How many of you make a BIG deal about kids’ birthdays? Growing up, we typically would have a family dinner where I could invite one or two of my friends to join. Beyond that, I don’t recall having a big blowout. Despite my love affair with fancy parties, the hubby and I plan to take the same approach for our children’s birthdays.
That being said, I still view the 1st birthday an important one–especially for your first kid.
- It celebrates your child’s first year of life.
- It celebrates YOUR first year as a parent!!
- Who doesn’t love a good party?
- Who doesn’t love to see a kid get a little messy?
Combine all those reasons with my personal love of designing beautiful parties and my daughter was doomed for a party gone overboard.
I started planning her party three months early–cause I’m a geek for being overly prepared. But at that time, Baby R had not developed a love for any particular toy, animal or character. So I used her nursery as inspiration (check out that blog post here!).
First up was designing the invitation. Special thanks to my bestie for her amazing photography skills, which helped add a personal touch. Beyond that, you’ll notice similar elements of her nursery are incorporated into this invitation design.
Next up was designing what the dessert table would look like. The “lattice” in the nursery design was the hardest to incorporate. But after an extensive search on Pinterest, we ended up using a garden lattice as the backdrop–but we spray painted it gray instead of black simply to soften the look a little.
We purchased the smash cake and cupcakes from a local bakery, the latter of which we wrapped in these custom designed cupcake wrappers. 
And let’s not forget the custom named banner to match as well!
Now it was time for the smaller details. We purchased the cups (which we filled with grape Kool-Aid–fancy, I know!), bowls, utensils and flower vases from the ever-expensive Dollar Tree! Seriously, I get so many of my party supplies there. Why pay all that money when you don’t need to?
The purple and white straws were purchased from Amazon, while the colored M&Ms and gum balls were found at Oh Nuts! (Seriously love purchasing the “fancy candies” from there!) And finally, we found the flowers at a local market for uber cheap.
Now for the REALLY fun part. You can’t have a 1st birthday party without the smash cake “ceremony”!
As the backdrop, we simply used white paper rolls purchased from Amazon. We reused her custom named banner across the back too (two birds; one stone!). And Baby R is decked out in a fabulous ruffle bottom tutu bloomer and matching headband purchased from Etsy.
Now, Baby R didn’t know what to do with this cake, so we had to coax her a little while all our guests were chanting “SMASH IT!” From forcing her finger into the cake and then letting her taste the sugar to lifting her by her arms and legs and laying her down in the cake… It really was an entertaining event. And of course, she eventually got the hang of it.
So what do you think? Is there anything you would have done differently? I’m always on the hunt for new and creative ideas.
And if you liked any of these designs (or want help with designing your own), you can contact me through this website or through my Etsy page. I’m always looking for a reason to design new material.
