Photo Credits: McAllister Photography

Photo Credits: McAllister Photography

Photo Credits: McAllister Photography

Photo Credits: McAllister Photography Invites, thank you notes and printed details: Anders Ruff Custom Designs

Kate Landers here to share with you twin and boy/girl birthday party celebration inspiration! It may seem daunting at first to create a party that works for celebrating the precious lives of twins, let alone a boy and a girl at once, however I am here to share some helpful hints and show you how to create double the fun. A lovely client Megan graciously allowed me to share with you her niece Olivia’s and nephew James’ first and second birthday parties. Megan and I had great fun coming up with themes, color-schemes, decorations and all the custom details to make these celebrations a perfect blend of each child’s personalities. Here are some helpful tips taken from their parties, to show you how fun and enjoyable the challenge of throwing a twins or boy/girl party can be and how to develop your party theme from year to year!

• Color Scheme: Don’t be afraid to combine each child’s favorite colors. You will be surprised with how fabulous the mix can be! In this case, we used soft bright colors of orange, lime, watermelon pink and aqua for their first birthday. For their second birthday we used light blue, tangerine, raspberry and white.
• Theme: Patterns make wonderful themes, as do things that fly! For James’ and Olivia’s first birthday we went with stripes and polka dots, incorporating those patterns into everything from printed party details to the cake decorations. It was fun, festive and bright. When coming up with a second birthday party theme, it proved more challenging as the children began developing more likes and dislikes. Megan had it covered: birds for Olivia and planes for James. These tie together beautifully as both fly high in the sky among the clouds. Other suggestions would be a farm theme; picnic: ladybugs & caterpillars; or mermaids & pirates.
• Two Cakes: Twice as sweet! I love individual cakes for twins’ birthday parties, also providing you the perfect opportunity to mix in the color scheme and theme of the party, all on a pretty pedestal or tray. For Megan’s niece and nephew she went with identical polka dot smash cakes for their first birthday, tying in the theme and color-scheme. For their second birthday, Olivia received a bird themed cake using raspberry from the color scheme. James enjoyed an airplane cake, tying in to the party theme as well as light blue and orange from the color-scheme.
• Coordinate Elements of the Party Year to Year: String together special details one year to the next, repurposing party decorations and creating new traditions. Twice the number of children does not mean twice the price! I love how the polka dot baking cups and tableware were able to be used at both James’ and Olivia’s first and second birthday parties. The cupcake liners served double-duty across the years as both cupcake adornments as well as snack cups for sticky fingers. Each year these twins get a custom fabric appliqué shirt with their age on it, in the colors and theme of the party. I recommend framing the shirts and soon you will have a wall of precious birthday memories.
• Incorporate Your Theme Into Your Stationery: Marching thank you notes are a darling reminder to guests of the special day you shared with them. Let that theme linger a little longer by incorporating it into your stationery. Anders Ruff Custom Designs created the most darling matching invitations and thank you notes for James’ and Olivia’s second birthday. The printed signature at the bottom not only added charm, but saved a few moments while writing notes of gratitude.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post and sweet party inspiration. Are you a parent of multiples? How did you celebrate your children’s last birthday?