'Come Fly With Me' to a party by Something Wonderful Happened

We are so excited to share a sweet Vintage Aeroplane party by Lucia Phillip from Event Planning Co. Something Wonderful Happened in Melbourne.

As soon as Lucia sent us the photos we loved them. But when she told us that the whole party was put together for less than $100, we loved them even more!

As let’s face it, as lovely as it is to throw our children memorable and exciting birthday parties, they can be VERY expensive! I am a firm believer that a party doesn’t have to be costly to be fabulous and with a little bit of DIY it really is possible to throw a fantastic party on a budget.. And these gorgeous pics from Lucia are testament to this fact.

This party was for 8 boys, aged between 6 and 7 years old.

As the birthday party was for Lucia’s nephew, Lucia set a few rules for herself:

Everything had to be bought out of a $100 budget OR
Found at Lucia’s sisters house

To keep costs down, Lucia used free printables from Pottery Barn Kids, a clever colour palette and served cost effective desserts (such as jelly, lollies and homemade cake and cupcakes).

The dessert table featured a homemade chocolate cake with meringue cloud icing, chocolate and meringue cupcakes, pineapple jelly, lollies, ‘Airmail package’ biscuits, popcorn and lemonade.

On arrival the boys were given balsa wood gliders to paint. After they’d indulged in goodies from the dessert table and their planes had had a chance to dry, they competed to see who could land their plane closest to landmarks (such as the far end of the deck).

In addition, they searched for airmail envelopes in a treasure hunt where 5 envelopes were exchanged for a prize.

I love all the items that were served on the dessert table, but am particularly taken with the no-bake ‘Airmail Packages’! Lucia has kindly shared the recipe for these easy party treats below.

‘Airmail Packages’ Recipe

Serves 10

Ingredients

1 packet Arnotts Nice biscuits (or similar)

2 teaspoons icing sugar

1 punnet of strawberries

250g cream cheese

Plus:

Pottery Barn Vintage Aeroplane printables

Coloured twine

1. Cut out printables and punch a small hole in one.

2. Cut 10 lengths of twine.

3. Combine icing sugar and cream cheese in a food processor and slice strawberries thinly. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until immediately before party.

4. 1-hour before serving spread a thick layer of cream cheese on half the biscuits. Using a clean butter knife, square off the edges of the cream cheese so that you have a sharp line. Layer with strawberry slices and place another biscuit on top.

5. Finally, tie with a length of twine and attach a printable square.

Here are Lucia’s top tips for styling a beautiful party on a budget:

1. Search the internet for free printables. If you are working to a budget, consider being flexible with your theme. There are many beautiful, free party printable packages online. Once you have found a package you like, you can build your theme from there.

2. Choose your colour palette wisely. The printables used here were blue and grey and by adding yellow to the colour palette, I was then able to use popular lollies and to find partyware that allowed me to keep costs down.

3. Bake your own cake. By using popular, simple and affordable party foods such as lollies and jelly and by baking the cake at home, you can significantly reduce your food costs.