Raylee is turning two this month, and I can’t believe it. I had originally decided we would do a very small, simple party for her. But then we found out we were expecting and we would have the gender ultrasound just days before her party. Not to mention, we just love both our families (big families) and we wanted a chance for them all to see our new house, especially after we had completed so many projects. So we went big! I decided to do a bee theme and host a bee-day party that doubled as a gender reveal party.
We ended up having around 50 people come, so thank goodness we have a pretty big house. Even so, it was still crazy crowded. But everyone gets along great, so we just snuggled in close and had fun! Here are all the party details!
Bee-Day Party Details
The Invitations
I found some cute invites on Pinterest that went with my theme, and my cousin who is a graphic designer recreated them for me. She did a great job.
The Decorations
We decorated with yellow and black balloons all over the place. I had a sign on our front door that said, “Welcome to our Honeycomb.” I also had a sign in the kitchen near the food that said, “Bee Happy.” I had a sign on our back door that said, “He or She? What will it BEE?” We had a banner that said “Happy Bee-Day” hanging above all the presents. There was a also a little yellow chalkboard at the entrance that said, “Happy 2nd Bee-Day Raylee!” I didn’t realize we had so many signs! I had two vases of yellow flowers — they were gorgeous. We also used yellow and black table clothes, and I had a few decor pieces already that were bee-themed.
The Food
For our bee-day party, we didn’t do a full meal, but a lot of snack foods. I tried to stick to our theme as much as possible. My husband was begging to make wings for everyone, so we had “Bee wings” — two different flavors. I also got chicken nuggets from Chic-Fil-A. We had a bunch of fruit and veggies and a meat and cheese tray.
We also had sweet and savory “stingers,” which were kabobs with olives and cheese cubes (the savory ones) and pineapple and grapes (the sweet ones). I had planned to make honeycomb treats, but I ran out of time. It would have been just like Rice Krispie treats but made with Honeycomb cereal instead. We also had lemonade and water bottles to drink.
The Cake
Of course you can’t have a bee-day party without cake! My mom always made cut-out cakes for my brother and I when we were little, and I’m hoping to continue the tradition with my kids. Even if it is stressful due to my perfectionism! This year, I made a cut-out bee cake. I didn’t think the cake would be big enough to feed so many people, so I also made cupcakes that I think turned out really cute. Here are the little edible bee-toppers I used. Since we had some leftover cake from where I cut cakes, my mom whipped up a little bee cake for Raylee.
The Games
I like to do some sort of easy game at my parties. I just think it makes it more fun, especially if there’s a prize involved. Travis’ family is pretty competitive, so I’m sure they enjoy it. Last year, we did a little quiz on who knew Raylee best. This year, we did a simple “How Many Honeycomb?” game where people had to guess how many honeycomb were in the jar. I gathered a few honey-themed items together for the prize and wrapped them in a yellow ribbon. It was things like Burt’s Bees chapstick, a honey spoon for tea, a honeybun, and Bit O Honey candy.
The second game was for the gender reveal part of the party. We had two jars — one for a boy, one for a girl — and everyone had to put their name in the jar of their gender guess. After the reveal, I drew a name from the correct jar. That person won a “Bee’s Knees” brownie mix in a jar.
The Outfit
The birthday girl has to be looking her best, of course! I wanted to find a cute bee outfit that wasn’t an actual bee costume. I found some cute options online, but most were really expensive or no longer available. So my talented sister-in-law actually made this outfit for Raylee! It could not have been cuter!
The Reveal
We did the reveal toward the beginning of the party, because I didn’t want to wait any longer of course! We had everyone stand around us in our backyard, and four people shot off confetti cannons into the air. Pink confetti went everywhere! It was really fun! To see photos of the reveal, check out this post.
Presents
After everyone had ate and had cake, we let Raylee open her presents. It’s safe to say this was her favorite part of the bee-day party, although she also really enjoyed the balloons!
I hope this post with all the details helps any of you who are planning a bee-day party or other bee-themed party. We had so much fun. We are so very thankful to everyone who drove down to see us and celebrate with us. Raylee enjoyed spending time with all of you!
Check out some other parties we’ve thrown:
What a delightful party, Tiffany! I love your ideas.