TUTTI FRUITTI FIRST BIRTHDAY

A tutti fruitti themed party for our Tutti.

Literally the second that Taleen turned 3 months I was trying to figure out what kind of birthday party to throw her.  I had lots of ideas, went back and forth with my sister, and then it kind of hit us with a ton of bricks: tutti fruitti for Tutti.  It’s fitting on so many levels, not only because of her name, but because fruits are absolute FAVORITE & it’s a great alternative to sweets for a kids birthday.  Now you guys know me, I had to make it an entire vibe.  From food to DIY’s, every little detail had some kind of fruit inspiration attached to it. And while I know she had LOADS of fun in the KEEP-ALL-CHILDREN-IN-ONE-PLACE ball pit, it truly was a special day for our family to spend time together.

Probably THE BEST part about this entire thing was that my favorite places in town were kind enough to send us gifts in our favorite form.  From Chopt salad filled with avocados, to Sweet Ava’s Bakery’s adorable cookies, to the PERFECT fruit filled mini kronuts from Cafe Ganache, we were undoubtedly spoiled rotten & happy for WEEKS. Here’s a look into Taleen’s Tutti Fruitti birthday including the invitations, food, and DIY’s.  A HUGE thank you to the Hyatt Place in Uptown Charlotte for hosting my sweet girl’s first birthday.  All of you are ROCK STARS.

For the feast, we served chicken salad sandwiches (with grapes & pecans), home made grape leaves, smoked salmon platter with bagels (with an assortment of fruit vegetables), salad, guacamole, my AMAZING watermelon salad (watermelon, mint leaves, & feta), & strawberry pasta salad.  It was so fun brainstorming different ideas and staying true to theme.

 
 
 
 
 
  
 

CHOPT

If any of you follow us on Instagram, then you know that we are HUUUGE Chopt salad fans.  If you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s a salad company that makes the freshest salads with delicious dressings. They were kind enough to give us the South Western salad with beets topped with two of my favorite dressings.

I usually opt for the Kebab salad (soooo delicious), but not only was the South Western salad the most popular, it was filled with avocado.  And GUESS WHAT? Avocado is a FRUIT. So yeah, they’re awesome.

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
SWEET AVA’S BAKERY

Okay, so not TECHNICALLY fruit, but honestly what kind of birthday doesn’t have cookies? Also, I think it totally counts because they are so freakin’ cute & in the perfect fruit shape! You guys, I fell in love with this bakery at Girl Tribe.  Not only are the cookies beautiful, but they are DELICIOUS. Thick sugar cookies that truly remind me of childhood. So. So. Good.  And honestly, it’s been 2 weeks and I’m still eating them.

She was so sweet (pun intended) to make an assortment of fruits: pineapples, cherries, watermelons, strawberries, lemons & limes- just to make sure all the colors were represented. 

 
 
 
 
 CAFE GANACHE

Well if you aren’t new to our site, then you’ve probably heard about Cafe Ganache a million times. They are the ones that have a Kronut (croissant + donut) food truck, and are hands down our favorite dessert in Charlotte.

Guys. Literally on cloud nine when we received this delivery.  They made mini donuts for Tutti filled with lemon blueberry & white chocolate strawberry.  And because they wanted to make her mama happy, added in my favorite flavor of all time: pecan.  

If you’re ever in Charlotte, please don’t leave here without eating one of these kronuts. They are LIFE CHANGING. I wish I was exaggerating.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Taleen’s party decorations were my favorite & leave favorite part about the party.  Favorite because they were so pretty, but least favorite because they were time consuming.  I decided to make my own photo-op fruit wall out of foam paper, and used zots to hang them on the walls.

I’m pretty artistic when it comes to free-handing fruits apparently, but if you’re not, there are PLLLLENTY of templates on Pinterest.  Also, I bought 14″ balloons for Happy Birthday & her name.  Highchair tutu was handmade.

For gift bags I ordered these, which were the perfect size & filled them colorful bouncing balls, balloons, candy & fruit snacks. Adults also got to take one of these CUTE cups! I was super excited about it.

 

 
 
 

 
 

 
So this part definitely needs it’s own section because it was the BIGGEST WIN of the party. A DIY ball-pit. I ordered this watermelon kiddie pool & filled it with balls.  The kids were all about it AND stayed in one place.  It even got to the point that Taleen wouldn’t get out of it, even for a picture.  Her and her bestie (pictured here) stayed there the ENTIRE TIME & acted like the princesses they were and didn’t move.

 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 I wanted Taleen to channel her inner Carmen Miranda- and you already know they don’t make those for one year olds (SO ANNOYING).  

I wouldn’t let this idea go for the life of me, so I decided to create it myself. Fabric fruit was sewed onto her cute little turban and also around her waist-line (I AM SO DOMESTICATED, I KNOW!) The tutu was already made with the poms poms inside, which I thought was the perfect touch.

Happy birthday to our baby girl, the light in our life.  I hope your life is filled with as much happiness as you are filled with sweetness. I love you. More birthday thoughts, here. 

*This post is partially sponsored by Hyatt Place Uptown Charlotte, but as always, all views our our own.