Borrowed in Real Life: Ellie's Bluey 5th Birthday in Manhattan
36 kids. A full-on Hammerbarn shop. A bunny adoption station. Beach towels in place of chairs. And a grazing table that fed every parent in the room. See how one host pulled off a Bluey-themed 5th birthday at home using rentals from Collect Sisu — with a full cost breakdown.
By Collect Sisu | NYC Event Hosting Series
The Brief
Ellie was turning 5 and there was really only one option: Bluey. The whole family had been quoting the show for a year, the soft pastel palette was already a dream to design around, and there were so many episode references waiting to be brought to life — Hammerbarn, The Pool, Daisies, Camping, Bingo and Floppy.
The challenge: 36 kids. In an apartment. Without renting a venue.
The solution: lean into the show's backyard-playdate energy, build interactive stations instead of seated activities, and borrow nearly every single piece from local hosts on Collect Sisu.
The Setup
The space was divided into zones, each one tied to a different Bluey episode or moment. Kids could move between them at their own pace — no scheduled activities, no herding, no "everyone sit down for cake."
The living room display set the tone: a balloon garland in peach, butter yellow, baby pink, and sage, anchored by a rose gold "5" foil balloon and oversized daisy balloons (a nod to the "Daisies" episode). Two fabric arch backdrops in sky blue and blue gingham flanked the entrance.
The character wall featured four oversized canvas prints of Bluey, Bingo, Chilli, and Bandit — each in a party hat, surrounded by confetti — hung above the grazing table. It became the unofficial photo backdrop of the day.
The pool party room was the practical win. With 36 kids, there was no way a sit-down meal was happening. Instead, the floor became a beach: striped beach towels laid down as picnic seating, a pink-and-cream striped ball pit in the corner, paper parasols, beach balls, and a giant iridescent shimmer wall as the backdrop. A rattan peacock sofa gave parents a photo spot (and a place to sit). It looked like a scene from "The Pool" episode and solved the seating problem at the same time.
The Adopt-a-Floppy station was the emotional peak. Shelves of plush bunnies in grey, pink, white, and beige lined the wall. Each kid chose their floppy, named it, and signed an adoption certificate before taking it home. Parents cried. Kids cried. It was a whole moment.
The live puppy experience took it even further. For two hours, real puppies were brought in for the kids to hold, pet, and play with — Bluey's whole world is dogs, after all. Booking a puppy experience through Collect Sisu meant the magic of the show came to life in the most literal way possible.
The Hammerbarn snack stand turned a play shop into a Bluey-branded mini market, stocked with custom pink-striped Doritos and Cheetos bags featuring Bluey and Bingo, plus Bum Worms and Rita's Beans (yes, IYKYK). Every kid got to "shop" before snack time — the play register got a serious workout.
The Decorate Ya Bottle, Mate! station let each guest personalize a water bottle with custom stickers. The host ordered a DTF UV gang sheet from Ninja Transfers ($76) preloaded with every attendee's name, plus a full alphabet of individual letters for any walk-ins or last-minute additions. Kids picked their name (or built it from letters), peeled, pressed, and walked away with a bottle they actually wanted to use. Personalized take-home, zero plastic favors.
The Longdog Hunt was the secret weapon. For anyone who hasn't fallen down the Bluey rabbit hole: a "Longdog" is a recurring easter egg hidden in every single episode of the show — a stretched-out cartoon dog tucked into the background of scenes, leaving even superfans squinting at their TVs. We hid 10 Longdogs around the party space and gave kids a hunt sheet to find them all. It worked on every level: kids had something to do between stations, parents got pulled into the search (and felt very smug spotting them first), and it tied the whole party back to the show's most beloved detail.
The grazing table anchored the food. Charcuterie, mini sandwiches, fruit, Bluey sugar cookies, and a tiered white buttercream cake with a pastel balloon cascade. Pink, blue, and purple cake stands at varying heights gave the spread dimension, with baby's breath in glass vases tucked between platters.
The favor wall sent everyone home happy: gingham gift bags in pink, blue, and green hung from gold hooks against a pink arched backdrop. Instead of generic plastic favors, each kid's bag held everything they collected throughout the party — their adopted Floppy bunny, their personalized water bottle from the Decorate Ya Bottle station, and the custom Bluey snacks they "bought" at Hammerbarn. The whole party turned into the take-home.
