The Ultimate Golf Birthday Party for a Little Girl

My Favorite Golf Party Ideas

White Circular Photo Backdrop

This was probably my favorite creative aspect of the party…  I worked with my friend Kelsey of That Balloon Girl on this concept. Let’s face it – a party isn’t a party these days until without a photo opp, right? If you don’t Instagram it, it basically didn’t happen! Just kidding. Kind of.

Seriously, though, I knew I wanted an epic backdrop for guests and the birthday girl alike to take photos. Through scrolling Instagram and Pinterest, I became obsessed with the idea of a white circular backdrop. After all, it somewhat mimics the look of a golf ball. And of course, the backdrop had to include balloons in our pink and green color palette.

But what really set this backdrop apart was the custom signage. I worked with Kim at Post Studio Projects (plus had a little help from Shawna Collins) to create the perfect sign for our photo backdrop. First, I decided to go with a phrase that was specific to Elle, but not necessarily specific to this birthday, because I wanted the flexibility to use it again. So, I went with the phrase, “let’s c-elle-brate!” — a play on words with her name. Second, I wanted the look of a neon sign. And the font and colors and materials chosen really made that happen. The hot pink script lettering on a rose gold mirrored backdrop really made this shine!

DIY Customized Pink Golf Flags

This small, easy DIY project probably had the biggest impact for the smallest effort!

Basically, we used the golf course practice green for a three-hole mini golf course for the kids. However, we swapped out the usual flags for these blank nylon golf flags which I ordered online. The flags are available in a myriad of colors (literally close to 100 color options!). I obviously went with bright pink.

Now, if you plan ahead, I’m sure you can imagine all sorts of fancy ways to customize your golf flags. I however did not allow enough time for all the cute details I would have wished, but that’s okay. I improvised!

I made my idea work by picking up these gold glitter letter stickers at the nearest craft store and applying them the morning of the party. I first spelled “Elle” and then “two”, and then I had to get creative with the letters available, so I spelled “dos” — which is quite fitting and quite funny, as that’s what Elle says if you ask her how old she is!

Golf Cart Decorated with Balloons

If you know me, you know balloons are pretty much my love language. So of course, I had to incorporate more balloons. And when your toddler loves riding in golf carts, you definitely have to cover a golf cart with balloons!

I simply told Kelsey to make it look like balloons were spilling out of the golf cart – and she took it from there! The result was so fun.

Golf Themed Cake and Balloon-Filled Number

Some details were completely planned out, while others just fell into place… I wasn’t sure exactly how or where I wanted to stage the cake table. However, the hot weather dictated that we place it in this shaded spot. To bring more color to the table, so to speak, we brought in this balloon-filled number two.

It turned out to be the perfect spot to sing happy birthday to my sweet two year old!

And can we talk about how darling this pink and green golf-themed cake is? Again, I gave very little creative direction to Becca Cakes, beyond sharing my initial Pinterest board with her. I believe in choosing vendors whose work you admire, whose talents you believe in, and who, in turn, understand your creative vision. Then, let them do their thing! The results will be awesome.

Personalized Touches for the Guests

I love having a warm welcoming spot for guests to stop by upon their arrival at a party and/or upon their departure. It’s always nice to have a guest book, and it’s always nice to have favors. Depending on the party set up, sometimes it’s convenient to combine these into one area.

Guest Sign-in Book

As for the guest sign-in, each year, I select a book and have all of our guests write a sweet note to Elle on the pages of said book. Once again, if I would have planned further in advance, I probably would have searched until I found the perfect golf-themed book. However, that didn’t happen. So I settled for grabbing Gray Malin’s book Be Our Guest from our home before leaving the house that morning. In the end, that book served the purpose quite well.

Personalized Favors

In terms of favors, this one was a no-brainer: personalized golf balls, of course! Be sure to leave ample lead time for this personalized touch.

Besides the balls, we also had a plastic toddler-friendly golf club for each kiddo. They enjoyed playing with the clubs at the party – plus then got to take the club home. Win win!

Cute Golf-Themed “Punny” Signage

To tie it all together, nothing feels more personal than some hand-lettered signage. And why not keep the wording fun and juvenile, given that this is a kids birthday party afterall? So, I conjured up the wording, and then my friend Kristara beautifully painted the words on clear acrylic.

In case you can’t quite read the sign, it says:

Thanks fore swinging by  my “par-tee”.

I hope you had a ball.

Love, Elle

 

Golf Themed Party Food Ideas

Speaking of golf-themed “punny” ideas and cute signage… I took the same approach to the menu for the day.

The food menu for the day included the following:

• “Club” sandwiches
• Masters Tournament inspired pimento cheese sandwiches
• “Chip shots” — chips and dips
• “Sand traps” — rice krispie treats
• “Birdies” — chicken salad cups
• “Par-faits” — fresh fruit and yogurt parfaits
• “Hole in one” —  powdered sugar donut holes

And the drink menu for the day included Arnold Palmers (half iced tea, half lemonade), as well as a “19th hole” drink station stocked with mimosas and wine.

DIY Golf Ball Flower Arrangements

Sometimes when I’m planning a party, flowers are a major component. Other times, florals take a back seat to other elements. In this case, I had plenty going on with the other party elements. And I had already eaten up my budget with other ideas. So, admittedly, flowers were a bit of an after thought this time.

The morning of the party, I simply picked up some fresh flowers at Whole Foods and utilized some glass vases that I keep on hand. Before filling the vases with flowers, I just filled the vases about halfway with golf balls. And then I arranged the flowers and finally added in a bit of water.

This DIY golf ball  flower arrangement idea is a great idea to add maximum impact with minimum cost or effort.

Beyond that, I have another easy DIY decor idea for a golf party… Just fill various sized vases with golf balls in your party’s color palette. It’s at once easy and impactful. I suggest varying the size of your vases. I personally prefer various heights of tall slender vases like this one and this one.

Thank you, friends and family!

Finally, no party is complete without the people. So, I just want to extend a big, heartfelt thank you to the friends and family who celebrated with us. Your love means the world to us.

And a big thank you also to all my creative friends who helped bring my vision to life. All credits and sources are listed below.

Creative credits and sources:

Balloons : Kelsey Onstott, That Balloon Girl

Cake : Rebecca Pham, Becca Cakes

Calligraphy signs : Kristara Schnippert, Kristara Calligraphy

Flags : Gettysburg Flag Works

Laser cut signage : Post Studio Projects (with creative help from Shawna Collins)

Location : Royal Oaks Country Club

Outfits : Elle’s dress by cuteheads, Elle’s sandals by Freshly Picked; my dress by Kate Spade, my shoes by Loeffler Randall

Personalized golf balls : pink golf balls, green golf balls

Photography : Alyssa Wible, Alyssa Renee Made

Toddler golf clubs : Target