It’s here!!! I can finally share my very favorite party of the year where I get to create holiday magic with Brittany Gidley Photography. This is the 4th year we have worked together on throwing an over-the-top holiday party, and I have to say that this year’s fresh, minimalist approach to a Toy Factory Holiday Party turned out even better than I imaged it could. Thank you to Inspired By This for featuring our party today. You can head to their blog to see the full feature or keep reading for more party details below on my blog too!
When I think of the holidays, I think of laughter, joy and TOYS! To celebrate the magic of the season, Brittany and I decided to host a Toy Factory Holiday Party this year. While the idea of a Toy Factory goes hand in hand with the holidays, I love that as a party theme, it is not something you see too often.
When planning this party, I wanted to challenge myself to go beyond just pretty decorations and really focused on creating a fully immersive Toy Factory experience for the guests where toys could be built, laughter could be heard and memories could be made.
I honed in on three main focal points for the party, including a letter writing area, a toy building and packaging station and a dessert bar. While each area served a different purpose, it was the minimalist color pallet, including warm neutrals and a pop of dusty blue, that helped me create a cohesive party space.
To set the tone for the Toy Factory experience, guests began in the letter writing area that was adorned with a gallery wall of printable toy blue prints, a white desk, fur bench, blank paper, colored pencils, a small dried floral arrangement and a magic mailbox that delivers to the North Pole.
Next the guests moved over to the toy building station, where they built wooden toy cars, blocks and other simple wooden toys. The backdrop to the toy building station was an entire wall of working wooden gears that the kids loved to play with! There was also a mini wooden slide and manual conveyor belt to help transport the finished toys into gift boxes.
To add a touch of whimsy (and to create a fun photo backdrop), we built a massive streamer to the side of the toy building station that was constructed with four DIY Streamer Fringe Backdrop Kits by One Stylish Party. I love that the soft neutral colors didn’t overpower the space, and simply added another layer of texture and visual interest.
As with most parties, the dessert bar is almost always my favorite to design, and this one was no exception. The dessert bar was filled with assortment of apothecary jars filled with gourmet candies in soft pastel colors to match the party theme. To add some variety to the dessert bar, I also served custom textured buttercream cupcakes from White Flower Cake Shoppe.
While the sweets were kept simple, I used props to fully bring the Toy Factory theme to life in the dessert bar. Displayed between the jars and stands of sweets, I included a wooden counting toy from Bonjour Fete, stuffed animals by JellyCat, retro slinkies, wooden building blocks and more.
The Toy Factory sign behind the dessert bar was the icing on top of the cake! This sign was created with a 4 ft wooden semi-circle that was hand-lettered by Brenna Claire Calligraphy. To bring in the soft neutral colors in an organic and natural way, I then worked with Ashley’s Floral who created two large dried floral arrangements to flank either side of the Toy Factory sign.
And last but not least, I styled a simple low table with floor pillows for the guests to enjoy their sweet treats after building their toys, and selecting what they wanted to eat. The place settings were kept simple with disposable paper partyware by Meri Meri, layered with napkins by Harlow & Grey. Other details included a mini wooden nutcracker and hand lettered toy car at each place setting, along with a dried floral centerpiece at the center of the table.
The kids had the absolute best time at the Toy Factory party! I honestly can’t say enough about this party theme and the endless opportunities it provides for creating a fun experience for guests of all ages.
Photography: Brittany Gidley Photography // Styling, Streamer Backdrop, Balloons: One Stylish Party // Florals: Ashley’s Floral // Calligraphy: Brenna Claire Calligraphy // Cupcakes: White Flower Cake Shoppe.
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