Surprise Mermaid Party!

My little girl asked for a "surprise mermaid party" for her birthday.  

We worked on the invitation together and she provided detailed art direction -
A blue top and purple tail!

We had fun decorating for the party before she left the house to make
her grand entrance.  This mermaid banner designed by 
Ham and Pea was from her birthday party last year.  
Mermaids are still her favorite!

My daughter helped decorate the table with her seashell collection.  

Usually I do all the baking for my parties, 

but with so much going on preparing for the book launch,
I can only take credit for the chocolate seashells.

 Imagine my surprise to see my her reaction when she walked through 

the door.  SHE was surprised!  Children are so funny and unpredictable.

The cupcakes were amazing!  

My girls have food allergies and these delicious egg-free, 

nut-free cupcakes were baked by The Joy of Cupcakes.  

The kids were so excited to have them.

The cake pops were a lot of fun and also from The Joy of Cupcakes.  

This beautiful chocolate mousse cake was baked by Pastries by Randolph, 

and honestly the best mousse cake I've ever had.

I just love the pretty chocolate ribbon on top of the cake.

The kids were tickled silly with curiosity from the adorable 

goldfish-in-a-bag soap party favors, thanks to Craft That Party.

Mermaid guests made tiaras from beads and pipe cleaners,
and the handsome pirates made pirate hats.  

It was heartwarming to hear my little mermaid say,

"This is the best party of my whole life!"  Aww... how cute is that?

She has the sweetest friends to celebrate with!