This is the party that started me on the path to my second job in children’s party planning. Last year, for my girls’ sixth birthday, they asked for a fairy party. I discovered Cicely Mary Barker’s classic fairy illustrations and they became my inspiration. I had this party on my list to re-create with professional photography to create a flower fairy birthday party plan, and then…
I was hired by a great mom of four to create a Custom Party Plan for her daughter Violet’s first birthday. We ultimately chose a flower fairy theme, with a focus on violets and purple tones. That bumped this flower fairy party to the top of my list. Since little Violet’s celebration will be in her backyard, I styled this as an outdoor shoot.
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I knew when I started this party plan business that this party was high on the list to recreate with professional photography. Then, I was hired by a great mom of four to create a Custom Party Plan for her daughter Violet’s first birthday. We ultimately chose a flower fairy theme, with a focus on violets and purple tones. And that bumped this flower fairy party re-creation to the top of my list. Since little Violet’s celebration will be in her backyard, I styled this as an outdoor shoot.
I am so fortunate to live near a delightful antiques and art shop — Linden European Gardens. It’s one of my go-to places for gifts. Owner Laurie maintains such a lovely garden out back and I knew it would be a terrific space for our event. Laurie and her team are so great to work with and if you are in the Woodstock area, I’d definitely consider her garden for party rentals.
Fairy Party Decorations
On the garden gate I hung a “Do You Believe in Fairies” printable I had made by Xreations. The frame is from my friend Juliet’s shop, Quite a Pair Keepsakes.
The concept of the party was that if the girls believed in fairies, “magical” things would happen throughout the party. All these girls are around 7-and-a-half and they all still believe in fairies, so this was a blast to watch!
We had six stations in the garden:
- Fairy costumes
- Dessert table
- Dining table
- Fairy story bower
- Photo area
- Fairy house crafting table
On the dessert table and the dining table, I used a sheer, ruffled shower curtain for a light, airy feel. I accessorized with white and purple plates. Around the dining table, each chair also featured a letter with the guest’s first initial. (Cute and it prevents jockeying for the “best” seat.) On each chair, our guests found a pom wand from Titi’s Tutus. Once the girls found these, they did not let them go!
This was my first time using mason jars (big hit) and paper straws (they held up wonderfully). I just finished off the jars with some purple twine and added “fairy nectar” (blackberry grape juice).
In the center of the table, I included a sample of a fairy house under a cloche. I think it always helps the kids to have a finished example of their craft activity.
Over the dessert table, I was so lucky to be able to use the frame that Linden already had attached to the wall. I just added this adorable fairy doll from Riley Construction and it completed our backdrop.
Fairy Party Activities
The first order of business was to let the girls choose their costumes. I designated Grace as the photo shoot birthday girl, and so she wore a purple fairy costume, while the other girls wore lavender. Each girl had a tutu and pettipants, plus wings. Little Boo Creations made us coordinating fairy halos, which the girls adored!
Then, we settled down in the fairy bower that I made with the most incredible pop-up book version of Cicely Mary Barker’s How to Find Flower Fairies. I didn’t actually read the book, but explained that Cicely was a special friend of the fairies who allowed her to see them. I asked the girls to spot the fairies on each page. At the end, I asked them if they believed in fairies and all their hands shot up!
Next up was a fairy scavenger hunt. I gave the girls their first clue and then they had to find each of the next clues. I hid these in Linden’s garden before the party. It was fun making up the little rhymes for each clue. The hunt eventually led the girls to pixie dust necklaces — much excitement! (See the tutorial for the washi tape boxes here.)
We took a break to enjoy some treats, and then made fairy houses. It was so interesting to observe that when the girls were six, they needed more hands-on help with this project, but at seven, they were totally independent. One of my girls put leaves and feathers inside the house “so my fairy can decorate it how she wants.” Love that! We sprinkled each house with pixie dust as it was completed.
We painted faces in a whimsical fairy style. You don’t have to be an artist for face painting; give it a whirl – it’s fun and your daughter will love practicing before the party!
