A few months ago I had the privilege of throwing a baby shower for a sweet friend and the theme she chose was vintage airplanes. I was super excited at all the possibilities for this theme! She graciously gave me a lot of freedom in choosing color schemes, decor and favors; so this amateur party planner really had a hay day with it! I went for a 1940's World War 2 feel. I envisioned bombardiers, industrial metals, and brought in some natural elements with wood and burlap. I also decided to liven the mood with a "Big Band" station on Pandora for some back round music.
I really believe when hosting any event, its really fun to be dressed accordingly (or maybe it's just in my love for costumes and dress up that I will find any excuse to play a part!) I found a clearance grey dress that I thought was just perfect for the role, and I printed out a pair of Pan Am wings and pinned them to my collar.
For the invitations I had my mom (a whiz on the computer, me..not so much) help me create an invitation PDF that looked like a boarding pass. "Atwood" was the last name of the mommy-to-be so we invited all of our guests to fly "Atwood Airways" to welcome the arrival of baby Carter!
For the table-scape I used silvers (to bring in the metal feel I wanted), navy blue, neutral tans and ivory colors. I tacked a sheet of burlap on the wall and hung hand made bunting flags and paper pinwheels. I used both tissue and scrapbook paper to make these. I got a piece of sheet metal from home depot and leaned it against the wall along with fun airplane themed accessories.
The "clouds" were the funnest part! I literally took an old pillow from my son's bed and cut it open. I fluffed out the stuffing in little tufts and tied them to twine, then taped them to my ceiling from various lengths. Voila!
For the "In Flight Lunch" I bought a few family size, made to order sandwiches from my local grocery store and cut them into smaller pieces. They were displayed wrapped in red and white striped wax paper and tied with bakers twine.
I bought a large bag of chips which were portioned out in sandwich baggies, printed out the "Thank You For Flying With Us" tags and folded them over the bag and stapled them.
The "Cloud Pops" were just marshmallow on a stick dipped in blue candy coating and topped with silver sprinkles.
I also found these old fashioned style Cracker Jacks at Walmart! 3 for .99 cents. I thought they were a nice touch for a low price.
Lastly, I set up a small table labeled "Baggage Claim" where people could set the baby gifts and cards.
The silver plates and napkins were displayed in baskets with little airplanes embroidered to them. I found these on the clearance rack at K-Mart for 2$ each!
If you are planning a vintage airplane themed party or shower, I really hope you found some of these ideas helpful! Thanks for stopping by :)
