In keeping with our annual tradition, we’re sharing a peek at Clara’s invitation and a few party supplies—just like we did in previous years. After last year’s worm-themed celebration, this year Clara picked something a little more mythical: dragons. We loved the idea of a warm, playful dragon theme that matches her personality, so we rolled with it.

The dragon idea grew naturally. Clara started declaring that Dragons Love Tacos was her favorite book, she enjoyed wearing her dragon cape around the house, and she began telling everyone that dragons were going to come to her party. With those clues, a dragon-themed celebration felt like the perfect fit.

We wanted the invitation to reflect a friendly, Clara-style dragon vibe. The concept we landed on was simple and sweet: turn Clara herself into a dragon. To pull that off we needed a portrait of Clara with an open, expressive mouth—ideally something that reads like a playful “oops, did I just breathe fire?” moment. Capturing that shot took a bit of patience, but when we found it, the expression was perfect and made the whole design come together.

For the invite design we combined her photo with paper-cut style graphics and layered text to create a subtle three-dimensional feel. We scanned construction paper to capture a pulp-like texture, cut shapes digitally, and stacked layers to give the flames and wings some depth. The goal was a handcrafted appearance while keeping the layout clean and kid-friendly.

We’ve printed party stationery with different services over the years. This time we used a coupon offer from a popular photo-printing company to get 15 free 5 x 7 stationery postcards. They were listed in a holiday section we almost missed, and after applying the coupon we only paid for shipping—and upgraded shipping for a few extra dollars so they’d arrive faster. It was an affordable way to get a quality, customized invitation set without breaking the bank.

With the invites mailed, one major to-do is checked off the list. The rest of the party planning has been relaxed and joyful—aiming for a playful, low-key gathering of close friends and family. Expect about eight kids and fifteen adults, some simple decorations, and a few themed activities to keep things fun and age-appropriate.

Here’s a quick look at some of the party supplies and small details we picked up. Clara loves novelty socks, so we grabbed dragon socks as favors—these were a budget-friendly find at our local store. A big ikat serving plate on clearance will help with the food presentation, and we’ll host a lighthearted “dragon egg” hunt using colorful plastic eggs. For table decor we painted small wooden castles; Clara helped with that project, which made the decorations feel personal and gave us a sweet parent-and-child memory to include in the party prep.

The celebration will take place at our current home. We wanted Clara to have celebrated these early milestones in this space—three Christmases and three first birthdays here—so it felt meaningful to keep the party where she’s made so many memories. The new house isn’t ready to host guests yet, so this felt like the right choice.

We’ll share a recap after the birthday with photos from the party and more behind-the-scenes details. For now, we’re excited to bring this gentle dragon theme to life for Clara and to enjoy a simple, joyful day with family and friends.

Psst—tonight at 7pm we’ll be chatting about parenting, decorating with family in mind, and Mother’s Day gift ideas at a local Barnes & Noble. The event includes a Q&A and a book signing, and we’d love to see anyone who can make it.