The hills are alive…with an amazingly beautiful party! Nicole Gould of Million Dollar $mile Celebrations celebrated her daughter’s birthday with this Sound of Music Inspired “Bloom & Grow” Party, filled with movie-inspired decor, activities and the cutest floral sweets! One of my favorite things is the emphasis on the song, “Edelweiss,” (my favorite of the movie). The full “Bloom & Grow” setup for guests to plant their own blooms is so clever! There are so many thoughtful details that are not to be missed!

PARTY HIGHLIGHTS to look out for:

• Floral painted cake pops, blooming yellow macaron tower & hand-stitched aprons to keep guests “clean & bright”
• Girly goat topped cupcake, twig wreath topped cupcakes + DIY twig & flower head wreaths
• Picnic baskets filled with tea, to drink with jam & bread + brown paper packages tied up with string
• “Bloom & Grow” station with vials of raindrops on roses, mini pots, seeds & soil to grow your own Edelweiss
• Bright copper kettle floral vase centerpiece + “So long, farewell…” pansy filled lollipop party favors

PARTY DETAILS as told by Nicole…

My little Charlotte is an “old soul — she’s wise beyond her years and has always found an appreciation for the finer things in life. Her favorite actress is Julie Andrews and adores the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein score from The Sound of Music. As I watch her “sprout up” right in front of my eyes, I proposed a Sound of Music party that focused on our favorite song “Edelweiss” for her 6th birthday. We called the party “Bloom & Grow Forever,” and for the 6th year in a row, we asked guests to bring donations to two specific charities that are very near and dear to our hearts. This year’s celebration contributed to the new Charley’s Bear Hug program at Barrow Cleft & Craniofacial Center at St. Joseph’s Hospital that gifts teddy bears created by Cleft Palate Foundation. Read more about how our little Charlotte’s dream inspired our family to begin a program to give ‘stitched-up’ teddy bears to new infants born with cleft lips and palates here…

The Décor

Well… Arizona is pretty much the furthest thing from the gorgeous mountains in Austria, but our neighborhood park proved to be the perfect, lush setting for our afternoon affair. We stretched blankets across the lawn and carried a few items across street to set the scene. I wanted the party to be lightly kissed with the Sound of Music theme and attempted to incorporate subtle movie elements, from song lyrics to moments from our favorite scenes. One of my favorite touches were the “drapes” hung behind the dessert table that just “happened” to be the same print as the 18 adorable aprons that Great-Nana Norma sewed for each party guest. These hand-made gifts were labeled with a tag created by Desiree at PaperCandee reading, “An apron to keep you Clean & Bright!” I do think Maria would approve. Brown paper packages, sheet music, copper kettles along with adorable signage from PaperCandee and party decorations from Petite Party Studio helped tie this theme together… with string!

The Activities

Upon arriving to the lakeside soiree, the ladies were given grapevine wreaths and were allowed to pick the ‘blooms’ that were scattered in the grass. The gals sat in the shade and wove silk flowers, in various shades of yellow, green and white, into their crowns. They placed their crowns on their beautiful little heads and wore them throughout the party. Next, we covered up the girls’ pretty little outfits with an apron and sat them around the planting station brilliantly designed by Grandma Dianne using an old wooden ladder and fence pickets. The lovely, little ladder sat in the center of the party and held all the necessary tools to garden successfully. The girls knelt on gardening cushions and listened to expert gardener, Nana Wendy, explain the planting process. Each girl received a tiny terra cotta pot, an adorable bag of soil, a paper packet of seeds (sewn by gardening expert mentioned above), a wooden soil scoop, a tube of water, and a plant marker. The girls adored ripping open the paper packet of “small and white” flower seeds, and drizzling the “raindrops for roses” water on top of their labor of love. We placed them in the sunshine for just a drop of golden sun! The last activity was a very special surprise for the birthday girl. Sarah Vannell, a professional musician, arrived at the party to sit in the Sunday sun and sing Sound of Music classics to the little ladies hanging on every word. The well-loved classics floated through the air and captivated the young crowd.

The Treats & Eats

After the lilting and melodious musical performance, the guests found their way onto the picnic blankets and discovered a light fare of food and drink waiting for them. Inside woven baskets, sat little bottles of tea to drink with jam and bread! Who doesn’t love a miniature jar of jam and fresh croissant tied up with string?!? Then, the little ladies carried their picnic baskets to an incredible display of sweets to top off the perfect afternoon. The jaw-dropping cake stands from Petite Party Studio displayed an array of yummy morsels of edible art! From the hand-painted, intricate floral details of Cake Pop My Heart’s treats to the beautiful and delicate cupcake toppers sent from Brittany from Edible Details, it was a sight fit for one of the Captain’s elegant Austrian balls! Melissa, from The Baked Equation, captured the theme perfectly with beautiful icing work that just makes you smile. Chocolate covered Oreos, petite white chocolates, and three-tier tower cookies from Roni’s Sugar Creations were some of the most decadent and dreamy desserts I have ever tasted! Lastly, I was so very lucky that Nikki, a very talented friend, amazing party blogger, and master to all things gorgeous lives so close by and agreed to create the amazing French macaron tower and charming fondant goat from our favorite puppet show scene! Nikki’s ideas and innovations on Tikkido have always inspired me and so thankful her masterpieces ended up on Charlotte’s dessert display.

We said “So long, farewell” by handing out flowers from Nana Wendy’s garden captured sweetly in lollipop form. Yes, the pansies are edible! It was a day filled with perfect memories for a little girl whose heart is filled with the Sound of Music!