It is SO surreal to me that our first baby is now 3. THREE!.. How have we been parents for three years now?! Man, they always tell you how “fast time flies” but it takes parenthood for that to truly sink in… Since Caroline’s second birthday was very small and only celebrated with me, Morgan, and my parents, I knew I wanted to do it up this year. There are SO many cute options out there for fun filled 3 year old birthdays, but I landed on Three Esta since it was right around Cinco de Mayo, and we absolutely LOVE Mexican food! One of Caroline’s favorite Disney movies is Coco and it felt fitting for a fun back yard get together for friends and family.
Let’s start with desserts. You know when you know you’ve gone a little overboard on a child’s birthday? When you literally are offering every dessert imaginable, short of pie. We had it all people. My girl Ashley over at AshleyVCo.com truly out did herself with helping me for Caroline’s desserts. I call her the icing queen because she handmakes her own DELICIOUS icing, and has mastered any Pinterest inspired cake she’s taken on. We made confetti cupcakes and she turned them into this super cute pull away cactus cake which I think is such an easy and super cute addition to any fiesta party. The SUPER adorable custom cookies, I bought from, and were made by, another talented Ashley over at Powder and Cream. Like, the detail on these things are just BEYOND!
I just gave her some inspiration of the party and she ran with it. She did such a great job and they were very tasty! For the cake, I cheated a bit because I got lazy and thought I would be able to order something on Friday that would be ready early Sunday morning.. PPFTTTT.. what was I thinking?! I learned my lesson for sure! But again, bestie Ash came to the rescue and I bought a regular, two layer plain white icing cake from Food Lion and Ashley scraped, smeared, and recreated the piñata cake I was dreaming of for Caro’s party. She took the bare bones of a store bought cake and iced the piñata look! Again, TALENT!
I found some fun fiesta themed mints online (linked below) and had those around the dessert table in fun little pineapple containers. Also, did you guys see that watermelon?! That was another idea I found on Pinterest, and even though we knew the watermelon we decided to buy a few days ago was too short for making the tall cactus cut out I saw, Morgan never backs down from a culinary challenge of any kind. He carved out that cactus and took our melon baller to scoop out the watermelon. It was definitely a huge hit with the kiddos.
Any of the decorations I do not have linked either came from Dollar Tree or Hobby Lobby! Super budget friendly and definitely the perfect time to get Cinco de Mayo decor on sale :). If you have questions about anything specifically please let me know in the comment or feel free to email or DM me anytime!
I did a lot of cactus and pineapple decor around the dessert table, made a fun backdrop for that photo opt from table cloths, streamers, balloons, and garden fencing, and had the kids eating area under the tent with a large serape as the tablecloth and a sombrero as the centerpiece. I tried to get a good picture of the balloon decor on the entryway of the tent but by the time I got out there to get it, the heat was SO bad (95 degree in May!) that many of them had already popped. Luckily, many of them were filled with confetti so it actually kind of acted as a fun party detail when those randomly popped and confetti flew all across the yard :).
The balloon cactus was also a really fun addition to the party decor. Even though those didn’t last long when I put them outside where I wanted them (due to the heat), I would definitely do them again for a fun fiesta party. We had a lot of sombreros for decor and photo opts, played limbo, had fun with a piñata, and did the slip and slide all afternoon.
One thing I cannot believe I didn’t get to do was get pictures of ALL THE GLORIOUS FOOD my amazing husband made for everyone :(. I meeaannn he takes these gatherings to a whole other level, one because he used to chef it up in a professional kitchen, but also he’s literally like the best home chef ever and I swear one day I will get him to let me write his cook book, MARK MY WORDS YA’LL!
Anywho, he whipped together beef and pork carnitas tacos, home made guacamole, mexican street corn, grilled nopales, and queso fresco. Oh and last minute he decided to make three containers of home made tortilla chips. He makes this most amazing tortilla chips, seriously! We also had all the yummy bottled Mexican Coke and Jurritos on ice which also were a huge hit with everyone. We have a bit leftover and secretly I am so happy about that. Overall the party was a huge hit and we had a blast. I hope you get some fun inspiration if you’re looking to throw your little one a birthday fiesta too!
Looking for More Kids Party Inspiration?
Below are my Top trending posts on Google Search and Pinterest!
ONEderland First Birthday Party
To my sweet, rambunctious Caroline,
The day before you were born mommy was so scared. She didn’t think she was ready and didn’t think you were ready to see the world just yet. But there were pains and concerns, and all we wanted was a healthy baby girl so mommy went to the hospital to make sure you were okay. When she got there, the doctors said it was time for you to see the world. All mommy could think was that it’s too soon, she’s not ready… “I’m not ready…” After some time, in a whirl-wind emergency c-section, you were telling mommy you were ready, and to not be afraid. It was almost like your way of saying, “it’s okay mommy, I will be okay.” You have proven this time and time again in your little 3 years as my baby girl, and although mommy will never be ready for what’s next, you always prove to me that you can handle it. You’re so smart, strong, tough, and have the kindest heart. You never let anyone go without “kiss and huggies.” You’re beautiful, and mommy’s sweet little angel. I love you so much. Happy Birthday.
