Family is everything. After having kids and starting a family of my own, I have found that I couldn’t be more proud of where I come from and am eager to share and teach my children more about their heritage. When it came time to plan my son Avery’s third birthday, I knew I wanted it to be special, and somehow incorporate our family history.
With his birthday being in the winter, I decided on a vintage ski jumping theme — a tribute to Avery’s late great-grandpa Ray. Sadly he passed away the year Avery was born, and they never were able to meet. This idea was shaping up well into a particularly special way I could teach my son more about his great-grandfather and some of the amazing feats he accomplished.
Ray was an incredible outdoorsman, “a tough old Swede” as some would call him, and a survivor of World War II. He was an all-around good guy. Around the age of 12, he took up ski jumping with his father and became quite good at it. He jumped many times at the Ski Hill in our hometown of Leavenworth, Washington. I have hiked up to the 90-meter, class A, old wooden ski jump he used, and I simply cannot imagine doing it. He must have had a lot of courage!
With the theme set, I headed over to Minted.com and found the most darling gold foil-pressed invitations of a little winter ski village, complete with a chairlift! I loved this design so much that it became my inspiration for the desserts at the party.
The invitations helped me set the color scheme of navy blue, white and gold. I decided on an afternoon celebration with sledding, hot cocoa, and cake at our home.
When it came to the decor, I knew I wanted to use all of my Grandpa Ray’s ski jumping apparatus.
Avery and I enjoyed an afternoon sitting down with my aunt Kristy and grandmother, going through all of his old things and listening to them tell stories about when he used to ski jump.
My favorite borrowed items I used for the decor were: Ray’s old wooden skis, his ski jumping number, old photos of him in action and newspaper articles, his old trophies, and the little hand-carved wooden ski jumpers that my grandpa had carved and painted. Using all of his old items made the party remarkable, and added such a special, personal touch to it.
My dear friend Josie, of Chalk Chic Mama beautifully wrote out the name of each child invited on kid-size porcelain mugs arranged at the hot cocoa station. After a fun day of sledding, what child wouldn’t want to warm up with hot cocoa and a large selection of marshmallows in a personalized take-home mug? Josie also wrote out the “Let’s warm up” sign - the perfect focal point to draw in cold children after sledding with their friends all day.
Besides all of my grandfather’s personal items - another favorite decor piece of mine at the hot cocoa station was the number three wrapped in greenery - a simple piece achieved by printing out a large number three onto paper and then shaping thin wire to that number.
The dessert table featured my grandfather’s old wooden skis, and cake stands that my husband Aaron & I made to replicate a medal acceptance podium. I had Josie write numbers on the boxes to resemble first, second, & third place, & we used the little wooden ski jumpers my grandpa carved as the cake toppers.
I just loved how it turned out!
My good friend Olivia of Flour + Sugar made three different delicious cakes: a chocolate crunch cake with a chocolate drip, a semi-naked coconut cake and a vanilla cake with raspberry filling. Inspired by the invitations, I had Olivia add cute gingerbread cutouts to one of the cakes to represent a little winter village. She also hand painted the village and chairlifts on French macaroons - one of my favorite touches to the party!
For the children’s table I hung vintage ski poles up on the wall behind the table, and used my grandpa’s old trophy as a vase. Atop each child’s plate was a favor bag filled with gingerbread cookies in the shape of snowflakes that Avery had helped me make the day before his party.
For a quick and easy setup, I used brown kraft paper as table runners, and outlined a placemat at each child’s spot.
A personal touch that I absolutely love adding to birthday celebrations is the milestone chalkboard. Filled with all of Avery’s favorite things, foods, what he likes to do, and sweet memories, Josie blew me away with this one! If you have read any of my other blog posts, you may have caught on that I have had her do a milestone board for EVERY single birthday my boys’ have had - she’s that amazing!
Inspired by the winter ski village invitations from Minted, Josie designed Avery’s milestone board and it was truly a work of art! Such a special keepsake that I will cherish forever!
This unique party design based on my family history holds such a sweet spot in my heart. It was a celebration I hope my son looks back on with fond memories and that he is proud to know where he comes from and where he gets his giant courage.
Vendors:
Invitations: Minted
Milestone Chalkboard, “Darling today you are three” sign, “Let’s warm up” sign, Numbers on cake stands, Children’s names on mugs: Chalk Chic Mama
Cake & Macaroons: Flour + Sugar Home Baker