Sunday, July 17, 2011

THREE Birds Reggae Birthday Party

I didn't throw Marisa a birthday party last year, so I was agonizing over what her birthday party theme would be this year. Toy Story? Princess? I just couldn't decide. So I asked Marisa what she wanted for her birthday and she said, "cake," "balloons," and "the thing that makes the sound when you go [makes blowing sounds]." That wasn't really much help on theme, but I took note. Then suddenly Marisa started singing "Three Birds," by Bob Marley. (Marisa has been listening to reggae since she was in the womb, so she can pick out a reggae beat on the radio and instantly yells out "It's BOB MARLEY!" ;) She makes us proud. hehe.) Anyway, I heard "three birds" and a light bulb went on since it would be Marisa's third birthday.
The great thing about this theme is that you can find the reggae colors, (red, gold, and green) just about anywhere, it's great for tropical backyards that have seen one too many Hawaiian themed luaus, and the colors and the music are great for boys and girls, men and women - it's universally pleasing. I had a TON of ideas for this I didn't get to execute and will share later, but for now here's what did go down...

First, the invitation. The invitation is always the starting point for me. In my head, I initially thought of drawing up three little birds and hanging cutesy birds and pom poms and stars everywhere...but as I started designing, I was inspired by a picture of Marisa on the beach and decided I wanted to go with more of a relaxed Island-of-Jamaica-vibe that featured the reggae colors. I decided to change up the wording to the song to create text for the invitation, and added a special die cut to the design to make the invitation a little more special. (*Note: This would also make a great ONE LOVE first birthday party invite!)

For decor, I just wanted to do something clean, simple, and laid back using old school party tactics. Balloons and streamers, home made food, home made cake, and good music. Red, Yellow, and Green balloons provided our pops of color and I created a backdrop of streamers alternating in the reggae colors for the dessert and drinks display. I also added some old reggae records and a few souvenirs we had picked up in Jamaica years before. We used grass table skirts to line the fence around the yard for an island feeling and went with crisp white tablecloths and wood chairs. Reggae music playing in the background set the mood. Unfortunately, as I was also the hostess, I couldn't get a good picture of backdrop for the buffet table, but it was made by purchasing and hanging red, yellow, and green plastic tablecloths from Party City and then topped with coordinating streamers in a messy way to almost mimic dreads. Instead of my usual buffet cards, I went with a simple chalkboard menu just as you might see in Jamaica.

Activities centered around water play so I provided water guns for the kids, a silly water hose with 12 nozzles that sprayed water everywhere in the yard, a water table, and of course there was the pool. I also bought party horns which the kids loved, and couldn't resist setting up a "Lively Up Yourself" photobooth. It's always fun to include props in a photobooth. I included some baby sized dreads from BabyToupee.com (you must check out their other wigs in addition to "The Bob."!!), a rasta beanie, sunglasses, and a Jamaican drum. We used two Jamaican flags for the backdrop. (Unfortunately in my rush to set up as Mommy, hostess, and photographer - I didn't place it in the greatest spot, and we had a few issues with the wind blowing up the flags. This, however, provided much entertainment for all the kids!

The food. I'll let you in on a secret...I really wanted to do this party just so I could serve "Buffalo Soldier Wings!" Here is the full menu:

-Buffalo Soldier Wings (ordered from Wing Stop, plus some plain chicken nuggets for the kids)
-One of Jamaica's staple dishes, "rice and peas" which is coconut rice with beans - very easy to make and cost effective. I experimented with my own method and will try to post that recipe later.
-Island Pork Tenderloin - everyone RAVED about this and it's also ideal for making for a crowd. Get the recipe HERE.
-Reggae Froots (a play on reggae roots) which were mini bamboo skewers of strawberry, pineapple, and kiwi chunks
-Rasta Pasta - tri colored pasta mixed with a bag of iceberg salad, cherry tomatoes, and pepperoncinis (*I left these out so the kids could eat it.) Serve with Italian or Ranch dressing.
-Rasta Pops - I used juices this time, but next time would make my own purees to add to the juice for brighter colors.
-Rasta Cake - I was inspired by a rainbow cake tutorial and made a three layer cake using white cake mix and dyed each layer to create the rasta colors.

And of course, we had to have some Red Stripe Jamaican beer on hand!

As a favor, I went old school again and made a CD for all of our guests. It was Sebastian, the crab from the Little Mermaid, singing reggae songs. It uncluded his rendition of "Three Birds" as well as "Under the Sea."

The party was a blast. Thank you to all of our guests for celebrating our special three year old. :) Stay tuned for more food/drink ideas for this theme! All stationery, photography, event design and styling by Jackie Culmer Photography and Design.

