8 Tips For Throwing the Sweetest Party Ever, From Dylan Candy's Dylan Lauren

Dean Kaufman

This feature first appeared inside the September 2015 issue of InStyle. For more stories like this, subcribe to InStyle now.

Talk about a sugar rush! Dylan's Candy Bar founder and CEO Dylan Lauren steps into her most delectable role yet: as mom to Kingsley Rainbow and Cooper Blue.

The proud mom knew she had to show off her bundles of joy in an incredibly sweet way. Foregoing the traditional baby shower, Lauren threw a "Sip and See" party to introduce her newborn twins to the world. "I thought this was a great way to have our adult friends come and see the babies," says Dylan Lauren of her sugar-centric gathering. 

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The resulting bash was a blow-out Willy Wonka could only dream of. Partygoers flocked to Lauren's Manhattan flagship candy shop to feast on pink and blue confections including ombré macarons, cake pops, and pastel marshmallows from four different dessert buffets. Guests toasted to baby Kingsley and Cooper with candy-flavored cocktails garnished with cotton candy puffs, rock candy, and gummy bears. "Being a new mom and having a career is a tough balance, so I don't have as much time as I would like to entertain at home," Lauren said. "I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for everyone we care about to meet the twins."

Notable Quote

"When they started smiling." —#DylanLauren on her favorite "Mom Moment" so far with her twins

Read on to take a peek at her welcome-to-the-world soirée and find out her best party-throwing tips. 

READ MORE: 9 Tips for Throwing the Sweetest Party Ever, From CEO Dylan Lauren

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Sip and See

Dean Kaufman

Eschewing the traditional baby shower, the Dylan's Candy Bar founder and CEO threw a "Sip and See" party to introduce her newborn twins to the world. "I thought this was a great way to have our adult friends come and see the babies," she told us. "I didn’t want a shower," she added, noting that she preferred her guests sip cocktails and mingle while meeting her bundles of joy.

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Give Meaning to Your Theme

Dean Kaufman

"We [always] have drinks that are themed and fun," said Lauren of her candy-tastic cocktails garnished with cotton candy, rock candy, speared gummy bears, and sprinkle rims (pictured, right). As for the bunnies? They're modeled after her childhood pets, Chocolate and Vanilla, and are the motif in the twins' nursery.

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Pick a Sweet Setting

Dean Kaufman

Lauren held her baby shower at her flagship Manhattan location. The sweet spot is already kid-friendly with its poppy colors and fun decor, so she barely had to decorate when it came time to party. "We recently renovated the café and the bar," she told us. "We now have the capability to cater parties and have kid cocktails and so it was a perfect kickoff to celebrate all of that."

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Create a Greeting Spot

Dean Kaufman

Lauren is a firm believer in giving her guests what they want, and in this case, it's two cooing, beautiful babies, Kingsley and Cooper. "I know people want to see the babies, so I'm actually going to stand on a mat next to them so that there’s a flow where they go from the babies to me and probably somewhere else,"  she said.

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Have Something Unexpected

Dean Kaufman

Greet your guests with a surprise. "I have my mascot, Chocolate the Bunny, greeting all the guests," Lauren said. Her whimsical touch set the mood for the rest of the night, and made for great photo ops.

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Make It Personal

Dean Kaufman

Lauren made sure her guests of honor, babies Cooper Blue and Kingsley Rainbow, had their names prominently displayed. Dylan's Candy Bar is launching a new personalization station, so a lot of the things at the party—like pink and blue candy and cakes with names on it—will be available to customers, too. "It's fun to be one of the first to use what we're doing on my own kids," she said.

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Skip the Favors, Splurge on Food

Dean Kaufman

Instead of spending time putting favors together, Lauren gave the guests what they really wanted: food! "There are four huge candy and dessert buffets and everyone’s welcome to take whatever they want," she said. "Those are the favors."

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Go Overboard 

Dean Kaufman

It's a party, isn't it? For the Sip and See, a rainbow buffet of gummy confections was a must-have, "for tasting the rainbow," as Lauren put it. "It's like red gummy fish and black liquorice cats and pink gummy bears....Do you think you could have any more fun?"

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