A few weeks ago, we celebrated Maëva’s birthday. The youngest member of our family turned two… I am not so sure if I am writing this post to share with you some great addresses and contacts (cause I know that us mums are always looking for ideas and inspiration when it comes to kids birthday parties). Or because I absolutely love the pictures and want to put them up on the blog. Because Maëva had such a great day. Such a great time.

A bit of both, I guess.

I don’t want to talk too much this time. And let the pictures speak for themselves. So, simply lean back. And enjoy xx

NB: Oh, and I should probably mention that this is not a sponsored post. You have to mention that these days, right? The birthday theme was chosen by Mimi (“meow, mummy”). And I just tried to find people who could help me make it happen 😉 All of the people I contacted were absolutely fantastic. And it is me who asked if it was ok to mention them on the blog.

We didn’t do much on Maëva’s ‘real’ birthday, which fell on a normal working day. My husband had to leave early. To go to work. Luca had to go to school. But we do have one tradition in our family. Whenever it is somebody’s birthday, we get up. And have cake. All together. Even if we have to do it as early as 6.30am. We sing ‘Happy Birthday’. And we blow candles. We open gifts. And we make sure that the birthday ‘child’ (whichever family member that is) has a special day.

In Mimi’s case, it was a bit more difficult. I wanted to get her a beautiful cake. But I also wanted the latter to be dairy-free. As she is still not great with dairy products. Thankfully, Arwa came up with a cake that was not only made out of dairy-free ingredients. But also absolutely delicious. And beautiful.

So talented, Arwa!

Arwa Signature Cakes
Instagram: @arwafederalsignaturecakes
Email: arwafederal@gmail.com

For Luca’s second birthday, we went to a play area. We organised games. And food stands. We invited lots of friends. And made sure there was something going on all the time. It was a lovely afternoon. But thinking about it now, it was probably a bit too much for his age. He really enjoyed his day, don’t get me wrong. But he might have been a bit overwhelmed…

For Maëva, I wanted to keep it small. I wanted to go to a place she loves. Invite only a few friends. Have breakfast. And simply a good time.

So, we decided that we wanted to celebrate at Café Confetti in JLT. It’s close to where we live, small and intimate, with a little inside play corner. Than, the owner, is German and it was a real pleasure to organise the party with her. So organised. So helpful. So kind. Yes. Simply kind. I mean who else would help you decorate their place until 11pm at night just because the party starts at 9.30am?!

Café Confetti is a stunning place and you don’t need a lot of decorations. But I still wanted to add some beautiful cat garlands. And some little cat-themed details. Together with Than, we made cat-balloons (she can fill them with Helium) and I brought some white cups with little cat faces that couldn’t be easier to draw.

I asked in several mums groups on Facebook if anybody knew where I could get cat garlands from. And Cristina from LolaLola Design sent me a message saying “Can I please make the garlands for you? No need to pay, if you don’t want to. I just bought a new cutting machine. And I want to try it out.”

Cristina genuinely loves what she is doing. When we first met, she didn’t only bring the garlands. But also little paper cats to decorate the straws. And plates. Cristina, you are the sweetest and bubbliest person! If you need some help for party decorations, invitations, anything linked to celebrations, send Cristina a message. There might not be an online catalogue of products to choose from. But I am sure she will come up with amazing deco ideas. For whatever theme you have in mind.

There is nothing I enjoy more than working with people who love what they are doing. Thank you, ladies.

LolaLola Design
Instagram: @lolalola_design
Facebook: /lolaloladesign

Café Confetti
Instagram: @cafe.confetti.dubai
Facebook: /cafeconfetti
Phone: 04 554 6206
Address: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Cluster U, Lake Level

We decided not to set up a big breakfast buffet at Café Confetti (except for some very cute fruit salad jars, cat-shaped buns and cookies for the kids) and to let people order whatever they felt like having at 9.30am 😉 Than makes some delicious German specialities such as “Donauwelle” and apple crumble that you should try for sure. Her waffles are delicious as well (and you can get a dairy-free version).

What we really wanted to organise, however, was another cat-themed birthday cake. Café Confetti have their own baker, Monika Madel who did a great job, especially considering that she even managed to create a dairy-free cream!

The cake wouldn’t have been complete without a personalised cake topper from The Party.

The Party is not only designing cake toppers but also signs and other personalised, engraved products. I know Melissa (who runs The Party) since a while now and she has never disappointed me. I usually call her. Tell her about a certain idea. And she sends me different design suggestions. All spot on. As if she could read my mind. Just like Cristina, she is never short of great ideas – very useful when you have a vague idea of what you want to create but can’t really picture the finalised item.

Monica Madel
Baker at Café Confetti
Instagram: @cookiesbymadel

The Party
Instagram: @_the_party
Facebook: /thepartyuae
Email: hello@theparty.ae

I didn’t want the party favours for Maëva’s birthday party to be sweets. I wanted them to be fun. And educational. Not too expensive. And in line with our cat theme. Sounds easy? Well. Not really. To be honest.

But then a friend of mine told me about Mish Mash. They are a fairly new company and make personalised jars filled with nontoxic play dough. Every jar comes with a reusable play dough mat, a rolling pin and accessories.

The lovely ladies from Mish Mash made everything from scratch so that it would be perfect for Maëva’s birthday – in less than a week! I could choose the colours of the play dough (five colours in total), the picture on the mat, the text and image on the label as well as the accessories.

That I was pleased with the result is an understatement. The little ones were really excited when they saw their gift. And even the older kids liked the idea. Total win 🙂 Definitely a great idea if you are looking for party favours that are a bit different from the usual ones.

Mish Mash
Website: www.mishmash.littlemajlis.com
Instagram: @mishmashuae
Facebook: Mish Mash UAE

So, we didn’t want a big party for Maëva’s second birthday. But I couldn’t resist getting her a beautiful dress for the occasion.

A few weeks before her birthday, I stumbled upon an Instagram account called @petit.bout.chou.handmade. Numerous little squares displaying the most beautiful handmade children clothes. Probably the most gorgeous dresses for little girls I had ever seen.

I wrote Mai-Anh, who makes these dresses, a message. We decided to meet. And that’s when I saw it. THE dress.

It is obviously not a dress I would let Maëva wear every day (I got one of Mai-Anh’s more casual dresses for that 😉 ). But, for her special day, it was just perfect.

You can meet Mai-Anh and have a look at her creations at Arte Market. Or just send her a message like I did it. I’m sure she’ll be happy to show you the beautiful fabrics she uses. But be warned: you will fall in love with every single one of her dresses!

Petit Bout Chou Handmade
Instagram: @petit.bout.chou.handmade
Facebook: /petitboutchou.handemade

All in all, Maëva’s second birthday was such a fun day. For her. For her friends. And us adults as well.

Admittedly, Mimi would probably have been happy with a simple play date. A piece of cake. And Café Confetti’s little play area. The rest was more for me.

But one day, she will look at these pictures and see that all of this was organised with much love. Much love for a very small but strong-minded young lady xx