Airplane Birthday Party

If you are planning an Airplane Birthday Party for your little aviator, we’ve got some fun party ideas for you. I haven’t met a boy yet who doesn’t love airplanes. My son, Emerson, is no exception.

If you follow my posts, you know that the invitation is the first piece of every party puzzle. Since this was an Airplane Birthday Party, what would a likely invitation be? You guessed it! I designed a super fun boarding pass and ticket that was anything, but your typical invite.

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Our Airplane Birthday Party boarding pass and ticket invitations are the perfect way to kick off your airplane themed birthday party. Get your guests excited for flight school and give them an opportunity to earn their pilot’s wings. These invitations have a vintage feel and feature a red, olive, and cream colorway. We wrapped these tickets with twine and added a paper dog tag around them. Slid them in a sleek #10 envelope and added a stylist return address wrap. Just talking about these invitations gets me excited. How sad is that? I am totally a paper geek (aren’t these fun facts about me, ha!?)!

Prior to the party, we took a trip to the museum. I typically try to scout out my locations before the party so I can mentally prepare and get a visual of the space I have to work with. So, my bestie Courtney, of Courtney Jade Photography and I went on a mission with our little pilot and shot these incredible photos. They were so amazing that I used the photos on the boarding pass and plane ticket. I wanted to include some of them throughout this post because they are just too cute to leave out. Don’t you think?

We are lucky enough to have an ah-mazing venue locally. Just a short drive away is Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum prides itself on educating and being able to preserve aviation and space history, as well as honoring the service of our veterans. The museum features the Spruce Goose, a massive airplane from World War II, which was made entirely of wood. The museum is incredible.  If you ever have a chance to go, you must check it out!

For the party, we went on a short tour. The adults were far more interest in learning about the planes, than the kids were. I mean, we did have mostly 4 year olds in tow. After the tour, we went on with our celebration. Incorporating the planes and museum into our backdrop, worked out perfectly. I created two massive hanging paper mâché clouds that we flanked on both sides of this sleek wooden Pottery Barn Kids airplane.

I am going to let you in on a little secret. I honestly don’t care what happens to my dessert tables after we’ve taken all of our photos. At this party, the cloud on the right totally fell apart, literally right after we finished taking photos (see second photo below). All that was left was this tiny little cloud puff.  It wa so sad and pitiful looking. Thankfully, I had my tablevogue fitted table cloth because I just threw the rest of the cloud under the table. No harm done and we could move on with the party as planned.

See the little cloud. This was too funny not to include. Haha!

We went with a simple cake. Our cake decorator used our invitation as inspiration for this cake. Though this wasn’t my all-time favorite cake that we’ve featured, it still worked. No matter how many parties you throw, you learn to roll with the “party punches.” Many times things are not “perfect”  (like one of my clouds totally falling apart), but in the end, it all works out. Though the cake wouldn’t have been my pick, it was fine. Lesson learned, I make sure I send an inspiration photo along with all of my cake requests now.

We setup our very own “baggage claim,” which we filled with fun treats for our guests. Thankfully no luggage was lost at this party!  Our cheeky sign, reminded our guests to grab a bag and fill it with party favors. We also added in some “Cotton Candy Clouds” adorned with little airplane stickers (I cut these out with my Silhouette Cameo).

If you haven’t noticed, we are totally obsessed with these custom printed fabric favor bags. I don’t know what it is about these bags, but I just can’t get enough of them. If you are looking for a unique Favor Bag, then you don’t want to miss these. Aren’t they cute?

Okay, I spent a few minutes deep in thought and I’ve come up with a reason why I love these so much! I think it’s because these airplane favor bags are truly custom. Plus, they are a fun keepsake and a bit more eco-friendly because they can be used long after the party is over. I simply adore them.

Here’s a shot of all the favors we gave our guests. You know I am a stickler about things all reinforcing our theme. Some themes/parties, I find it’s a lot easier to find favors that coordinate than other parties. Plus, giving yourself enough time prior to the party really does help. The more time you have, the more you can spread the cost out and the more likely you are to find the perfect favors.

An airplane party wouldn’t be the same with our our “Junior Aviator” sunglasses. We found these perfect aviator glasses at The Children’s Place and they were such a fun party favor. Now all the kids can be sporting aviators and look adorable.

We even gave the kids their own pilot wings. I had a friend make these and all I did was glue a pin to the back so they could be pinned on. When I was little, I loved flying and getting a little plastic pilot wings. Sometimes I wish we could go back to the good ‘ole days.

Though, we now only have minimal in-flight beverage services when we fly. I wanted to include some of the more traditional or nostalgic aspects of flying. Our in-flight beverages included bottles of mini-water and  Jet Fuel, square plastic milk bottles full of apple juice.

We also served some in-flight snacks. Aside from the cake, this included my favorite flying treat. Honey roasted peanuts! I know they don’t really serve these anymore because of all the nut allergies,  but since we were going old school, I wanted to include them.

I’m always looking for ways to incorporate fun details. These propeller straw flags were really easy to make. Anytime I can use my Silhouette Cameo to add more visual interest or create something different, I jump at the opportunity. These are a fun alternative to traditional straw flags.

Lastly, I am terrible about sending out thank you notes. I mean I can’t even get my own Christmas cards out until February half the time. I thought it would be smart to send our guests home with a thank you note, right after the party. We always tell everyone thank you as they are leaving, but this is just a little something extra to let them know how much we really appreciate them.

Sticking with the “Thank You” theme, these little gum ball tubes also have thank you tags attached to them. Even though these are all simple details, it’s all of those little details that really make a HUGE difference.

In case you missed something or wanted a few more photos, here’s a wrap up of our Airplane Birthday Party. We’d love for you to Pin these photos and share them with your friends.

Thank you so much for flying aboard Wilcox Airlines! I’m always happy to answer any questions you might have. We love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below.

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v e n d o r  c r e d i t s

party styling + designs | modern moments designs
photography | courtney jade photography
fitted table cloth | tablevogue 
red airplane | pottery barn kids
venue | evergreen aviation & space museum
red baskets | pottery barn
square plastic milk bottles + bubble gum tubes | hoopla events
aviator sunglasses | the children’s place