Hi friends, last weekend, as you know, I threw myself a 45th birthday polka dot party. The last party I threw myself was five years ago for my 40th. It was an Ugly Dress Party that is still being talked about amongst my friends. So why do I find the need to throw myself a party once every five years? I’m not entirely sure but I do believe it has something to do with me being an introvert and needing that much time to mentally prepare myself 🙂 It’s also my way of saying thank you to the girlfriends in my life who support me and love on me on a regular basis. Life would be very small (and boring!) without them in it.
Theme:
So the first thing every great party needs is a theme. My themes are chosen based on one very important piece of information…my outfit. Yep I pick my outfit first and center the entire theme around that. Isn’t that how everyone does it? Ha! It’s also how I settled on an ugly dress party theme as well, my dress was UGLY. Check it out:
So while mindlessly searching Etsy one evening I fell in love with an 80’s polka dot dress from a vintage shop called Honeymoon Muse. I figured a vintage dress was appropriate for a 45th birthday celebration and the polka dots and ruffles were absolutely adorable. It was also available in my size so I totally took that as a sign. And just like that I had my theme…POLKA DOTS!!
After that I just kept my eyes open for polka dot stuff everywhere I went but had the most success at Dollarama and Michaels as you will see which really helped keep costs down.
Invitations:
I purchased these cute polka dot blank cards at Dollarama. I typed up the invitation details in Word and then just cut and taped them into the inside of each card. The cards cost $1.25 for a pack of 10 with envelopes. A very inexpensive way to go.
Photo Backdrop:
Every party needs a photo backdrop and of course mine had to be polka dots. I purchased two plastic tablecloths from Dollarama, taped them together and hung them from my ceiling using clear Command Hooks.
Photo props purchased from Michaels and Dollarama.
A fun gift!
Polka Dot Walls:
I purchased fun peel and stick pink polka dots from Forever Studio on Etsy for my walls. I bought 42 dots in the 3 inch size and this was enough to do two of my living room walls. Such a fun detail!
Banners, Balloons and Streamers:
Of course we needed party balloons and streamers, both I purchased from Michaels.
I made the birthday banner myself that I hung between my dining room and kitchen. I downloaded and used these FREE files:
Polka Dot Pennant Banner (available in 12 colors)
Banner Letters
Speaking of banners, I hung this fun picture banner and featured pictures from throughout my school days. My friends had fun laughing at my unfortunate hair-dos over the years! 🙂
Food:
I found the paper plates and napkins at Dollarama and got creative by tying up the forks in a napkin with pretty polka dot ribbon.
These plastic polka dot wine glasses were also from Dollarama. Straws from Michaels.
Some of the party food
popcorn bags
I eat a Paleo diet so along with regular treats, I also served some delicious Paleo treats that everyone loved. These included:
Mini Fruit Kabobs with Dairy Free Citrus Fruit Dip
Paleo Blueberry Lemon Cupcakes
(I also bought regular cupcakes from a bakery, as you can see in the picture above, but everyone seemed to like these ones better!)
Party Favors:
These cute glass bottles with polka dot tops were another Dollarama purchase. They were $1.25 each. I added two juice crystal packs to the inside and then wrapped each in a polka dot bag (from Dollar Tree) with ribbon and a tag.
The tags I used were purchased as a editable printable from Hands in the Attic on Etsy.
It was a really fun party and everyone had a great time. By the end of the night though this introverted girl was pooped out. Glad I don’t have to do it again for another 5 years 🙂
Thanks for checking out my 45th birthday party. If you enjoyed this post, would you be so kind to share it with your friends on Pinterest or Facebook, thanks!
And if you’ve got any questions about the party please let me know!
MelanieL says
How fun! I love the theme, looks like you had a blast! Happy 45th birthday!
Marcia at Organising Queen says
Laura, I seem to recall you saying before you were an ESTJ. What happened to your E? 🙂
SUCH a fun party – I love polka dots too. I had it for the kids’ first birthday party.
And you looked beautiful!!!!
Laura Wittmann says
No I’ve always been an introvert but I do have some E qualities which I think technically makes me an ambivert or so I’ve heard 🙂
Emily @ My Love for Words says
Happy (belated) Birthday!! This is such a fun party idea. I love those pictures of you through the years and, of course, all the adorable polka dots. We try to eat paleo too, but it can make entertaining hard. I don’t want to “torture” my guests with only paleo foods, but I also don’t want to completely blow my good eating. Were you able to resist the non-paleo temptations or was it a rare cheat day? (If you were able to resist I need to know how!) 🙂
Laura Wittmann says
Hi Emily! I’ve actually not cheated even once since starting Paleo a year and a half ago. For me though I do the diet due to my Rheumatoid Arthritis. I’ve been able to go off all medication as a result. I never want to feel that joint pain again so I’m very careful. It totally doesn’t even bother me to be around it because I don’t crave it at all now that it’s been out of my system for so long so that helps!!