Maddie was the party planner for Aanya, the adorable birthday girl who turned two! Here’s a little bit more info about Maddie- she is a monster when it comes to creativity and outside-the-box thinking. She’s too humble to admit it but that girl is amazing at crafting and she created every single piece of decor you see in here from the banners to the paper flowers, to the poms and signage!

Ravi and Preeti, Aanya’s parents have exceptionally good taste and they wanted a sophisticated Dora the Explorer themed birthday party for their little princess.

Now, orange and purple are not easy colors to make look sophisticated but Maddie worked some magic and transformed their home into a venue that made guests fall in love. I’m done bragging about Maddie (kinda) so I’ll let you check out pictures and read her commentary on the day below:

Have you ever scratched your head wondering how to entertain both kids and adults at the same party? We’ve found that a great way to do this is to build a party around a fun kid-friendly theme (in this case, fan-favorite Dora the Explorer), and then add great food and drinks for the adults. This party, thrown in honor our new friend Aanya’s second birthday, brought together fun Dora activities for the kids, and amazing catering for the older crowd.

Upon arrival guests were invited to sign our unique take on a guest book- an “A” for Aanya to keep in her room.

For décor, we used lots of bright festive colors from Dora’s pallet (oranges, purples and pinks), as well as some traditional fiesta elements like the adorable donkey piñata. We also used banners and signage to showcase Dora’s signature use of Spanish and the various characters that appear on her show (i.e. Swiper, Boots, etc.).

For the kiddos there were Dora Explorer hats to wear throughout the party, favor bags filled with fun toys and treats (like ring pops and light-up yo-yos), and even Dora herself made an appearance at the party.

For the adults we brought in an amazing taco buffet from Velvet Taco and a full bar with bartender!

Kids and adults alike enjoyed tasty chocolate cake and cupcakes from Sugar Box Dessert Bar , all perfectly designed to fit the Dora theme. They even created a custom egg-free cake for the birthday girl.

We also brought the theme to life in the backyard with more banners and streamers and large scale paper flowers. The children were also able to make their own Dora backpack.