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About Me

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Cristina Riches aka Bird, is the founder of BirdsParty.com. She's also a creative mom of two, published author, graphic designer, freelance photographer, magazine editor and unconditional party lover. Her party ideas and photos have been featured on numerous publications such as Forbes.com, CNN Entertainment, Parenting Magazine, Celebrate Magazine, All You Magazine, Elle Decor and MarthaStewart.com. She also regularly creates content for brands such as PBS Parents, HGTV, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Pillsbury, PayPal, Mars, Hellmann's, Cultura France and Danone to name a few.

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party


A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - BirdsParty.com

When you have kids in tow, Valentine's Day festivities take on a whole new meaning (I think parents reading this will nod at this point), and the phrase three's a crowd springs to mind? :)

Because of that fact, I've often shared family-friendly Valentine's Day party ideas, recipes and crafts here on the blog. 

But this year, since my kiddos are a little older; I fancy a little dinner date with my husband!

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - BirdsParty.com

You see, when you're a work from home mom, your fashion sense tends to feature lower in the priority scale. It's not really intentional, just one of those "balls" that we have to keep juggling constantly otherwise it WILL drop, and next thing you know, you're wearing sneakers everywhere like you used to back in college...

So my husband is not used to seeing me in a dress or heels much. So much so, that when I got all dolled up for this shoot he said -"You know, I saw a beautiful princess in your studio today!

I blushed (who knew you could blush after 11 years of mariage?!) and said "oh, this old thang?!" ;)

The moral is: no matter how old you are, I can guarantee you that if your other half says you look like a princess, it will be the only incentive you need to organize dinner dates more often. So here we are!

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - BirdsParty.com

Dinner dates for us can be going out, but I often prefer staying in and watching a good old movie after the kids go to bed. It's our time to partay. Yes, we're wild like that :p

But the ideas in this shoot would totally work if you're having girlfriends over for lunch, brunch or dinner on Valentine's Day. Or why not, a bridal shower too?!

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - BirdsParty.com

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - Table Styling & DIY Decorations

Whether you're styling a romantic dinner for your other half or having girls 'round, Valentine's Day gives us an excuse to go all out with the hearts and cute details when dressing a table.

As usual, there are some easy and inexpensive DIY details in this shoot that you can totally copy at home!

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - BirdsParty.com

XOXO DIY Painted Tablecloth

The tablecloth was a DIY painted paper runner we created for the occasion - simply use black acrylic paint and a white paper tablecloth to paint random XO all over. It's a simple yet cost-effective way to help tie in all the decor details.

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - BirdsParty.com

Easy DIY Flower Arrangement

For this table we loved incorporating simple flower arrangements that even someone who thinks they're "creatively challenged" can pull off in style. 

We picked a few red, pink, fuchsia and blush rose anemones and inexpensive carnations for bulking out our mini vases. Using carnations is a great trick used by party planners to create volume without breaking the bank!

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - BirdsParty.com

DIY Table Centerpiece

To accompany our low-maintenance flower arrangements, we opted for grouping pink and red candles in our table centerpiece. Not only it provides extra warmth and light to the table, but it offers a really structural element that I love! 

Keeping the candles at varying heights ensure that the display looks interesting and gives it that modern vibes we're looking for in this table.

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - BirdsParty.com

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - Menu

DIY Scratch Card Menus

To complete each place setting we made some DIY scratch card menus for the fun factor! We have a really simple way to making these that involves nail polish(!), so watch out for a tutorial and freebie printables coming next week.

Your guests will truly love revealing their menu selection at the table. Trust! :)

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - BirdsParty.com

Valentine's Day Dinner Party Menu

For my dinner party menu with my man, I intend to serve prawn bisque, followed by steak with Roquefort sauce and homemade sauteed fries. I don't know many men who could resists a steak and fries dinner, so I'm going for the 'catch him by his stomach' philosophy ;)

For dessert, I'm serving pink champagne jello (recipe coming later in the week) to share.

