The Sweet Eighteen

Here are the ins and outs of decorating for a *basic* birthday party. An assortment of snacks and treats, along with stunning decorations, made the perfect scene for my beautiful sister's 18th birthday party.

The majority of the decorations were found at the dollar store, or repurposed from my sorority house's events. I'll give you the rundown on all the Pinterest-worthy decorations as a sure way to amaze your guests...especially when they're 18 year old high schoolers that love anything with glitter :)

The Grand Display

In the middle of the party, you should have a display featuring all the best treats and appetizers.

You will need backdrop. For this, I strung faux white flower petals from the Dollar Tree onto thread about 8 feet long. I also strung these adorable mason jar lights across for some added ambiance.

Next of course, balloons were added. Instead of the $10 Party City number balloons, you can find $6 balloons on Amazon (plus it'll save you a trip to the store).

The apothecary jars were filled with cheap snacks such as animal crackers and popcorn. This made it easy to fill a large space cheaply, and with purpose.

Chocolate-dipped strawberries settled on top of a Dollar Tree table cloth, and fairy lights wrapped in tulle. Stick-less cake pops with pink frosting made the perfect sweet treat, alongside pigs in a blanket and quiches. These were frozen from Walmart, and thrown in the oven about 20 minutes before the quests arrived. Plates, utensils, and napkins were also purchased from the Dollar Tree.

Mocktails

Alongside the main table, I placed the complimentary drinks. The Martinelli's was placed in a bed of ice, with champagne flutes already filled with strawberries. The champagne flutes come in packs of two at the Dollar Tree, which I sprayed with adhesive and rolled in glitter

Sparkling pink lemonade was also served, along with plastic mason jars. For $1 a piece at the Dollar Tree, they were the perfect poolside cup. The striped straws were purchased from Michaels, and accented with a lemon slice. The cocktails sign was purchased in the sale section of Target, which has been my favorite purchase this year! (And you can bet it will be hanging in my apartment this year as well!)

It's the Little Things

Details matter! You can order personalized m&ms or opt for a chapter option. For these personalized Hershey Kisses, I simply printed designs in circles, and glued them to the bottoms of the kisses. They looked great scattered across the table and were a fun treat for guests.

Another idea: adding a snapchat filter is a touch that will make your event that much more memorable. For only $5, you can turn a photo into something even more special! There are filter templates available through Snapchat, or you can create your own with Canva.com using the dimensions 1080x1920.

Make a Wish!

I was able to use my new Wilton tip and whipped up some vanilla buttercream for this yummy cake! I then sprayed two candles from the Dollar Tree with adhesive, and covered them in sparkles. This made those cheap-looking candles into something worthy of making a wish on!

All of these DIY's are entirely doable and cheap as can be! Good luck and get this party started!

xoxo,

SKY