The Making of Kate’s Polka Dot Pajama Birthday Party

Of all the pictures from Kate’s Polka Dot Pajama Birthday Party last year, this one’s my favorite – our newly turned 4-year-old at the end of her party, cake pop in one hand and the other popping a polka dot candy into her chocolate-smeared face, and still rocking her birthday crown.

That’s my girl.

And now that she’s about to turn 5 (and it’s almost time for her next birthday party) it’s probably time I finally dished the details of this one.  Here’s a look at how last year’s party all came together!

Party Theme
As I shared in her party post, the polka dot and pajamas theme was Kate’s idea (two of her favorite things), and I had so much fun making it happen!  Kate’s party was in the evening, so we invited all of her friends (and their parents) to wear their pajamas.  It worked out great since the kids could go home and head straight to bed afterwards!

“Bed” Tables
To go along with our theme, I decorated the tables in the party room to look like beds – using lots of polka dots, of course!  I used twin-sized flat sheets as tablecloths and added pillows at each end of both tables to look like the heads of a bed.  Since the blue sheets were covered up in the middle by the pink sheets, I cut them in half (so I only needed to buy two) and draped them over the ends.  The polka dot sheets peeking out at the ends of each side of the tables is actually one flat sheet that I cut into four pieces.  I used the existing top and bottom end seams for two of the table ends, and sewed two more seams for the other two table ends.  Lastly, I topped it all off with one pink flat sheet across the center of each table.

Pillowcase Place Setings & Party Favors
My favorite of all of the party decorations are these personalized pillowcases I made for each child to take home!  I purchased the pillowcases from Wal-Mart (they came in packs of 2 for $5 and the quality and softness is great!) and ordered pre-cut fabric letters from Etsy.

It’s been 20 years since I’ve sat down at a sewing machine, so sewing each of these letters on took me quite a while, but it was so worth it. The kids all loved taking home this personalized gift!  Here’s a look at each one:

I folded the sides of the pillowcases slightly under so they would all fit at the tables, and topped each place setting with a polka dot “charger” that I made by cutting large circles out of colorful card stock, and a colorful circle plate.

I made the water bottle wrappers by printing out colorful polka dot “happy birthday” with a “4” in the center and “Kate is 4” messages on regular white copy paper.  I then cut the designs into strips and secured them to the back of the water bottles with double stick tape.

Kate informed me at the last minute that she reeeeally wanted balloons at her party, so polka dot balloons finished off our table beds.

Dessert Table & Desserts
I dressed the dessert table to look like a bed as well, with a polka dot comforter, and pillows propped up along the back.

The doll bed Kate got for Christmas (and a second one borrowed from a friend) were the perfect holders for our polka dot cookies!

Also on the dessert table – Kate’s favorite cake pops with polka dot sprinkles.  (Want cake pops at your next party?  Check out my 10 Tips for Perfect Cake Pops and make them yourself!)

As much as we love cookies and cake pops, Kate’s polka dot birthday cake was the star of dessert table!  I made it by stacking two larger circle layers of cake on the bottom, and two smaller layers on top.  Then I frosted it with buttercream frosting and added Sixlets (chocolate-coated circle candy) in Kate’s party colors around the sides.

But the big surprise was inside – when the cake was cut into, the kids discovered colorful polka dots!  It was a cake-loving kid frenzy at this point, so this was the only picture (below) I was able to snap before little fingers attacked, but see those fun polka dots?  I borrowed a cake pop maker {affiliate link} from a friend, which I used to make the colorful cake pop balls.  Next, I placed the colorful, cooked-up cake pop balls in my cake pans that I used for the layers – spreading them out evenly throughout the pan – and poured the vanilla cake batter all over and around them.  Then I baked up the cake layers as usual, stacked them, frosted them, and when you cut into it this is the effect the cake balls inside makes!  (Click here to check out the full tutorial that I used.)

The Venue
We gave Kate a few options for where she’d like to have her party, and she chose Pump It Up – an indoor party place featuring gigantic, fun-filled inflatables, including bouncy houses, slides, and obstacle courses.  She loves going there during their open playtime, and I have to say, their birthday party packages are phenomenal and staff were so great to work with!  They really will take care of everything for you if you’d like them to, and they were so great to work with.  In addition to the two huge playrooms our kids got to enjoy, Kate’s party also included an airbrushed tattoo artist, glow-in-the-dark accessories for some black light fun, and karaoke!  Kate and her friends had a blast!

You can see more Pump It Up party pics (and videos of Kate and her friends belting out Katy Perry songs) in our original party post: Kate’s Polka Dot Pajama Party.

Our Party Resources List:
Venue: Pump It Up (Fitchburg, WI location)
Sheets, blankets and pillows: Target
Plain white pillowcases: Wal-Mart
Balloons: Party City
Kate’s Personalized Birthday Shirt: Peachy Keen Designs
Kate’s birthday crown: LittleLadyAccessory (Etsy)
Kate’s birthday headband (seen in the karaoke picture above): Once Upon a Time Creations (Etsy)

That should cover it all, but if I missed anything or you have any questions, please let me know in the comments!

Want to see more? Check out Kate’s other birthday parties to date, and stay tuned for her “Frozen 5th Birthday Party” post coming soon!