This is my niece, Lu, who is about to turn three. She also just became an older sister, so her mom (my sister-in-law) isn't exactly in party planning mode with a newborn. To help her out, and because I'm a nerd for all things fun and pretty, I volunteered to throw Lu's birthday party this year. 

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Name: Lala, 4
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Ever since my daughter was introduced to Lalaloopsies in December of last year, she has been hooked! I love the look of the environments in which the characters live; it really lends itself to having a handmade look. I didn’t realize just how deep I would get into hand making everything. I went a little Lala handmade crazy.

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Name: Kingston, 2
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Our son Kingston just turned two. When it came time to start planning his second birthday party, it was important to us to come up with a theme that was something he would love and something that represented his two-year-old interests. One of his favorite toys is a wooden train set we gave him for Christmas this year. We loved the aesthetic of vintage locomotive imagery, so we decided to go with a vintage train theme.

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We're big fans of furoshiki, the Japanese art of fabric wrapping. While it's often promoted as an eco-minded method for wrapping gifts, we can't think of a better way to put some colorful fabric to use than as a carry-all for a little vino and a simple picnic!

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Name: Max & Molly, 1
Location: Stamford, CT

For my twin's first birthday party I decided on a Milk & Cookies theme. Since I have a twin girl and boy, I wanted to stick with a gender-neutral theme. I had seen some cute parties with this theme on Pinterest and liked it because at one they could finally have milk and who doesn't love cookies! Our colors were brown white and green.

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 Last night I was lucky enough to attend a remarkable event — a warm, festive, stimulating gathering in which a family opened their home to over 60 people, some friends, some friends-of-friends, and some several more steps removed (like me). The friend I went with said something like, "With everything going on in the world, this openness and trust is all the more amazing. And encouraging." 

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Name: Kyler, 1
Location: Orlando, FL

For my daughter Kyler's first birthday, I knew I had to do a nautical theme because they are just too cute! Everything was a DIY project since I created everything myself. I wanted to keep the costs to a minimal but still make a big impact.

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Name: Harper, 1
Location: Austin, TX

When our daughter turned one, we wanted to throw her as wonderful a birthday as she was! Inspiration came from her being a June baby, and her birthstone is Pearl. The pearl party was born. 

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On first glance, the events in my new book The Art of the Party are large and extravagant, but the truth is that those events are filled with smart ideas that utilize inexpensive, highly accessible, every day materials that can be lassoed for parties of any scale – even a dinner party for six at home! 

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Name: Casper, 2
Location: La Crosse, WI

We kept things pretty casual for Casper's second birthday, opting to focus on the details to make it a special day. Cas loves animals so we went with a safari theme. 

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