This year we got our patriotic party on just a few days early to celebrate our little buddy turning TWO! When your actual birthday is the 4th of July, you can't help but celebrate all-American style.

After last year's Rookie of the Year Birthday blowout, we decided to keep it low key this year with just our parents and siblings because, budget. #amiright?! But when you're an event planner by trade and your parents and siblings still equals fifteen people, this is what happens. I can't turn it off, y'all...this is about as low key as I get. Ha!

We opted for an afternoon party with desserts and light snacks, and about 95% of the decor you see pictured below came from the Dollar Spot at Target, to keep the budget on track. And no, this post is not sponsored in any way by Target, but it should be. (Hey Target, call me - we could create some fabulous parties together! wink, wink)

Here's what I found in the Target Dollar Spot:
Fourth of July napkins
Red, White & Blue paper straws
paper Lanterns
mini paper lantern strings (battery operated)
wooden stars (on mantle & on food table)
glass vases (all along main dining table)
American flags
Red, White & Blue metal buckets
gold sequin confetti
blue & white striped mat (on food table)
Red, White & Blue easels (used for food label signs)
Patriotic bunting (on fireplace mantle)
star infinity scarf (used on fireplace mantle)
Red, White & Blue confetti balloons
Patriotic fabric bunting (above cake - this one was not in the dollar spot, but it was from Target)

You thought I was exaggerating, right? All in all I spent maybe $40 on the patriotic decor...just because you're on a tight budget doesn't mean you can't still do a party well!

The great thing about doing a patriotic theme party is that you can leave the decor up through the holiday, and you have instant decor for next year's holiday celebration too! (yes, the balloon garland is still up in our house 3 days later - those bad boys take a ton of work, I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can!)

Here's what we had on the menu:
American Flag platter (cubed cheese, cut strawberries & blueberries)
Stars & Stripes Rice Krispy Treats
Constitutional Chips & Queso (I had to think of some way to tie in queso, sorry!)
Firecracker Franks (found a great recipe HERE)
Patriotic Parfaits (jello, whip & blueberries)
All-American Candy Bark
Mini-naked cakes w/white chocolate buttercream
Gluten free cake (for the birthday boy and us GF'ers)

The biggest hit, by far, was the Firecracker Franks display. To quote my brother-in-law..."You have meat on a stick?! Now this is a party!"

The Red, White and TWO chalk sign was made by my fabulous friend Danielle with Highland & Monroe. Once again, she knocked it out of the park with her custom hand lettering skills!