In less than two weeks Mavrick will turn 2 (craziness!). Last year, for his first birthday I went all out with a vintage newspaper boy theme and told my family & friends that next year would be a very basic party. I told them not to expect much actually and I would only make big parties every 5 years. (seeing I have Sienna now, that makes a big party every 2 years – pretty good )

Well the designer in me is dying. I can’t just have a blah party… it’s against designer code. (ha … totally made that up) So, I decided to do two things to stay somewhat true to the idea of a “basic party”. Last year, I went all out with food and it wasn’t friendly on the wallet. Even if I basically made everything myself (with the help of family/friends) it was rather time consuming (and who has time now, with 2 kids) So this year I decided to do two things : #1 Opt for a dessert only party (which is more manageable than cold/hot food then sweets) not to meaning less expensive and #2 Seeing I’m on a budget I decided to go to the dollar store for party decor.

I don’t have a specific theme, just colors and patterns….can you believe the whole party is designed around red, turquoise and lime green bunting I found for 2$?! I designed the invitation last night – simply nothing spectacular, but it give guests a little hint on what to expect.

I will use pretty much the most inexpensive decor items you can find and make this party amazing for very little. There will be crepe streamers, balloons, bunting and colored plates, glasses and napkins for that much needed punch of color. Now the easy part is done, now to figure out the desserts.

Anyone have suggestions?