This year for Ethan's 6th Birthday Party we had planned a fun Art party at home with his school friends though a few weeks beforehand he decided he would really rather just go rollerskating (insert, tiny Mummy sob here). We have never had a 'venue' party before and I did struggle a little with the thought of no creative control shall we call it ;)
Ethan has had a pretty rough year. After having tummy issues for the last couple of years, he got really unwell just before Easter. After various testing Ethan was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease. (In people with coeliac disease the immune system reacts abnormally to gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats), causing small bowel damage. There is no cure and the only treatment is to completely remove gluten from the diet, permanently.)
This was disappointing news for us (yes I know we can manage this disease & it could be worse) but still you never want to hear that your child has health issues, especially ones that will be there for the rest of their lives. So a big lifestyle change for Ethan and our family. Ethan has been amazing in coping with his diagnosis and we are so proud of how well he has adapted. Though it has had its emotional challenges as whilst he understands pretty much whats going on, try getting a 5 year old to see reason at a friends birthday party when they want to help themselves to the food table, have a piece of the birthday cake or eat the sweets from the party bag, when they just cant anymore!
Wanting a venue party now poses the 'food allergy' issue for us, but we were lucky this time that a local rollerskating rink allow 'self catered' parties so we were able to bring our own food (& I got to set up a small dessert table & bring some pretty decorations, yay! )
Because we were having it at a venue we decided to make it a mostly family celebration - Ethan's cousins, Aunties/Uncles and Grandparents and then he was allowed to invite 3 school friends.
So whilst birthday parties are always special in our family, I wanted to make his day extra special this year so rollerskating it was! I also wanted almost 100% of the food & party bag goodies to be gluten free, so he didn't have to be limited at his own party.
It was a lovely morning, full of laughs and lots of stacks & face plants (mostly by the oldies).
As the party was a pretty last minute theme change, we chose an invitation and based our colours around this, Orange & Black. I only had 15 - 20 minutes to set up but I was happy with how it turned out and ended up loving the colours together!
No professional photos for this party, so here are a few personal photos, thanks to my sister Mel for snapping these for me, as I ran out of time.
Kate xxx
Vendor Credits
Big thanks to the businesses that helped with our special day! Big thanks to the ladies who did cakes & cookies and for doing these gluten free for us!
Piece of Cake Parties & Celebrations - Styling & Set Up, Paper Eskimo Black Tie Plates & Cups, Orange Chevron Paper Straws, Orange Stripe Hats, Wooden Cutlery, Baking Cups, Candles & Party Buckets and contents.
The Trendy Butterfly - Invitations, Backdrop Design, Party Bag Tag Design, Place card Design.
Cassey Ingram - Cake
Niknaks Sweetest Treats - Cupcakes
Kate's Cookies - Roller skate Cookies
Ellenbrook Party Shop - Balloons
Skate International - Venue
Hello and welcome :) My name is Kate and I live in WA with my gorgeous family, hubby Anthony, our two little boys Ethan and Declan and our little girl Paige. After having my boys I also developed a love of birthday parties. I absolutely love planning and organisation so loved having the opportunity to get creative and make their day really special.
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