Vintage Holiday Birthday Party

We’re sharing a behind the scenes look at my Vintage Holiday Birthday Party today!

Every October, my parents hold an event we lovingly call the Spooky Soiree.

It’s honestly my favorite family event of the entire year.

My Mom goes above and beyond decorating the house, preparing our favorite little nibbles, and planning games that make us laugh for hours.

Everyone plans their costumes months in advance and it’s so exciting to see them finally come to life. 

Unlike the holidays, there’s no rushing from one place to the next.

Or worrying about buying the “right” gift.

Everything about the Spooky Soiree is relaxed, joy-filled, festive, and fun!

My Holiday Birthday Party Inspiration…

This past October, I was all dressed up ready to go in full hair and makeup MINUTES from getting in the car to head to my parent’s house, when there was a work emergency that caused me to miss the ENTIRE Spooky Soiree.

While I knew the gravity of the situation was significant, I’m not even gonna lie, the disappointment was instantly palpable.  

And since we’re being completely honest, what made things even worse was knowing my parents surprised everyone by dressing up as Ken and Barbie.

So, that night I committed to having a vintage holiday birthday party inspired by Holiday Barbie.

It was the most festive way I could think to recreate the Spooky Soiree without having to wait until October.

Holiday Birthday Party Decorations…

Truth be told, we never really get to enjoy our Christmas decorations because we travel so much during the holiday season.

So, I decided to use our Champagne Wishes holiday home as a jumping off point for my vintage holiday birthday party because I knew the shades of blush and gold would make a fabulous backdrop.

Plus, last year, Holiday Barbie’s dress had layers of white tulle and gold stars to commemorate her 35^th Anniversary.  

So, I ordered pink and gold star garlands and draped them all around the house.

It made decorating for the party super easy!

Holiday Birthday Party: Blush and Gold Place Settings…

From the very beginning, I knew I wanted to eat in front of the fireplace because it’s close to the Christmas tree.

It meant having to move multiple pieces of furniture to make it happen though.

Truthfully, it was a beast to move everything.

But in the end, I’m glad we made the extra effort.

It wound up being a magical place to share a meal. 

I kept the flowers super simple by using cream-colored roses and blush pink ribbon.

Then I lined the table with a mix of ivory-colored remote-controlled candles and pink tea lights.

And since I wanted a vintage vibe, I ordered blush pink plates from Amazon and vinyl doll silhouette stickers from Etsy to help set the scene.

Keep in mind, that vinyl stickers are not food-safe.

So, if you want to recreate something similar, you’ll need to have additional plates available for food and desserts.

To help round things out, I placed gold flatware, everyday stemware, and cream-colored napkins with blush pink ribbons at every place setting.

Then I placed a pair of vintage earrings where the girls would be sitting, lottery tickets where the guys were sitting, and temporary tattoos where the littles were sitting.

That way, everyone would have something fun to take home.  

Little Nibbles and Grazing Boards…

Given we have a lot of picky eaters in our family, I kept the food simple by using small platters and grazing boards filled with assorted crackers and cheese, fruit, crudité, nuts, chips and dips, tea sandwiches, enchilada cups, and salads.

We also had a hot bar with meatballs and BBQ smokies.  

Holiday Birthday Cake…

The pink funfetti cake with buttercream icing was from Publix.

The flavor was fabulous.

But the color of the cake was not exactly what I had in mind.

So, make sure you tell your cake decorator the specific shade of pink you want when you place your order.

My Favorite Party Memories…

All in all, it was a birthday I’ll never forget.

It was incredibly cold the night of the party.

But I was bound and determined to greet each guest as they arrived. 

As they made their way through the luminaries, it literally brought tears to my eyes to see all the trouble they had gone through to dress up and make the night a special one.

My 16-year-old nephew was inspired to dress as Western Ken. The minute he got out of the car he had his phone cued up to play, “I’m Just Ken” from the Barbie movie. It was so sweet.

One of my brothers-in-law was inspired to dress up as Allan. He stayed in character for the entire party!

Both of my parents wore blond wigs with their costumes.

My sisters wore Barbie inspired bubblegum pink dresses.

My bestie S was inspired to dress up as Weird Barbie.

No playing, I was jumping up and down in heels and a crown on the front porch completely overcome with emotion seeing them all dressed up.

Truly, it was the best gift ever!

Don’t Wait to Celebrate…

After hearing how much work went into my holiday birthday party several people asked if I was celebrating a milestone birthday.

This birthday is not even close to a milestone though.

But after going through so much last year with my Dad being hospitalized and my Mom in a boot from a broken toe, me having COVID and Strep at the same time, my beloved cousin passing away very unexpectedly at Thanksgiving, a hurricane tearing through our hometown and so many other things I haven’t even shared, I figured why wait for a milestone?

Because every day we get to wake up and make memories with our friends, family, and loved ones is reason enough.

And there’s no time like the present to celebrate.

Until next time, I’ll see you on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Wishing you an amazing year filled with all your favorite things,

CoCo