A “Story of Ferdinand” Birthday Party: Louis turns 2

I love throwing a party, and I love to lean into a theme. All the details are just so fun for me! For my youngest, Louis’ 2nd birthday, I was inspired by the storybook “The Story of Ferdinand”. Louis in so many ways is my gentle bull-child, and has reminded me of the character in the book almost from day 1.

The Theme

“The Story of Ferdinand” is an American classic, written (in less than an hour apparently) in 1936 by American author & Harvard graduate, Munro Leaf. It is a story of a Spanish bull that would rather smell the flowers than fight in the bull fights in Seville. Leaf said he hoped to communicate that there was strength in appreciating the world around you, and that conflict wasn’t always the answer. But this was 1936, and tensions were brewing all over the world that would set off Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939 and the Second World War. The Spanish dictator Franco banned the book, stating that it taught “pacifist teachings to the young”. In Germany, copies of “the Story of Ferdinand” were thrown into the fires of the infamous Nazi book burnings.

I grew up with this darling classic story, and always was impressed by the strong bull that wanted to live in peace in the countryside instead of fight a fight without purpose. I actually find it a strong endorsement of the book, that such historically violent men found the story to not align with their views. I look forward to continuing to read this simple, meaningful story to my children, and I hope that they will also walk away impressed by the bravery of Ferdinand the bull.
Besides its morality tale, the Story of Ferdinand celebrates Spanish culture! My husband’s family has very recent history in Spain, and we spent our honeymoon traveling around that beautiful country & visiting his family there. In the Americas we are familiar with colonial Spain, and all the remnants of that empire - both good & bad. However, you don’t really know the Spanish people until you have been to Spain. I wanted to properly celebrate the richness of that culture alongside the theme of the “Story of Ferdinand”.

The invite

As a former Graphic’s major (before switching to Fashion), I’ve been known to take the paper products to the next level. I design all our family invites & yearly Christmas card, and I absolutely love working those creative muscles again!
For Louis’ storybook party invite, I chose to take a visually storytelling approach, and outline the major points of the “Story of Ferdinand” in a very clean & simple way.

Dressing the Part

Even when I’m throwing a kid’s party, I think through what I’m wearing. How could I not pay homage to such a beautiful country & culture through clothes? I pulled out my trusty poppy red linen jumpsuit to echo the Spanish flag (and get me through a warm summer day), and paired it with my black & rattan belt and black Bernardo t-strap sandals. These black geometric accents reminded me of the Mezquita-Cathedral in Cordoba, a church inside of an 8th century mosque dating back to when the Moors occupied Andalusia. It is truly one of the most beautiful and eloquent buildings I have ever been in, and I highly recommend visiting if you have the chance.

the food:

I really leaned into the Spanish theme with the food, and what a treat! Spain is famous for it’s tapas tradition, so I took inspiration from that and laid out a full Spanish tapas spread. Some things I was very familiar with, like a classic cheese board (and of course, I made a kid’s cheese board too!), but others I tried for the first time like churizo stuffed dried dates (my husband said they were addictive), a recipe I found in a Spanish cookbook. I also tried a marinated olive (also from the cookbook) instead of the standard brined from a jar. Wether you stick to trusty classics or try your hand at something new, I always suggest you plan on making as many things in advance of a party as possible! Also, don’t feel bad about farming out some of the work to others - I knew I wanted to order empanadas from the lovely local Argentinian bakery near us for the party, and it took a big item off my list of to-dos. Full list of what I made below.