The Cost Breakdown
Here's exactly what was rented from Collect Sisu and what each piece cost:
Furniture & seating
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Ball pit | $15 |
| Rattan peacock sofa | $50 |
| 4 cocktail tables ($15 each) | $60 |
| 2 six-foot tables ($10 each) | $20 |
| 1 three-foot table | $10 |
| Kids' table and stools | $30 |
| Checkout station (Hammerbarn) | $30 |
Backdrops & walls
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Gold shimmer wall | $70 |
| Rainbow shimmer wall | $70 |
| 5 six-foot fabric arch stands ($20 each) | $100 |
| 2 eight-foot fabric arch stands ($25 each) | $50 |
| 2 Bluey fabric covers ($20 each) | $40 |
| 5 fabric covers for arches ($10 each) | $50 |
| 2 six-foot treat walls ($60 each) | $120 |
Linens
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| 8 white tablecloths ($10 each) | $80 |
| 2 black stretch tablecloths ($10 each) | $20 |
| 20 picnic blankets ($4 each) | $80 |
| 20 beach towels ($2 each) | $40 |
Décor & serveware
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| 9 color cake stands ($5 each) | $45 |
| Water dispenser | $20 |
| Beach balls ($1 each) | — |
Skills booked through Sisu
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Live puppy experience (2 hours @ $300/hr) | $600 |
| Balloon arches | $1,200 |
| Bluey & Bingo character appearances (1 hour, $250 each) | $500 |
| Event servers (3 hours) | $450 |
| Event photographer (2 hours) | $350 |
What the host bought or made
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| 50 plush Floppy bunnies | $167 |
| 4 custom Bluey character panels over canvas art ($40 each) | $160 |
| 4 three-foot character cutouts ($40 each) | $160 |
| 1 welcome sign | $40 |
| 3 activation signs (Adopt a Floppy, Decorate Ya Bottle, Hammerbarn) ($5 each) | $15 |
| DTF UV gang sheet from Ninja Transfers (custom names + alphabet) | $76 |
| 40 custom Bluey Doritos ($4 each) | $160 |
| 30 custom Bluey Cheetos ($4 each) | $120 |
| 40 custom Bluey rice krispies ($4 each) | $160 |
| 30 custom Bum Worms ($2 each) | $60 |
| 30 custom Rita's Beans ($2 each) | $60 |
| 2 cakes from Mia's Brooklyn Bakery (stacked & decorated by host) | $90 |
| All other food (made by host) | $600 |
Approximate total: ~$6,488 For 36 kids, in an apartment, with custom Bluey branding, two shimmer walls, live characters, real puppies, a photographer, a fully styled grazing table, and 50 take-home plush bunnies — that's the part that still feels unreal.
What Worked
Beach towels instead of chairs. With 36 kids, there was no way to seat everyone. Throwing down 20 striped beach towels turned the floor into a beach picnic — fully on-theme, zero chair rentals needed. The kids loved it more than chairs anyway.
Stations over schedules. Nothing was timed. Kids drifted between the ball pit, the bunny adoption, the snack stand, and the bottle craft on their own. No bottlenecks, no meltdowns, no parent trying to wrangle 36 five-year-olds into a circle.
The party was the favor. Instead of pre-packed goody bags full of plastic junk that ends up in the trash, every station produced something kids took home. The bunny they adopted. The bottle they decorated. The snacks they shopped at Hammerbarn. The gingham gift bag was just the vessel — by the end of the party, each kid had filled it themselves. No one left empty-handed, and nothing was wasted.
Renting the big stuff. The peacock sofa, the ball pit, the shimmer walls, the treat walls, the balloon arches — these are the pieces that make a party look like a magazine spread, and they're also the pieces nobody wants to buy or store. Borrowing them from neighbors on Collect Sisu meant the room looked fully styled without a single thing that needed to live in a closet afterward.
Hiring locally for the showstopper moments. The live puppies, Bluey and Bingo character appearances, servers, and photographer were all booked through Collect Sisu's skills marketplace. No agency markups, no minimums — just real people in the neighborhood who do this beautifully.
Renting the big stuff, making the small stuff. The host rented every backdrop, table, linen, and showstopper piece — but made all the food herself, ordered two cakes from a local bakery and stacked them at home, and designed her own custom Bluey panels and signage. That mix of "borrow what's expensive to own, DIY what's quick to make" is what kept the budget sane without losing any of the magic.
Episode references for the parents. The kids saw Bluey. The parents saw Daisies, Hammerbarn, The Pool, Camping, and Bingo's Floppy — and any true Bluey fan recognized the 10 hidden Longdogs the second they walked in. Every adult in the room caught a reference, and that's what made the party feel intentional instead of generic.
The Takeaway
The version of this party that involves buying everything is overwhelming, expensive, and ends with a closet full of one-time-use props. The version that involves renting from neighbors on Collect Sisu was a fraction of the cost, fully styled, and packed up the next day.
Ellie got her dream Bluey party. 36 kids got the run of a Bluey wonderland. And every piece that made it special is now back in someone else's home, ready to make another kid's party just as magical.
For real life. 💛
Rent backdrops, ball pits, shimmer walls, cake stands, peacock sofas, and everything else for your next kids' party at collectsisu.com →
Borrowed in Real Life is a series featuring real events from the Collect Sisu community. Have a party you styled with rentals from Collect Sisu? We'd love to feature it. Tag us @collectsisu or share your story at collectsisu.com.