Flower Power!

As previously mentioned, Kate's birthday party took on sort of a flower theme. Even though it was kind of an accident/coincidence, I think it turned out to be pretty cute!

I guess it kind of started coming together the day my MIL and I met with the balloon lady. The balloon lady is a very nice Korean woman who goes to Tanna's parents' church. She has a balloon business and also sets up the traditional head table for a Korean 1st birthday party.

The Birthday Girl!

I guess I should back up and explain that the first birthday in Korean culture is a big deal. I mean, I know it's a big deal in lots of cultures, but for Koreans it can be a reeeeeaaaaallllly big deal. I've even read where some can be compared to, say, a small wedding reception. Now, Kate's wasn't on that scale by any means ... but I'm just saying that to give you a bit of background ... in case you weren't familiar with a Korean 1st b-day. More on some of the traditional stuff in an upcoming post.

So we're meeting with the balloon lady (who does the head table as well), and she has this huge notebook of photos from parties where she has done the decorations. Lots of fun pictures and great ideas. Well, I keep seeing these cool flower balloons, and they were among my favorites in her notebook. I told her that those looked good. We discussed a few other things, and made some plans, etc.

The head table and some of the flower balloon decorations
(There were actually more flower balloons, but I am kind of waiting on better photos. The lighting wasn't the best, so a lot of the photos are really dark. Anyway ... Doesn't she do a great job with all the decor?)

Later that day, after we got home, I was talking to my sister about party-plan progress. We were talking cakes, which I had yet to order. A flower cake came up in conversation (she had done one for Riley's 1st birthday), and I really liked that idea.

One of the flower-shaped cupcake cakes for Kate's party

Then I realized that Kate's hanbok--which Tanna's parents had brought back from Korea--had flower detailing on it. So pretty! Not only that, but the treat bags I'd picked up from the dollar store earlier that week had flowers all over them!

Voilà! A flower theme was born!

Kate's birthday hanbok featured flower details--so pretty!

Turns out ... the treat bags I'd picked up from the dollar store had flowers on them, too!

Later, at Target, I saw these cute tissue packs with a flower print on them, and they gave me an idea. I thought I could use them in the treat bags, make little labels that read "Bless you!" (thanks, Kleenex, for the concept), and also include the Bible verse about Jesus taking the children in His arms and blessing them. Oh yeah, and put a little flower on the label, too.

The flower tissue packs and labels.
I thought they turned out pretty cute!

So there you have it. That's the story of how Kate's 1st birthday party evolved to include a flower theme. Flower Power! And ... if you have read this far ... bless you!

P.S. The treat bags also included a little bag of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies, gum, Korean magnet, and bubbles.