It's a Small World Birthday Party
After a trip to Disneyland, my kiddo was obsessed with the “It’s a Small World” ride. She insisted on a Small World party to celebrate her 4th birthday, and her obsession even parlayed into a It’s a Small World theme for her bedroom! There wasn’t much to purchase ready-made to help with this theme, but luckily we found some adorable Etsy click art collections to help create a memorable event. Check out the links below.
I was newly pregnant with our third child, so this party’s tablescape was fairly simple, but Janie was thrilled with how it turned out. Most of the printed content was made with my Silhouette software using the clip art that I purchased on Etsy (links below). I made the paper centerpiece with the balloon and then made stickers using the Silhouette’s “print and cut” feature. I used washiest tape to fix round toothpicks to the back so they stuck into the homemade cupcakes.
I found these white cake plates that I stack to make a tiered cake effect at our local Home Goods, but similar ones can be purchased here. There are many inexpensive cake plates or dessert stands for purchase, but I recommend finding something that is simple in glass or white and goes with your personal taste. If it is something that you love, you will find yourself using it over and over and it will be well worth the investment. If you want flashy bright colors or odd sizes, consider making them with materials from the dollar store and spray paint like we did for this Fishing Themed Bridal Shower tablescape.
Sticking to a simple color scheme helped in selecting items for this party. My daughter loved purple and teal. We used our white curtains as a backdrop with a simple banner and poster to carry out the theme. Coordinating fabric (I pressed in the edges - yay for a no-sewing-required project) gives a great pop of color to the table.
The rest of the decorations were cut outs of the adorable kids from all around the world purchased from the clip art studio. I made them into banners and also mounted them on sticks placed in foam bases to create eye-catching arrangements of graphics. If you do not have an electronic cutting machine, I think this inexpensive Fiskars Fingertip Craft Knife is the tool to use. It may look odd and takes a bit of practice, but it really gives you a lot of control to cut out detailed items.
Useful Links:
We used these Clip Art Super Store sets to make items using the Silhouette Cameo software: Children of the Pacific Countries 1, Children of European Countries, Children of North and South America, Children of Pacific Countries 2. The actual It’s a Small World clip art set we used for the birthday poster was purchased on Etsy, but is no longer available.
I would love to throw this party again, as now there are so many more It’s a Small World party options on Etsy. Check out all the adorable products linked in pictures below. They are just so cute!!
Glass apothecary jars similar to the ones used at this party can be purchased here.
Purple polka dot dessert/cups are available at many party stores, although the purple ones come in this set available on Amazon. We filled ours with the multi flavor Jelly Belly candy beans, but you could put any small candy or snack in them and arrange them on a large plate or tray to achieve the same look.
Fiskars Fingertip Craft Knife and Cutting Board
Cake Plate Tutorial from Chickabug, and our examples from the Fishing Themed Bridal Shower post.
Additional elements (pictured below):
This framed It’s a Small World ride exterior art from Rosy Hues Art was used at the party and has found it’s permanent home in my daughter’s bedroom. We also purchased a neat wood art wall hanging with this vintage It’s a Small World, Fantasy Land attraction poster.
Disney Collection of singing It’s a Small World dolls. The Disney store was selling these the year that we designed Janie’s room and she had fun collecting them. Now some of them are available on Amazon or Ebay.