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - BirdsParty.com

But if you have girlfriends around, you may want to serve a lighter menu. 

I love cooking. It's my way to show someone I love them. So I'll be cooking with pleasure. Whatever you decide, please know you don't have to cook all yourself - some of your fav restaurants may have a totally suitable take-out option or even home-delivery, so go for that option if you don't fancy cooking.

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - BirdsParty.com

Valentine's Day Photo Booth Props

I love photo booths. Whatever the occasion, they really inject a little fun factor into the festivities. And the fact that you have cool photos after the party is a huge bonus in my book, so I'm all up for including photo booths in any event I host. And Valentine's Day is no different.

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - BirdsParty.com

Heart shaped balloons, love your #selfie balloons or even that heart eyes emoji balloon would make great photo booth props. They're an easy and inexpensive option, a little more different from all the usual photo booth props you see around...and totally adorable! ♥

Aaaand, cute balloons can also hide your face, if for instance; you have no make-up on!! ;)

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - BirdsParty.com

A Modern Valentine's Day Dinner Party - Credits

Styling and photos: Bird's Party
Chocolate hearts: SweetWorks





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17 comments:

  1. I LOVE your blog posts and ideas!! Thank you so much for sharing and all the enthusiasm!

    xo
    Annie

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is SO pretty and I LOVE the scratch off cards! Is that you behind the heart? xoxo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, fun to make too! That's my more dressy twin ;p

      Delete
  3. Those scratch card menus are such a neat idea, and now you've got me pondering all the other ways I could put DIY scratch offs to use :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I loved this post...especially love the table cloth and the polka dot party straws!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The easiest and cheapest element on the table was that table cloth! :)
      Straws int he shop at Birdsparty.com xo

      Delete
  5. Love this so much! And you're right - it's so easy to get in the habit of wearing tennis shoes instead of dressing up in heels every now and then. Thanks for the inspiration!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jess! yeah, it's a nice change from flat shoes for sure!
      Just need to work on the make-up now ;p

      Delete
  6. I'm doing a couples valentine's day party and I really want to make the scratch off menus! Where is the tutorial on doing that? Great ideas! Thank so much!

    ReplyDelete
  7. wondering where you got the candle holders and bud vases as well as the candles? Love this party and I'm trying to recreate it for a girlfriend party in a few weeks?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, I got them in France, but IKEA US has some cool candle holders http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80147687/

      Another idea if you like DIY, you cold spray paint some old bottles and use them as candle holders ;)

      For bud vases, mason jars would work too! But maybe your local Target or even flea markets/ thrift store would have something similar? Even drinking cups in white milk glass would look cool, so don't be scared to try :)

      Delete
  8. I am just obsessed with the xo table cloth!!

    ReplyDelete

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[name=Cristina Riches aka Bird] [img=https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rgs8z050PyY/WunXdXzZ5VI/AAAAAAAAxjc/qiDi9XqWXLwHWPcat9CjHUSxy-f2PaTNgCK4BGAYYCw/s277/P1470392.JPG] [description=Cristina Riches aka Bird, is the founder of BirdsParty.com. She's also a creative mom of two, published author, content creator & social media marketing influencer, graphic designer, freelance photographer and writer (for English, French and Portuguese-speaking publications), magazine editor and unconditional party lover. Her party ideas and photos have been featured on numerous publications such as Forbes.com, CNN Entertainment, BHG Magazine, Parenting Magazine, Celebrate Magazine, All You Magazine, Elle Decor and MarthaStewart.com. She also regularly creates content for brands such as PBS Parents, HGTV, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Pillsbury, PayPal, Sony, Sizzix, Mars, Hellmann's, Cultura France and Danone to name a few.] (facebook=https://www.facebook.com/birdparty) (pinterest=https://www.pinterest.com/birdsparty/) (instagram=http://instagram.com/birdsparty) (youtube=http://www.youtube.com/birdspartytricks) (twitter=http://twitter.com/birdsparty)

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