Using 80’s hip hop and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air as inspiration, Dina of Deliciously Darling Events whipped up this INCREDIBLE  DJ “Jazzy Jad” & The Fresh Prince themed birthday party for her son Jad, who happens to be a big fan of music and DJs already. And even though this is a third birthday party, I’m pretty sure there are lots of “grown-ups” that would LOVE a little Fresh Prince flair at their party too…myself included! After all, this party looks pretty HOPPIN’! ;)

Sidenote: I thought about trying to rap a clever intro for this party, then quickly realized it would be best to just let the pictures do the talking – although if you’re like me you’ll start to hear Will Smith rapping when you look at them anyways! “Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down …”

PARTY HIGHLIGHTS to look out for:

• Graffiti “DJ Jazzy Jad” cake with AMAZING fondant work + 3 layers of neon-cakey-goodness!
• Colorful cake pops with (homemade) tiny fondant microphones
• Clever “Tag Your Cupcake” activity with cans of edible dessert spray
• Paper Boom Box garlands & centerpieces + cassette tape lunch boxes
• A “graffiti” wall, DJ dance floor, “Pimp Your Chain” station & more outdoor fun!

PARTY DETAILS, as told by Dina…

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Theme

My children are my sweetest little clients. So when it came time to plan my little munchkin’s 3rd birthday I instantly knew it had to be DJ or music related. My little one LOVES to break dance and is quite the little hip hop enthusiast, so “DJ Jazzy Jad and the Fresh Prince” it was! I mixed bright neon colors with some awesome 80’s hip hop elements and of course added a few dashes of the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in there! Complete with a DJ, dance floor, graffiti wall, tag-your-cupcake station and a pimp your chain {necklace making} station – the kids (and parents) really had a blast.

TableScape & Decor

Our colors were lime green, orange, blue & yellow. The decor centered around classic 80’s DJ elements like microphones, boom boxes, turn tables and who could forget cassette tapes? Piggy Bank Parties created the PERFECT custom printables package to match the theme! The DJ Jazzy Jad custom logo was incredible and served as the foundation for the whole party. I loved the design so I had it put on everything, even the cake, lol! Piggy Bank Parties even designed a microphone favor box! Let me just say that they looked amazing and the kids were really excited to see what was in them!

I created colorful boom box garlands to hang over the bright and colorful kids tables. Each place setting had DJ-esque sunglasses, a dollar sign necklace and neon hat. The adorable cutlery created by The Sucre Shop had to be my favorite part of the whole table. It’s the little details that make me giddy! Of course my kids tables aren’t complete without a little floral centerpiece and paper boom box element.

Dessert Table

Cue the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song! The dessert table’s focal point was the amazing DJ Jazzy Jad graffiti logo by Piggy Bank Parties. Enlarged and printed on poster board, it was the perfect backdrop! My friend Sandra came over and sewed the super cute circle garland, as I haven’t learned how to thread my sewing machine (I wish I were kidding but it’s true, lol).

The gorgeous cake was created by Cakes by Darcy and matched Piggy Bank Parties design perfectly! Special thank you to the amazing and ultra talented Brittany from Edible Details! She created these amazing fondant cake toppers! The microphone, boom box and spray paint can matched so perfectly. She also created the adorable cupcake toppers. The table also included other sweet items like: Dough Babies from Dough-a-Deer (so yummy), mini cookies n’ cream, cupcakes, gluten free cupcakes and gluten free whoopie pies (displayed on Pastry Pedestals), and incredibly artistic sugar cookies by Yummy Delicious Cookies by Whimsical Originals. My friend Neveen and I made the peanut butter & oreo push up pops, brownie push up pops and lemon cake pops with homemade fondant microphones!  I added a few adorable DJ toys like mini record players and a mini boom box from Hey Yo Yo (I love that shop!). No dessert table can be complete without a little glittery awesomeness from The Purple Pug! She created the adorable DJ Jazzy Jad banners.

Candy & Favors Table

I have a slight fear of breakable glass jars, little kids and pavement so I opted to create a candy table that was more like a concession stand. Trays were sprayed with chalk board spray paint and I even made the two tiered tray in the center with a cake plate and some tacky putty. I filled the concession stand with all the candy I remembered as a child. It was so fun seeing the kids discover pop rocks. With the blessing of The Marshmallow Studio, I created marshmallow microphone pops for the kiddos. It is a really fun activity to do. No table is complete without custom lollipops from Vintage Confections. The music note lollipops and number 3 lollipops were just beautiful. The beautiful “West Philadelphia Born and Raised” print was from Two Paper Dolls. It fit the party so perfectly! If you notice a little chevron table runner action, that is the beautiful work of A to Zebra Celebrations!

The kids enjoyed visiting the favor display! Jumbo icecream cups (from Shop Sweet Lulu’s) were filled with little goodies – including 80’s themed rubber duckies, slap bracelets and blow up microphones. Treat bags with tooth brushes were also handed out.

Activities

It was a beautiful day for an outdoor party! A water slide and little pools kept the little ones cool while DJ Willy Wow heated things up! The kids (and parents) LOVED dancing to 80’s jams. He was incredible. Other activities included a “Tag your cupcake” station, “Pimp your necklace” station and a graffiti wall! The kids loved decorating cupcakes and making necklaces, but they flipped over the graffiti wall. It was so easy to put together. All you need is an old sheet or curtain, some plastic squirt bottles and washable non-toxic kids paint. Fill your squirt bottles about 3/4 of the way with the washable non-toxic paint and fill up the rest of the bottle with water – give your squirt bottles a shake (after the caps are on) and you are ready to graffiti a wall. The end result, a really cool piece of art that I have hung up in the kids’ room.

Attire

My little man’s t-shirt was custom designed by the Rainbow Alternative. I love it when clothes are an actual work of art, and this Fresh Prince t-shirt really was! I have to point out the cutest little cassette tape necklace from Hey Yo Yo. So awesome. Mom & Dad sported a T-shirt from Two Paper Dolls that matched the “West Philadelphia Born and Raised” Print on the candy table.

It was such a fun day! My boys really boogied their hearts out. The best was seeing DJ Jazzy Jad on the dance floor. Thank you to the amazing Lauren of Lauren Nicole Studios for capturing such beautiful moments that I will always cherish!