One of the most charming parties I’ve thrown has to be Aria’s Jolly Holiday 3rd Birthday party. I mean, how can you go wrong with a classic like Mary Poppins as your inspiration?! It was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

When I think about all of the random details I try to include into these parties, it is a little mind-boggling. One of these details was the silhouette that I designed to look like Aria wearing a Mary Poppins hat. I took inspiration from both Victorian era cameos and also like the part in the Mary Poppins movie where Bert traces her silhouette onto his chalk painting. I used this “Aria Poppins” silhouette for signage, cupcake toppers, thank you stickers and on the invitations themselves.

Another detail that cannot be overlooked (because it was huge) is the carousel horse and chalk-drawing backdrop. I decorated my carousel horse with a gorgeous floral wreath around its neck and placed it in front of chalk pastel drawing I had drawn and had blown up to be 7 ft tall and 10 ft wide. I added 3-D butterflies to the backdrop and some moss beneath the horse so it reminded everyone of that part of the Jolly Holiday sequence in the movie.

I found some old Mary Poppins golden books, a card game and board game on Ebay. I have realized that Ebay is a great place to find somewhat rare + usually vintage things. Via Ebay I also have “won” Circus-themed animal cracker tins which I use for Circus-themed birthdays as well as vintage camping gear (enamelware and an old camping lantern) which I used for my daughters’ Camp AriViva party a couple years ago.

“Anything can happen if you let it” ~ Mary Poppins