Lions and tigers and…rhinos! Jessica Lee Davis planned this Jungle Animal Themed Carnival First Birthday for her adorable baby boy, Jonathan, with help from the talented stylists of Cana’s Miracle. We are always amazed by the creativity that goes into Korean Dol celebrations, and this one is just bursting with incredible details! I especially love the tradition of the baby choosing an item indicative of his or her future, also known as dol-ja-bi.  And with beautiful, illustrated paper details and hand-painted jungle animals floating around a stunning dessert table, I’d say everyone’s a winner at this celebration!

PARTY HIGHLIGHTS to look out for:

• Three tier circus elephant topped striped & ruffles birthday cake + a balancing elephant topped smash cake
• Watercolor animal labels & table numbers + a beautiful pop-up, hand-painted jungle animals invitation
• Party hat wearing Rhino, Lion & Tiger topped cupcakes + a penguin nestled in ‘snow’ frosting
• Beautiful tall blooms, confetti filled balloons & floating balloon place cards
• Plush animal & feather boa photo booth props + amazingly intricate balloon creations

PARTY DETAILS as told by Jessica…

I worked closely with Cana’s Miracle to create a one of a kind, carnival first birthday party for my son, Jonathan. We wanted to create custom invitations that incorporated the BIG 5 jungle animals that were reminiscent of our honeymoon trip to South Africa. Jonathan’s invitation had a small gold string (through the elephant’s trunk) which you can pull to open up to see a full landscape of the BIG 5 animals that were displayed in a pop up format. We thought this would be a fun way to design an invitation and allow our guests to display in their kids’ rooms. We incorporated these same illustrations (all hand painted and custom drawn) in his party favors and as the main centerpiece in his birthday table.

Jonathan’s birthday table was really special — we designed floating life sized animals (all hand painted) coupled with large balloons filled with confetti. Throughout the birthday party venue, we incorporated fun carnival games such as a photo booth, balloon making man, etc. Keeping with the Korean tradition, we also incorporated traditional Korean “Dol” activities (first birthday) such as dol-ja-bi game (Jonathan has to crawl towards an item that symbolizes his future career) and we had a traditional Korean rice-cake table which is symbolic of good fortunes. Paul and I wore my parents’ traditional Korean outfits that they wore when they got married 30 years ago! Jonathan’s Dol outfit was custom made from Korea. Everyone had a blast and really enjoyed the event. The combination of traditional Korean elements and the modern carnival theme was perfect for our little boy.