Jan 19, 20234 min read

Reach "4" the Sky!

Howdy folks! This post is all about Toy Story, a classic movie and a very popular party theme. We had been eagerly awaiting the opportunity for a Toy Story themed party to come our way. We had seen so many cute parties with the "Two Infinity and Beyond" or some other catchy title on Instagram and Pinterest. When one of our own was having a birthday, and we still had not fulfilled that dream, we decided that was our opportunity to make it happen! We titled this one "Reach 4 the Sky."

Alyssa's little guy, Rowan, turned 4 back in November. Every kid, and kid at heart, loves Toy Story, so he was on board with the theme. His "Woody Party" as he called it. Alyssa had just moved into our grandparents home which has a beautiful backyard for hosting, so she had the party at her house. We were again blessed with a warm-ish November afternoon to enjoy time outside and bring out the bounce house. The details are what MADE this party! So many cute things, so let's get to it.

We DIY'd everything we could for this party! It helps when you have your own balloon and party rental business, and experience with cake baking and decorating. All the other food was homemade as well. Parties don't have to break the bank to be special (but we definitely like to splurge from time to time as well).

First and foremost, the balloon backdrop. We did a set of 3 wooden painted arches for the backdrop. Some people refer to these as Chiara backdrops, and they are very popular right now! We've used these a countless number of times for ourselves and clients and they always get a lot of compliments. I love the details we added to the side panel with the very recognizable TS cloud wallpaper from Andy's room. We found the image on Google and printed it with our Cricuit, so they were basically just stickers that were easy to put on and easy to get off. We planned on adding "Reach 4 the Sky" following the curve around the hollow arch, but sadly we ran out of time.

For the colors, we didn't want to be too traditional, but didn't want to stray too far from the colors Toy Story is known for (Woody - yellow, red, blue, cow print; Buzz - purple, white, green, & so on). So we went with muted versions of the traditional Woody colors for our balloons and decor including mustard yellow, off-white, tan, grey-blue, and rusty orange with cow print accents.

Different TS characters were introduced throughout the food and dessert tables. We really got creative with naming foods like "Hamm & Cheese" homemade charcuterie cups, "Slink dogs" pigs-in-a-blanket, "Al's Cheese Balls", and "Snake in my Boot" cheesecake shots in the CUTEST little boot shooters you ever did see. We found a downloadable image from Etsy and printed out Etch A Sketch cards at home for the food labels. Honorable mention goes to the crew of little Army men surrounding the cake, which was homemade by Alyssa. We also topped homemade cupcakes with little Toy Story figurines. Charcuterie boards are very popular right now, and we love it! Alyssa opted for the cups because its easier to serve to a group in a small space, limits waste, and easy to DIY without spending $1,000+ on cheese. If you've got the budget, go for it! Hire a professional and get the board of your dreams. Everybody will love it.

A lot of Woody details were incorporated such as glass mini milk jars wrapped in a bandana print fabric with a Sherriff badge and cow print straw. We also used a yellow and red plaid print tablecloth that looked like Woody's shirt, cloud plates that looked similar again to the cloud wallpaper, and, maybe my favorite detail, gun holster utensil holders and the bandana print napkins.

An easy way to tie in your theme into your food/dessert table is with a letter board with a quote or phrase that goes along with the theme. In this case, we chose one of Woody's popular phrases, "You're My Favorite Deputy." You can also always find cute and inexpensive printables on Etsy if you don't have a letterboard, and you can just print them at home or Office Depot and put them in a frame.

Of course, a bounce house was also involved for the kids enjoyment. We have a personal-use, primary colored, kids bouncer that we pulled out since it was easier to setup than our giant white bouncer. It worked well with the color scheme of the party. We also found the most adorable miniature claw machine filled with little Pizza Planet aliens! The kids had fun with that little machine and everyone was a winner. Next to the claw machine was a make-your-own Forky station with sporks, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, markers and popsicle sticks to put together your very own Forky to take home. Games and crafts are party must-haves!

Lastly, we had a marquee number "4" from Filament Marquee for a little somethin' somethin' in the gift area. Marquees are always a nice addition to a party and very on-trend right now. Pardon my blurry photos, I realized towards the end of the party my phone camera was smudged and a lot of my photos look hazy. Oh well, we're professional balloon artists, not photographers. Although, we really should start hiring a professional photog to better capture these events. Quality of photos can make a huge difference. But I digress.

Hope you enjoyed this theme as much as we did! Check back soon for another party feature!