One of the things I love about having a daughter (as opposed to a son) is that we get to do fun girly stuff together. Of course we like superheroes, too. We cheer for Wonder Woman and girl empowerment stories. No weak girly girls around here! But I also like getting a second chance to enjoy the things that I may or may not have done as a little girl myself, like dressing up as unicorns or pretending to be graceful ballerinas.
So when my little one asked for a butterfly party for her fifth birthday, I complied happily because (a) little girls look super cute dressed as butterflies, and (b) I can’t think of a sweeter age for her to be a girly butterfly than now.
As for the party, I love planning events, and planning a special one for her meant all the excitement minus the stress of working under someone’s else timeline. My vision for the party was to keep it casual and super relaxed, with a touch of chic. Because living in a tropical paradise comes with a few unique benefits, I took advantage of the huge outdoor palapa in our complex to throw a butterfly-themed “pool garden party” that included fun ability games, art making, pool time, bubbles, butterfly-shaped sandwiches, bug-catching nets, a butterfly piñata, and for the adults, refreshing sangria.
As I started working on the décor and mementos, I discovered a new event planning buddy that just so happens to enjoy the party preparations as much as I do. We had fun scouring through Pinterest boards for butterfly party ideas, choosing our favorites and coming up with our own, too.
In the end, the whole process gifted us hours of quality time together during the planning and prep stages, and loads of fun and happy memories resulting from her special day itself.
The gallery below shows some of our favorite party decoration ideas.