My cousin just had her little boy last week.  We threw her a Storybook themed shower a few weeks ago.  She has always been an avid reader so this theme was perfect.  We used children’s books, baby blocks, and primary colors heavily as the decor.

For our spread of food, I started with a blue chevron tablecloth and used cake plates, bowls and platters to get the food on different levels for better visual interest.  I found the inspiration for the food tent labels here – the ones she did not have pre-made, she shares how to make your own.  I made the hanging stars out of pages I cut from a copy of If You Give a Pig a Pancake using this tutorial.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Oreo Pudding Cookies)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Fruit Plate)
Green Eggs and Ham (Ham and Swiss Sliders)
If You Give a Moose a Muffin (Krusteaz Pumpkin Spice Mix)
The Three Little Pigs (Pigs in a Blanket)

For the drink table, I attached paper honeycomb balls to the wall.  This was much easier than trying to hang them from strings at the correct heights but still just as cute to me.  I set some children’s books on the bottom shelf of the sideboard.

Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings (Lemonade Punch)

My mom cut flowers from her yard for us to use at the party, and I filled a big bowl with wooden baby blocks for a table centerpiece.

Above the gift table I strung together circles I had cut from children’s books and colorful paper.  I made a couple of paper fan wheels from pages of a Mickey Mouse storybook as well.  I made the diaper cake by fanning the diapers in a circle rather than rolling and banding them (Tutorial HERE).  The center layer is board books I picked up at the Dollar Tree. The mini flashcards strung around the bottom layer are from this etsy seller.   I found the cute Hungry Caterpillar rattle at Tuesday Morning.

This was a really fun shower to throw.  Thanks to my mom for providing our location and flowers and thanks to my other cousins for providing food and serveware!

We held our annual New Year’s Eve party last week and I was able to try out my decorations in our new house.  I also added a few new things this year.  The best new addition was a wreath for the front door.  I bought the silver ball and tinsel wreath after Christmas at Target, then added some NYE flair using a glue gun.  I had to remove a few of the silver ball ornaments from the wreath in order to fit the extra decorations in well.  I added two party horns covered with gold and silver glitter and a silver tiara.  The gold starburst was an ornament I picked up at World Market after Christmas.  I also added an extra strip of tinsel to the outer and inner edges of the wreath for a bit more substance.

In the foyer, I put a crystal clock and two champagne flutes under a glass cloche.  I changed the DIY tinsel-covered numbers to read 2015 on the wall behind the table.  Lastly, I wrapped some gold and silver garlands that I picked up from Walmart after Christmas around the stair banister.

In the living room, I set up the party hats and noisemakers for ringing in the new year at midnight.  I hung a silver mylar “chandelier” above the coffee table.

On the coffee table, I put out little baggies of “Midnight Kisses.”  For dinner we had chili and chicken-corn chowder, cornbread, and buffalo chicken dip.  At midnight, we toasted with champagne with rock candy garnish.

In the den, I added a party hat to the bulldog jar given to me by a good friend this year.  Even Buddy put up with us putting a little hat on him for long enough to snap a picture.