Even though the weather has been a little wacky recently, Spring officially beings tomorrow and Easter will be upon us in a mere three weeks! And what can be more fun for kiddos
than inviting friends and family to hop on over for an Easter Egg Hunt? I
styled this festive party for the Spring issue of The Party Dress Magazine, around the adorable "Grass Easter Bunny" collection from WH Hostess, specifically for children. I fell in love with the
darling designs and vibrant colors, including the little bunnies in the grass,
the infusion of orange (perfect for carrots!) and the pops of pink. To
complement the graphics, I focused on a bunny patch them, with white picket
fences and trellises, bunny garden adornments and more natural items, such as
burlap, wood crates and baskets. The vivacious pops of color paired with provincial
decor made a perfect pairing of modern lines and rustic elements. Since I had to do the shoot so far in advance, there wasn't much available in stores in terms of Easter decor (though of course, as soon as I submitted it, retailers decided it was finally time to inundate stores with their themed product!), but I think it actually worked to my advantage because it made me think outside the box and utilize items that were less commercial that I could easily re-use for future parties.
The sweets are understandably always one of my favorite aspects of any
party and the dessert table matched back to the entire theme. For the rural
feel, you can utilize a simple backdrop, such as the white trellis, and
accentuate it with a banner, like the adorable "Happy Easter" banner
coordinating with the collection. The infusion of the vivid colors was also accentuated with the hot
pink frame and dried flower balls found at Home Goods, which really made the table pop. You can really add an extra punch on the table with
additional details, such as food tent cards and cupcake and centerpiece
toppers.
The carrot cupcakes were displayed on wooden crates
with picket fence liners and fondant bunnies and carrots in the patch! On one
side of the table, I utilized a garden bunny decoration and added cotton candy bunny tails to pink polka dot straws from Cakes and Kids Too. I also made orange jello cups and simply inserted a small green spoon to resemble carrots, as well as jelly beans in a ceramic egg crate. I had seen some adorable fondant "pops" created by my sweet friend, Brittany from Edible Details, so I drew inspiration from her idea and made hopping bunnies, which I inserted in little baskets filled with faux grass and colorful egg decor.
The other side of the table included bunny hole push pops, consisting of chocolate pudding, Oreo cookie crumbs and fondant bunny "bums" with containers from Cupkate's Event Design! I also made egg-shaped rice treats, which were shaped in plastic eggs, which could be also be so cute with colored cereal or food coloring. I found the orange container at the 99c Only Store and added orange candies and green spoons to, again, resemble carrots.
The lunch table was set
utilizing little baskets embellished with grass and bunnies on top of polka dot
plates. You can personalize the settings by adding name tags to each basket and
accompany it with some little details, such as carrot ribbons and little white
poms for bunny tails. I also used the water bottle labels on glasses and
inserted striped paper straws from Cakes and Kids Too, matching back to the graphics. If you are familiar with my past parties, you know that I adore these felt placemats! For this party, I utilized them as a runner on the desert table and to infuse some color at the kids' table.
When throwing a kids party, I attempt to always keep their
needs in mind, which is why I displayed the food in a little cabinet perfect
for their heights so they could help themselves! I tried to keep the menu simple, but cute, such as utilizing
cutters in shapes of bunnies and carrots for sandwiches. Not only did the
cheese puffs and carrots in ranch dip match back to the theme, they were
perfect for the kids' palettes.
Tying back to the country, bunny patch atmosphere, you can
utilize different containers than the traditional Easter baskets with which the
kids can hunt eggs. I found cute wooden boxes with handles at Joann's and added little
tags with ribbon to each one. You can
also add the children's names to each to avoid any disputes regarding to whom
they belong!
After hunting for eggs, the kids had a blast with the
bubbles! For favors, say goodbye to your
little guests with cello bags and toppers, which can be filled with so many
different options! I added orange candies for the boys and edible fondant
bracelets for the girls. Last year, I got an Easter candy necklace activity kit from Wilton for my daughter and I thought it would be just as cute with fondant, so we made bracelets! I then found an amazing tutorial, again by my friend, Brittany of Edible Details on the Shindig blog, so definitely check it out for step-by-step instructions.
Going home with their
baskets full of eggs, candy and bubbles will be the perfect "end" to the Easter
Egg Hunt at the bunny patch! ♥
