Mila’s Taco TWOsday Birthday Party!

What a weekend y’all! Mila turned TWO on Saturday and I’m still in a little shock how fast time has flown by. We threw her a Taco TWOsday birthday party and I think it turned out so cute and was so much fun! I am planning on sharing a 2 year Mila update blog post soon but got a lot of questions about her party so I am going to share all of those details first. The majority of the party was DIY/homemade so I will try to share as much as I can about how we did everything and where items were purchased! I definitely could not have done any of this without the help of my mom and brother. It was a ton of work but I think it makes the celebration that much more special when you know what all was put into it! 

Mila’s Taco TWOsday Birthday Party

THE FOOD

We obviously served tacos at a Taco TWOsday birthday party. I think it’s important to make the food as easy as possible for guests to eat and limit the need to sit down with a fork and knife. These build your own grilled chicken street tacos were perfect because they were small and guests could add whatever they wanted on top. We had corn and flour tortillas, grilled chicken chopped up (used this marinade and grilled the night before then reheated day of), homemade red and green salsa and little bowls of chopped onion, cilantro and radishes.

I made a 7 layer dip which is always a crowd pleaser and really easy to make. Just layer canned refried beans, sour cream mixed with taco seasoning, guacamole, salsa, shredded cheese and olives. I left out the diced tomatoes and green onion but you could do that too! 

We had rotel in a crockpot and big bowl of chips for people to snack on too. If you haven’t had rotel it is SO GOOD. Just throw in a block of Velveeta cheese and two cans of rotel and turn on low and stir occasionally. Super easy and delicious!

There were quesadillas for the kids and a mild rotel and chips for them too!

THE DRINKS

We served water and limeade in carafes and then had DOS Equis (get it?) for the adults. I also had a couple of bottles of sparkling rose in the ice chest with the beer for an extra pink touch.

Cactus bottle opener and cactus wine stopper are old from T.J. Maxx and Target but linking similar options below!

THE SWEETS

It’s not a birthday party without sweets and we had a table full of them! I always love having different little treats at parties so we had a few dessert options sure to please everyone. The star of the sweets table was definitely the cake my mom made. I received so many messages about this cake and I definitely understand why! I saw something similar on Pinterest and my mom recreated it so easily! It was one of my favorite parts of the party. 🙂

My mom always makes these frosting covered pretzels during the holidays but I saw a cactus-inspired version and knew we had to make them. My brother spent A LOT of time making these.

I loved the cactus cookies which are fairly easy to make! Just buy a cactus cookie cutter and decorate them how you like. My mom made sugar cookie dough from scratch but you could also do store bought dough. 

I picked up churros from Costco and cut them in thirds then did a little bowl of caramel and a bowl of chocolate fudge. I bought the churros the day before and by the next day (even after being sealed in foil) were super rubbery and almost inedible even after toasting them in the oven. I would definitely recommend picking them up the day of or making different ones but I will say they sure looked cute! 🙂

 

THE DECOR

So while we went with the Taco TWOsday birthday party theme I didn’t want it to look overly fiesta. I still wanted to keep an element of sweet and feminine so we kept the majority of the color scheme pink, white and green. We decorated with A LOT of cactus. Maybe too much lol but I loved it! I have always thought desert/cactus decor was super cute and this party was the perfect excuse to use a lot of it! I already owned a lot of the random cactus decor already but will try to list out as much as I can of where I got things and what we made!

*Linking everything I can below*

TACO TWOSDAY Balloons – Purchased on Amazon but found cuter ones on Etsy here. They arrived after the party so we unfortunately didn’t get to use the pink and gold ones!

Colorful Balloon Garland and Cactus Balloon – â„… Lushra! They are amazing and have so many colorful balloon options. They are Dallas-based but you can order a DIY kit or they can make it for you and set it up at your party! We made the mistake of setting this up outside the day before so a few balloons popped. I would recommend waiting until the day of to hang it if you’re doing it outside!

Other balloons (#2, Cactus, pink balloons…) – Target and Michaels We had the big gold “2” balloon in the balloon garland outside but it blew away after the kids got a hold of it lol

Ombre Table Cloth – Target

Pink Ombre cups, plates, straws – Michaels

“Let’s Fiesta” napkins – Amazon

Cardboard Cactus on Food Table – Michaels

Miniature llama pinatas – Amazon

Cactus Backdrop – Amazon

Balls for Ball Pit – Amazon

Mini blow up pool – T.J. Maxx

“TWO” Cactus cake topper (used in flowers) – Amazon

Tassels on Highchair – homemade with ribbon and hot glued flowers

Fabric hanging above highchair – Homegoods (old)

Streamers by Taco Bar – made with table plastic table clothes

Mila’s flower crown – made it with floral wire and floral tape

THE FUN

Basically Mila and the kids ran around in the backyard for 3 hours straight. They all LOVED the ball pit I made (literally just a blowup pool and balls I ordered off Amazon) but it was pretty destroyed within 15 minutes lol. I think Mila asked me about the cake 100 times (she knew she got cake on her birthday so she was pretty pumped about it). She was so excited to blow out the candles and it was the cutest thing ever. She took a big bite out of the cake right after she blew them out lol! After we did cake and presents my dad turned on some music and the kids danced in the living room (he of course turned on “The Git Up” which Mila just loves). They danced and played with toys until it was time to go to bed!

THE OUTFITS

I wouldn’t be a very good blogger if I didn’t let you know where we got our outfits! My pink wrap dress is 40% off right now and I got it at Nordstrom. Mila’s tutu is from I Love Plum and her tee is from Amazon (sneakers too)! Ita’s cactus shirt is old from T.J. Maxx but I found another perfect option (everything is linked below)! 

SOME ADVICE!

If I can offer any advice it would be to not get too stressed out about the party. I tend to stress myself out pretty easily and try to juggle too much which usually leads to me getting sick. I didn’t get sick this time but I did end up with a couple of massive pimples the day before the party that I’m convinced were from stress lol. At the end of the day your child is turning TWO and does not care if you have the best spread of food and prettiest decor. You could do absolutely nothing for the party and stick a candle in a hostess cupcake and they’d probably be just as happy.

I think the most important thing is to make your baby feel extra special that day and feel surrounded by love which we tried to do from the moment she woke up. I don’t think Mila stopped smiling and giggling all day and it was so much fun to see her playing with her older cousins and friends!

Also don’t be afraid to ask for help. I couldn’t have done this all without the help of my family. If you don’t have people to help you, don’t stress yourself out trying to do too much by yourself. I love having things that are homemade but there is nothing wrong with ordering a pizza and getting a cake from the store and calling it a day.

All in all it really was the best day! Still can’t believe she’s two but I am so thankful for every second we’ve had with her! 

Feel free to comment with any questions or let me know if I left anything out. Happy to help any way I can! Hope you liked our Taco TWOsday birthday party theme! 🙂

**Click here to see Mila’s FIRST Birthday Party!**

Thanks for reading!

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