a unicorn themed backyard birthday party
Happy New Year! Can we still say that at the end of January? I’ve been sorting through last year’s photos and the drafts I never published and I realized I had to share how Izzy’s unicorn-themed fifth birthday party turned out. It was our first big gathering in this new home and it felt good to get to celebrate my boy in our backyard.
I’d asked my son what kind of birthday party he wanted and he never gave me a real answer, so I planned a watermelon themed party because my son adores watermelon. About a month before the party, he started talking about unicorns and was obsessed. He asked for a unicorn theme and I ran with it!
decor
Pink, lavender, pale yellow, and holographic silver were the colors I chose to capture the magic and whimsy of unicorns (pink was also my son’s favorite color du jour).
I sourced a lot of inspiration from Pinterest, of course! I found a few iterations of a streamer backdrop and decided to buy plastic tablecloths and cut them into strips to hang over a ribbon. I ran out of time and ended up delegating the actual execution of the backdrop to my sister and her girlfriend, who had the brilliant thought to tie the strips onto the ribbon to keep them secure. Thank God for family help! The backdrop was a huge hit and added a fun, festive touch to our backyard!
The rest of the tablecloths were used for the tables we rented and I saved the scalloped edge one for the cake table. Because I’m not big on cutouts and signage, I like to pick colorful and fun plates to serve as light decor. I bought pink and purple plates from Party City plus one pack of holographic plates from Meri Meri and used them to display the cupcakes and other sweet treats we had.
I was given some vintage flower vessels earlier in the year and they inspired me to use flowers as decor! There was something wonderfully fun about going to Trader Joe’s, choosing flowers in varying shades of pink, purple, and yellow, and tinkering around to make a pretty arrangement. I ended up buying WAY TOO MANY flowers and almost ran out of places to put all of my arrangements. Not a bad problem to have, if you ask me.
Inside, we hung a pastel rainbow fringe banner from Party City from the ceiling and metallic fringe banners along the walls to make things extra festive! I’m sad I can’t find a link to it, but check your local store! They might still have them. It wasn’t too pricey and was well made — it lived in the kid room for months after the party.
decor sources
DIY backdrop using pink, yellow, purple + holographic tablecloths
DIY floral arrangements in vintage vases
Cake
I asked my son what kind of cake he wanted and his answer was “pink” and “rainbow with sprinkles.” I have my little tradition of making my kids’ cakes (from a box mix) and decorating them. It’s a chance for me to flex my creative muscles and try something new! I researched and researched and researched some more and figured out how to layer a cake, crumb coat, frost, and use gel food coloring to create an ombre effect with the frosting!
I also tried my hand at making multicolored frosting for cupcakes! My one mistake was using rainbow chip frosting — the consistency is very different from a standard or buttercream frosting, so i didn’t get a lot of definition from my piping tip. They were delicious though!
cake sources
Food + Drink
We served pizza with salad but the masterpiece was the rainbow made of fruit skewers! My son is a fruit fiend so this was his favorite part of the day! Next time I go the pizza route for a party, I’ll be sure to grill up some chicken wings to round out the menu. This was my first time making the shawarma chickpea dip and it’s become my go-to when I need to bring a side dish! It’s a total crowd-pleaser and it’s vegan, which means pretty much everyone can enjoy it!
Menu
Pizza (cheese, pepperoni + combo)
Mediterranean salad
Pita chips
Rainbow fruit skewers inspired by this pin
Donut holes from a local donut shop
Chocolate crinkle cookies made by family
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I didn’t plan too much activity-wise because I figured the kiddos would enjoy themselves between the trampoline, rainbow and unicorn horn-shaped chalk, hula hoops, and piñata. I was right!
All in all, it was an incredibly special day for our family and worth all the planning and running around that it entailed. I’ve rounded up as many links as I could find to help make your planning a little easier! And if you like birthday party theme ideas, come follow my Pinterest board! You’ll find all the things that inspired me as I planned this unicorn-themed party and more!