26 comments:

  1. Very cute! I can totally relate to your comment about the Buffalo Soldier Wings! Too funny.

    Eleanor

    ReplyDelete
  2. this is just adorable!

    one love ; )

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for sharing!!. Im planning on having my daughters first birtbday with the rasta theme.I love everything you did to your party!!. I am sooo gonna use your ONE LOVE idea....ur a genious!!...please email me with any ideas you can share!!!.
    Once again. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. LOVEEDDDDDDDD the idea for the backdrop using table cloths and streamers !! I myself am planning a 21st birthday party for my cousin. The whole idea for the backdrop, the cake and the decor makes my job so much easier!!!
    Since my party will be in the evening and for an older crowd , I'll use black tablecloths instead

    ReplyDelete
  5. This too cute! I love it! We will be celebrating my husband's 40th and our little one's 2nd - they share a birthday : ) - so I think this will be perfect! We are having a cumbia reggae band - Personal Use - (look them up!) - play - so all the more awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I came across this while google searching "One Year - One Love" first birthday party ideas. I'm currently trying to figure out how to style the invitations. I would appreciate any help you could provide. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love this! Our daughter was born on 4-20 so we thought this would be a perfect theme for her upcoming first bday. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your
    sites really nice, keep it up! I'll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back down the road. Cheers

    Look at my web blog - more information
    Also see my site: website

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good blog post. I definitely love this website. Keep it up!


    Also visit my blog - more info

    ReplyDelete
  10. What's up to every body, it's my first pay a quick visit of
    this webpage; this webpage contains remarkable and actually good information in favor of readers.


    Here is my webpage: more info
    my webpage > know more

    ReplyDelete
  11. Post writing is also a fun, if you be acquainted with then you can write
    otherwise it is difficult to write.

    My blog post: more info

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ahaa, its nice discussion regarding this article here at this
    blog, I have read all that, so now me also commenting here.


    Feel free to surf to my blog post more info

    ReplyDelete
  13. This web site really has all of the info I needed concerning this subject and
    didn't know who to ask.

    Visit my blog post: website
    My site :: Visit link

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's a pity you don't have a donate button! I'd most certainly donate to this excellent blog! I suppose for now i'll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.

    I look forward to fresh updates and will talk about this site with
    my Facebook group. Talk soon!

    Take a look at my web page :: More info
    my page :: more info

    ReplyDelete
  15. naturally like your web site but you have to take a look at
    the spelling on quite a few of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I in finding it very bothersome
    to inform the truth then again I will definitely come back again.


    Also visit my web site visit link

    ReplyDelete
  16. Magnificent items from you, man. I have take into account your stuff previous to and you're simply too magnificent. I really like what you have bought here, certainly like what you're saying
    and the way by which you assert it. You are making it entertaining and you continue to care for to keep it
    sensible. I can not wait to learn far more from you.
    This is really a tremendous site.

    My web-site; know more
    My web site: click here

    ReplyDelete
  17. Whoa! This blog looks just like my old one! It's on a totally different topic but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Outstanding choice of colors!

    Here is my website ... site

    ReplyDelete
  18. Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that
    I've really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I'll be
    subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you
    write again soon!

    my web-site ... site

    ReplyDelete
  19. Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I've truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. After all I will be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again very soon!

    Also visit my web blog: caterers Cape Town
    Also see my site - spit braai Cape Town

    ReplyDelete
  20. Howdy would you mind stating which blog platform you're using? I'm planning to start my own blog in the near
    future but I'm having a tough time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I'm looking for something completely unique.
    P.S Apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!


    my site ... similar site

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anԁ yоu also don't have Ohio?? You're home?



    My wеbѕite www.articleassise.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. I've bouth 6 electric batteries so far all of them after although become inflexible and hard to be able to puff????

    Also visit my web page :: green smoke best price

    ReplyDelete
  23. Ӏ neveг гeаlized that Ι mіght quit smоking
    and it is all beсause of Bull Smοke.
    These remarκаble e cigs haνe got pullеd mе оut of the trauma hаνe beеn eхperiencing aѕ I waѕ unable to ѕtop smoking.


    Feel free to visit my ωeblog; green Smoke coupon codes

    ReplyDelete
  24. Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems
    as though you relied on the video to make your point.
    You clearly know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence
    on just posting videos to your weblog when you could
    be giving us something enlightening to read?

    Feel free to visit my webpage ... mtclosetowin.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. Yess!!! This is wonderful! My baby absolutely loves Bob, she calms down instantly when she hears him (since day 1, it's incredible!). I'm planning her 1st birthday party, Bob Marley themed, and am so stealing some of your wonderful inspiration. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  26. People can easily pretty much all reap the benefits of
    studying even more regarding themselves and our overall health and well being.
    Specified actions and activity levels can easily currently have great profit to us, and
    we all ought to uncover even more info about them.
    Your blog page seems to have presented important info which is useful to
    a number of societies and individuals, and I just enjoy the posting your
    skills this way.

    ReplyDelete