Birthday parties aren’t quite what they used to be thanks to Covid-19. Just before life as we know it changed, we celebrated Hannah’s 11th birthday party. With a lot of help from the very talented Vanessa from Vanou Events. If you’re searching for 11th birthday party ideas for a girl, keep reading. And if you’re day-dreaming about your next big event, keep reading too to learn more about a great local event planner.

Eleven

After experiencing some pretty incredible bar and bat mitzvahs, Hannah was dreaming about having her very own candy bar for her birthday. While 11 is a palindrome its otherwise not a special birthday. Yes, all birthdays are special but between turning double digits at 10 and celebrating a bat mitzvah at 12, it might not merit a lavish celebration. But we knew we could make it happen on a budget.

Pink & Gold

After deciding on a theme of pink and gold I began the search for tableware and candy too. Hello Target! During the weeks leading up to the party I actually had to go to New York and made a detour to the M&M store so that I could purchase regular and peanut candies in shades of pink. Between the grocery, various dollar stores and lots of online research, I was able to find enough pink sweets to fill a candy bar. Then we topped it off with customized pink donuts from Doughnats.

Party Professionals

I thought I had done a pretty good job until the day before the party when it all had to be put together. We even made our own DIY balloon garland! I was pretty good at coming up with 11th birthday party ideas for a girl, but luckily, I didn’t have to rely on my own decorating skills as Vanessa from Vanou Events had gifted us with her talent to set up the candy bar.

Vanou Events

With three bins full of supplies, and one hour of her party planning wizadry, she created the most beautiful table I could have ever imagined. Hannah was out while the setup was happening but her sheer squeal of delight upon witnessing Vanessa’s creation was priceless.

Vanessa and her team at Vanou Events design Montreal-based parties with a focus on event coordination, candy bars and sweet tables, as well as homemade party buffets and sweets. From corporate events to baby showers to weddings, they’ll turn any gathering into a visually pleasing (and delicious) celebration.

While events have temporarily been put on hold, Vanessa has been busy in the kitchen catering Passover sweets. You can start salivating over her gluten-free cookies, cakes and brownies on her Instagram page here.

And knowing that life will one day get back to normal, I couldn’t think of a better time to start planning a celebration with Vanou Events. I think we could all use the optimism and anticipation of being back together with family and friends right about now.