This picture was taken after Ellie’s party, but it perfectly sums up how much fun she had.

This year, we decided to throw a picnic party for Ellie. I chose a red, white and aqua color scheme for the decorations. Here’s a photo of how the room looked before everyone came.

I bought balloons, hung ribbons from the chandelier and put spray roses in jam jars tied with red polka dot ribbons. I’m in love with the red cherry tablecloth we picked up from Crate and Barrel.

The checked plates have ants on them, and the paper napkins are striped. I used a small picnic basket to store the plates and put utensils and straws in more jam jars.

To go with the theme, we served “picnic food.” I set up a cheese board with cheddar, gouda and manchego. All sophisticated enough for adults, but kid-friendly. Grapes and crackers rounded it out.

I bought the butterflies for the cake on Etsy. It and all the cupcakes were made by our friend Jackie. She is an amazing baker. If you’re in KC, you should definitely try her out for your next party.

Ellie loves fruit, so it was a must-have on the menu. Strawberries, raspberries and blackberries were sprinkled with vanilla sugar and were a hit with the adults and kiddos. You can’t see them well, but we served the fruit in little cherry printed paper bowls.

We had planned to spread picnic blankets outside, but it was too rainy and wet, so we moved them into Ellie’s playroom. She didn’t seem to mind.

Each guest received little Chinese takeout boxes secured with flowered washi tape as favors. Inside were bubbles and playdoh.