Passport Office has got you covered.
The passports were also a lot of fun.
I also designed postcards in Canva that the little (and big!) guests could fill out for their pen pals.
I included travel stickers, stamps and good, old, classic crayons at the passport station.
Pro tip: Order a custom cake from your local bakery but the fondant topper from Etsy. Our bakery was going to charge $75-$100 for the topper. I got it on Etsy for $35. With shipping it was $40.
I loved this oversized 5 candle. It really made the entire thing pop.
Speaking of pop, I found the cutest red plane balloon to mimic the topper and flank one side of the dessert table along with cloud balloons. The other side had clouds and a 5. But I overfilled it and it popped.
Another pro tip is to buy your own helium tank to save money and a early morning trip (and line!) to Party City get your balloons. Just be sure not to overfill! It didn’t really matter because the wind was so intense that the balloons were all over the place and, like the planner, looked like a hot mess. At one point while singing happy birthday, the 5 got in Lilly’s way and she swatted it, prompting it to fly away. Zach was quick on his feet, jumped up and saved it before it was a total goner. There’s always at least something at every party that goes awry! But it provided a good laugh. You can see that moment here.
The Time Flies balloons were air-filled and almost caused a divorce putting them up. You can see that video here. Good times! I ordered separate letter balloons to spell out OLIVER IS FIVE.
We had to carry the cloud theme throughout, which meant these adorable guys were our plates and napkins. I also always love adding something else in there to break up the redundancy and create another visual layer. A go-to for me are these striped napkins. Never met a stripe I didn’t like!
Homemade cloud marshmallows made and griped about by Zach. Until everyone raved about them and then he was all about them!
I always do a themed, personalized cookie and I like doing the age and an object from the party. I send the baker the color palette and have them match as best as possible.
I was already way over-budget so I didn’t do cupcakes with fun sprinkles but they were hard to pass up.
You knew this was coming. Bright gift bags within the color palette.
Filled with mini globes filled with M&M’s. Yes, I picked out the brown and orange ones cause I’m OCD like that. And now we’re all set for Halloween. 
I love interactive favor bags. In this case, the kids got their licenses, made the slime and paper airplanes and filled out their passports, post cards, trip itineraries at the party. They then all go into the bag that already has a globe, ball, cookie, straw, marshmallows and extra stickers and tattoos in it.
We also had a balloon artist there who was making jet packs and planes among other requests.
It was a great day!
