by JollyFrogger Diva
My girl’s birthdays are only a week apart, so this year we decided to host a joint birthday party for them. The first step was to pick the theme. There were a few ideas thrown out, but both girls share a love for all things Moana. In fact, our family loves Moana so much that we’ve dressed up like characters from the movie for Halloween the past two years.
Halloween 2017
Halloween 2018
The next step was to choose a location. Much like myself, my girls are winter babies and we live in a state where the weather is highly unpredictable around their birthdays- sometimes it’s sunny and in the 60s and sometimes it’s rainy and in the 30s. Therefore, we knew we had to choose somewhere indoors. I tried to think of a location that would match the theme and found an indoor pool nearby that was available and affordable. We don’t live anywhere near the ocean, so that was the closest body of water I could find for my little voyagers. I was always jealous of my friends whose birthdays were in the summer and could have a pool party for their birthday, so I was excited to give my girls the same opportunity.
the youngest JollyTadpole
the oldest JollyTadpole
Once we picked a location, we had to decide on decorations and food. We were fortunate that our local party supply store had what we needed for decorations. We were able to get a cute balloon bouquet that has lasted several months since the party, a table cloth with Moana and Maui on it that I thought was absolutely adorable, plates and napkins, and leis to give their guests as party favors.
When it came to the food, we decided that Maui had the right idea in referring to Hei Hei as a boat snack and went with a large tray of chicken. After all, what kid doesn’t love chicken nuggets? We rounded things out with a couple of veggie trays and chips, since the party was around dinner time.
boat snacks!!
For the cake, we usually turn to my best friend who is an incredibly talented baker and decorator. This year, however, she had some things going on and wasn’t able to help us. We went to our local grocery store bakery and were fortunate to find that they had a Moana design they could do. The cake was as delicious as it was adorable and the girls and the guests all loved it.
Finally, the only thing left was the girls’ outfits for their birthday pictures. Since their birthdays are so close to Christmas, we always have pictures professionally made for their birthday and Christmas. I wanted them to compliment each other, but not necessarily to be identically dressed. I was able to find someone who would make them each a Moana shirt with their name and birthday on it and I chose baby Moana for my youngest and teen Moana for my oldest. The shirts turned out really cute and the girls were able to wear them for both their pictures and for their party.
In the end, everything came together nicely and the party was a success. The girls had lots of fun swimming with their friends, eating delicious food, and even received lots of Moana-themed gifts (my oldest finally got the plastic Moana oar she’s been dying for). If your little voyager is a fan of Moana, consider using that as the theme for their next birthday party- there’s lots of ways to get creative and have fun.