Fairy Party Dessert Table
This was one of my favorite dessert tables to create. I love the combination of purple transferware, white china and crystal with the ruffled tablecloth. The centerpiece of the dessert table was this cake from Scrumdiddlyumptious Bakery. The cake was inspired by this cake from Pink Cake Box that I found last year.
I tried to keep all the other food fairy-sized.
- Brownie bites with purple flower toppers from Cupcakes by Christy
- Mini vanilla cupcakes with toppers from Edible Details
- Toadstool cookies from Cookie Xchange
- Pixie Stix (of course)
- Raspberries with white chocolate chips (idea from Sasha Libby)
- Strawberry marshmallow skewers
- Our violet lollipops were made by Etsy seller Mihow, based on the original tutorial by Sprinkle Bakes.
I love the little wooden food label holders from Monkeys on the Roof. It was fun making up all the fairy-related names for the food labels, like “Sprite Cakes”
Fairy Party Favors
Our party favors were amazing violet seed paper — just plant the paper in your garden and watch the violets spring up!
Flower Fairy Birthday Party Plan
If you want all the how-to’s and shopping links to host your own Flower Fairy Party, my exclusive Flower Fairy Birthday Party Plan will walk you through the entire planning process, step-by-step!
Vendor Credits
- Party Styling and Party Plan: The Party Teacher
- Photography: Viridian Images Photography
- Party printables: Xreations
- Cake: Scrumdiddlyumptious Bakery
- Cake pops: Cake Pops by Jen
- Purple royal icing toppers: Cupcakes by Christy
- Violet and fairy wing cupcake toppers: Edible Details
- Toadstool cookies: Cookie Xchange
- Violet lollipop original idea: Sprinkle Bakes
- Violet lollipops: Mihow
- Fairy halos: Little Boo Creations
- Tulle fairy wands and large poms: Titi’s Tutus
- Fairy doll: Riley Construction
- Wood food label holders: Monkeys on the Roof
- Purple twine and striped straws: The Party Fairy
- Frame: Quite a Pair Keepsakes
This party is absolutely magical Jennifer! Such cute activities and love the desserts too!
Beautiful!!
Soooo precious! I love all the details, but my favorite has to be the “fairy wishes.” Perfect! I love those clever little touches. Those pansy lollipops are pretty spectacular, too.
So pretty Jen! Love the fairy theme and your girls are darling!
This is sooooo beautiful – I still believe in fairies 😉
Me too, Keisha!
The games really sounded fun and it is obvious in the photos how much the girls enjoyed them. It was all gorgeous!
Great job Jennifer, everything is so pretty. I love the toadstool cookies and the fairy houses!!
Beautiful Jennifer. 🙂 Purple and green are one of my favorite fairy party color combos. 🙂 So many pretty details. 🙂 Love the garden setting.
Absolutely beautiful! Your attention to detail, again, is flawless. So honored to have my products included in this shoot. LOVE!
So thrilled you could be part of this party! Love working with you!
seriously very very cute!! love the little houses and the wands and oh my- everything!! great job
I love this idea and am doing something similar for my daughter’s fifth birthday. Where did you purchase the oversized flower for the photo shoot?
Hi Bethany – I found the giant purple flower at Hobby Lobby. Good luck on your party, and please let me know if I can help you out with any items from my Flower Fairy Party Kit.
The kids looks cute in their face paint art and also their party costume as well they look so adorable .
Oh, thanks! They did have so much fun with the face paint, they’ve actually asked for it again at their next party.
Hi where did you get the fairy dust necklaces
Hi Andrea –
I actually made them. The instruction are in this tutorial: https://thepartyteacher.com/2012/04/26/tutorial-fairy-dust-necklaces/.
Good luck with your party!
– Jennifer
Hi – where did you get the mini fairy houses and what did you use to decorate them? Thanks!
The fairy houses are bird houses. You can find them at craft stores like Joann’s. We decorated with silk flowers, silk leaves, moss, rocks, and little wood slices.