Barbie Party Inspo

An update for my fellow Barbie girls :) My daughter naturally requested a similar soiree for her ninth birthday! Local baker, Leslie Krueger of Riets Treats did not disappoint!

We also enlisted the help of two dancers with Sole Unique in teaching our guests a choreographed dance sequence! In the interest of privacy, I won't be posting any pictures, but trust me when I say that it was a huge hit! Highly recommend booking them for a ballerina's birthday party!

To keep the festivities going, I taught a Barbie themed fashion illustration class in our kitchen. These ladies crushed it, if I do say so myself!

It just so happens that I now offer these locally if you'd like to add a painting class to your own soiree! See here for details :)  If you're not local and would like to try your hand at these, click here for a free coloring page!

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I celebrated my 40th birthday this weekend... which is weird because I'm only 27 🫠 Naturally, I did what any mature, dignified woman would do and assembled a Barbie party with my family and closest friends! 

I'll start with the icing on the cake (pun very intended)! Enter Leslie Krueger of Riets Treats, a phenomenal, magical, unicorn baker who made all of my pastry dreams come true! The cake is four layers of delicious vanilla buttercream, with pretty cupcakes on the side. It was every bit as delicious as it looks!

For cookie favors, our chef recommended White Marble Bakery, who coincidentally is about a five minute drive from Leslie. If you're local to Wheaton, these women would be a dream team! 

The internet has exploded with Barbie boxes for purchase, and while I love the look of these, I am too cheap and stubborn to pay upwards of $300. I assembled my own with presentation boards, spray paint, and construction paper. Catch the full tutorial here.  

I've been wanting to build a balloon arch after having two friends remark on how easy it is! While I wouldn't necessarily want to take this on every weekend, two of us were able to bang it out in about an hour with a balloon pump. There are various kits at party stores and on Amazon, but we wrapped our balloons together with fishing wire.  

For a little extra magic, we had Gary Kantor come out to share some of his most mind bending card and slight of hand tricks! His talent is incredible and he kept the crowd riveted. We are all still scratching our heads! With friends and family from many different backgrounds, this was a great way to break the ice and keep conversations flowing. 

One of my smoothest entertaining tricks has been to print out cocktail suggestions for the bar! This way, everyone can whip up their own drinks and my husband and I are not stuck playing bartender all night. We put out tequila, vodka, gin, bourbon, and mixers and viola! Six popular cocktails and any number of flavor combos. Click here for the free recipe printable! 

The star of the evening was our chef! We enlisted the services of Chef Pat & Co. Pat and Kayla are a dynamic daddy/daughter team and a delight to work with.  They have a vast knowledge of all things culinary and think of everything.

We did a signature margarita, passed appetizers, and a large grazing station. Pat carefully crafted each dish around our theme and incorporated pink wherever possible. They even provided plates/cups/cutlery and cleanup! Our group was a little challenging to accommodate due to the range of food preferences, but they assembled an amazing menu that suited everyone perfectly:

• Halibut Tacos
• Vegan Tacos
• Caprese Skewers
• Sweet Corn Elote
• Charcuterie Spread
• Pulled Pork Sliders
• Buttermilk Chicken Sliders
• Lobster Mac & Cheese
• Grilled Shrimp & Prosciutto Brochette
• Sashimi Tuna Wontons
• Mini Key Lime Pies
• Mini Peach Cobbler

Overall, it was the perfect launch into my 40's and I'm so thankful for everyone who's helped to make it so special! 

*Some of the items above are on affiliate links, meaning that I receive a small commission from purchases at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting my small business while I support others!