Party On Aisle 4: Stevie’s TARGET Birthday Bash!

Stevie LOVES Target. The carts, the cake pops, the unnecessary purchases, the vibes… she’s completely sucked in. At 4 only years old she’s just like the rest of us, and when I noticed (on one of our many Target runs) that they now sell party supplies… it was GAME OVER. I had seen a few very cute bits of inspo on Instagram & Pinterest, but I set out to throw the best Target-themed birthday bash you’ve ever seen! Read on for details and a big photo gallery by Mark Martucci Photo containing everything you need to have a Target party of your own!

We hosted in our backyard, perfect for a September birthday, but we did Stevie’s birthday shoot INSIDE an actual Target store with Jess from The Deerwood Co – it was the cutest thing! I brought several of Stevie’s favorite target props from home and she walked around like she was *actually* the store manager. Employees got a kick out of it, and we had so much fun! I’ll 3wpost my faves from that shoot below, too!

But we’re really here to talk about THE PARTY. This is going to be short and sweet, because the truth is that Target obviously sold a vast majority of the decorations! From the Bullseye Dog foil balloons, to the treat cups, paper plates, tablecloths, napkins & goodie bags… it was all found right in their party aisle. I went out of my way to find a local Target that had 30 (!!!) Bullseye Dog individually wrapped cookies for the party favors, which are only sold in store – but that counts as extra credit! You can search to find what store near you has them in stock. When you search Target Party on the Target Circle app, everything will come up aggregated and easy to find, or you can click on the links I provide to purchase everything online!

I had two large arches that I bought from Amazon for under $50 and I love to repurpose them for every party by buying interchangeable covers that match our theme. Daniella at Balloons By D then comes in and designs a large, organic balloon installation around it – as well as behind the cake table and on our SMOL bouncy house (which was the best investment we’ve ever made). Speaking of the cake table, Gina at Sweet Charlie’s Confections has done it again! This time, we went with funfetti for a Target themed cake, bullseye cupcakes, and the most amazing cake pos you’ve ever seen! She even made the mini Bullseye dog that we used for our in-store shoot, which I stuck on top of a 4 inch round Wegman’s white cake. Tying it all in a bow was our custom kraft banner, made locally by Gianna Belle Paints – a first time collab with this vendor! Of course, there were the kids’ table & chair rentals which never disappoint! I get them from Onida at Petite Seats every year! I love supporting small, women-owned businesses… and I couldn’t have done this party without the expertise of Daniella, Gina, Gianna & Onida!

Adding to the decor were things we already owned – the Target Checkout Lane Toy, mini target carts, a small version of the Target cash register, and of course our big stuffed Bullseye dog (which was only available at the holidays so I was unable to link it)! I wasn’t kidding when I said that Stevie really does LOVE Target! We had everything we needed to really run with this theme, but I’m linking a few of these toys for you all because they’d also make an excellent gift to give AT a Target party! Another Target themed toy that I purchased 7 times over was this Target Mini Shopping Basket. It comes with a little mini reusable tote and fake cell phone for under $10! I decided to spend $70 on these in order to have one for each table to use to house potato chips & veggie straws! They made ALL the difference in the “centerpieces” and we were able to give a few out to friends and keep a few for our own in-home checkout lane toy. It wasn’t the most financially sound decision I’ve ever made… but all in all, I’m glad I bought 7 of these bad boys. They were a hit. If you need to scale it down, you can easily buy just one and use it on the cake table to house napkins, forks, spoons, etc! Just pop a few pieces of tissue paper inside and voila! Enhances your theme for the party AND it’s something your kiddos can use after!

For entertainment we hired Janice from Pixie Painters, who is becoming a regular at Stevie’s birthdays. She is quite the artist, and the kids LOVE getting their faces painted! We also hired Zack from The Jam Cats to sing & provide interactive fun! We had seen him perform at another party and we absolutely loved him and knew we needed to hire him for our own! (You must request Zack specifically!) Lastly, Carlos from Field Day Parties joined us for a “Mini” session – which we could have done for even longer because everybody LOVED this vendor! So many mamas were taking flyers and Carlos truly kept everyone active and engaged the entire time. He even involved our mini Target carts in a relay race! Bonus points to Field Day Parties for creating a Target themed photo op within their party package! Overall I’m super happy with all three of these vendors, and it all flowed seamlessly from one to the next, with a few bounce house breaks in between. The kids were never left wondering what to do next, and the parents were able to mingle with one another.

This Target party is most definitely in my Top 3 favorite themes I’ve ever done and I’m so super stoked to share it with you all! Browse the galleries below and be sure to tag me on instagram if you decide to do your own version!

And let’s not forget our in-store themed birthday shoot! I printed a few of my favorites and made an “Employee Of The Month” Cork Board that all the parents got a kick out of!