My first baby turned 16 this year, so we threw her the glam sweet 16 birthday party she’s been talking about for all month. Elle takes her birthday very seriously, so I knew we had to throw in special details to make her feel extra special. She spent almost an entire year as a special needs student learning virtually and I am so proud of how far she’s come.
My Mom even came down from Seattle and cooked her a big homemade Korean food feast with all of her favorites! We are so lucky that she is so loved and supported by her family.
Elise’s Glam Girly Sweet Sixteen
The story behind the Glam Cats and Bunny Disco Party:
Both of my girls have been begging me for a cat, but I can’t commit to another pet right now, so I threw Elise a glam cat disco party instead! Not only are they asking for a cat, but they are also asking for bunnies. I incorporated some cute bunny elements into the party with specialty cookies and bunny candy bracelets. Now, they are expecting me to get them real cats and bunnies sometime soon – Yikes! Nevertheless, I am so happy with how this party came together and most importantly, Elise had the best time celebrating!
Here are 3 steps I took to bring the theme to life:
1. Start with your statement decor piece.
- Start with deciding how you are going to incorporate your statement piece into the theme. For me, it is usually some sort of fresh or dried floral element. For you, it might be balloons!
- I chose baby’s breath as my main floral element. It’s affordable and easily accessible.We color blocked our baby’s breath with floral spray paint in peach, pink and lilac (some of Elise’s favorite colors). Check out our DIY spray painted baby’s breath blog post on how to recreate our garland look.
2. Incorporate accents from your theme into your dessert table and/or place settings.
These are some items I used:
- Cat themed plates
- Mini Disco balls
- Tassel garland
- Fun Floral Sunglasses
- Pink linen napkins
- Gold bow napkin ring
- Pink velvet linen
- Gold Flatware
- Stemless Blush Wine Glasses
- Clear Champagne Coupe
3. Finish off the design with your cake and desserts.
My favorite SoCal baker, Sweetleemade did such an amazing job for the desserts! We kept it simple and minimal this year, since the party was just immediate family and grandparents.
The star of the show was our dancing Elise cat cake with disco balls. We also added bunny sugar cookies with flower crowns that were customized with Elise’s name. The final touch was our simple cat cake popsicles. Everything was too cute to eat!
Happy Birthday to my music, dancing and animal loving Elle. Thank you for making me a mother and for bringing this family together. You teach me how to find the joy in our everyday lives, even though it looks a little different than other families. I am so proud of the woman you are becoming and love you more than you will ever know!
Overall, Elise’s Glam Sweet 16 was a big success. I hope that you found these tips useful and use the tips as inspiration to create your own version of a fun birthday celebration. You don’t need all the bells and whistles to make a birthday party fun and exciting for your family and friends. Now, I will be spending the next few months explaining to Declan that his birthday is not until August. Wish me luck!
For more fun ideas, check out our No Drama Llama themed birthday from Elle’s 14th birthday. You can read more about our special needs journey here.
Vendor Credit:
Design by So Happi Together
Cake, cookies, cake popsicles by Sweetleemade