1st Birthday Party - Delightful or Disaster? (Tips & Tricks)
- Kali Sweitzer
- Jul 25, 2021
- 7 min read
I was SO excited to plan Kohen’s first birthday party that I started pinning ideas 2 months in advance! I wanted the Instagram-able birthday photos, the gorgeous decor, and everything to match with a theme! Plus, I also love hosting and haven’t gotten to in a WHILE, so this was my chance!
**Note: This post has clickable affiliated links.
If you want to be over-the-top, then DO IT. I didn’t care if it wasn’t necessary for my 1 year old to have two outfit changes, a photo backdrop, and a teepee tent for presents. I didn’t care! It was my vision and I wanted it to happen.
We decided to have the party in our backyard. This not only cut costs, but in my opinion, allowed me to have more control over getting decorations done and really imagining the setup.
Fast forward from my first vision of the birthday bash to a couple weeks before the party...somewhere in between, I had started to drag my feet. I had ordered most of his decor off of Etsy and Amazon... That was the easy part after I had finally figured out what I wanted. Now, continue to read on to figure out YOUR very own (I mean your little babe's very own) 1st Birthday Party bash that will be Instagram-able in no time!
Tip #1: Pick a Theme
Pick your cutesy, play-on word theme (or no play-on words) and 3 or so colors for the theme, stick to it, and imagine the setup. This might sound like a large order that makes your head spin, but once you ask the Pinterest Gods, they WILL deliver. Get those ideas off of Pinterest and create a board! This really helped me brain dump and feel more at ease that I indeed had a plan.
Then, pick a date and time and also, stick to it! **Make a list of guests and decide if you’ll allow them to bring their children or not. Start texting and emailing people to let them know of the “save the date” for the party. I did this before sending out invitations and it really made it even more personal, + I think people did a better job RSVPing when they did “get” the invitations. I put get in quotes for a reason and I’ll explain this later.
Here is what I created using Canva! There are SO many options on Canva to choose from. Don't be afraid to mess around. There is a free version that still has plenty to choose from. If you'd like to see a tutorial on how I made these, please let me know at: thekalimethods@gmail.com
Tip #2: Invitations
Decide if you are making the invitations or ordering them, & get everyone’s address NOW. Save them in a note on your phone, or wherever you'll keep track. Also decide…Do you want to send them through snail mail, or electronically? This is why I say “get” in quotes, because they will get them, just a lot faster and not through snail mail if you send them electronically.
Sending out invitations is an area where I really thought I had sort of failed with (but ended up turning out even better). I’m a very creative and artsy person, so I had no problem pulling up Canva and designing the exact invitations I wanted on my own. I even printed them out on thick, matte, beautiful card stock and cut them with my paper cutter (#imateacher). I went to Staples and bought gorgeous taupe-gray envelopes to send them in and everything! Then, LIFE… the invitations sat on my desk for far too long, I was horrible at getting everyone’s address in advance, SO I ended up texting and emailing the PNG file of the invite. Basically... I took a screenshot of the invitation and emailed or texted it out to friends and family. Let me tell you, this millennial mama was HAPPY I did. People responded beautifully, it was so much easier and faster, and I didn’t need to waste paper after all. I kept some copies for Kohen’s keepsake box, but the rest got recycled.
DON'T. SWEAT. THE SMALL STUFF.
Tip #3: Order Decor
Now that you have your theme figured out, it is time to order decor! You want to do this about 1.5 to 2 months in advance. If you need to order off Etsy, order EARLY because sometimes it can take weeks to get to you! I also ordered off Amazon which is obviously a lot faster, but Etsy had a lot of the niche things I wanted.
**I have made a 1st Birthday Check List (click here) to help you envision and plan all the decor you will need! Don’t worry, I got you mama. ;)
We went with a “Wild One” theme (like everyone else-ha, no one was trying to be unique here), and I decided I wanted a huge balloon arch, a boho natural wood vibe in our backyard, and greenery and plants! I really tried to work with things we had and not order too many large items that we would only use once. Look around your house! You might have more than you think. Nate fashioned a wood table together for the food we would serve using our old countertops, some wood boards we already had, and bought some new 1x6 pine boards he nailed across the top. You can also put a piece of plywood on top of two sawhorses and then nail some boards on top! Where did I come up with this? PINTEREST.
••To see how I organized my board, here’s a Link to my Pinterest board
👆🏼A look I found on Pinterest. Notice the plywood and saw horses. 👀
👇🏼Our setup! 🎉
**This is not entirely the finished product, but I never got time to set out all of the food in a pretty fashion, and guests started to show up, so this is what ya get. :)
•Balloons are from Etsy. Click here! I did not use all 138 balloon it came with (probably could have searched for a smaller package amount). They also do NOT come with their own arch wiring, so you would need to order this. I simply got a long piece of twine and then tied the balloons to the twine and ta-da!
•Gray Table runner is from TJ Max
•Leaf center piece is from Party City
•Hanging Ivy is from Amazon— if you want it to be more dense I’d definitely buy 2 packs
•Wild One balloons are from Amazon — it says it’s rose gold, it’s not. It’s gold which is what I wanted.
**Advice on the backdrop if you want this same look… get a $10 rolling clothes rack from Walmart and a sheet. What I have is used for photography and I already owned it since I do this on the side. Unless you truly plan on using it again and again, don’t waste your money.
When it comes time to decorate...
Bring in as many troops as are willing to help. No matter whether you have booked a venue, or are doing it at home, is is still A LOT time make sure you are up in time, decor done, AND party-ready. I suggest making sure tables are set up, balloon arch is done, and all things that need picked up (cake, other balloons, etc.) is finished the day before! Even though I had the help of Nate's sister, nephews, and parents, I still felt a bit like I was scrambling. But, it all came together in the end!!!
Tip #4: Call the Bakery like YESTERDAY.
Something I kept thinking we had so much time for, crept up on me real fast. Look up your local bakeries or ask for recommendations on Facebook. You’ll get TONS of recs. Figure out your cake for guests along with a smash cake and order them like yesterday! The sooner the better. Bakeries book FAST and making glorious insta-worthy cakes takes precious time. Plan on making the date for picking it up, a day or two before the party (because trust me, you don’t want to have to be running out to get the cake the day of—like me😬).
I ended up making the cookies myself because I ended up trying to order them a bit too late. This is how I learned the hard way how far in advance you seriously need to order. They didn't turn out too bad if I do say so myself! The cake on the left was just for the party guests.
The smash cake is pictured below, that Kohen is then devouring. Nate made it himself! It might not be the instagram type, but it was made of simply kodiak cake pancake mix, bananas, & vanilla extract. The frosting was made from cashews, banana, and lemon zest. We wanted a lower sugar option, and he did a fantastic job, & Kohen LOVED it!
The rest of the items needed to get the party going are things that are decisions that you will need to make, which are best suited for your party size and guest preferences. I feel like the above info was what was weighing on me the most, and once that was done, the rest was a breeze. We decided to go to Costco and grab some h'orderves, fruit and veggie plate, burgers and hot dogs, and adult beverages.
Activities for Kids Suggestions:
+Bubbles +Ball pit +Dance to music +Sidewalk Chalk
Other than that, it is a fun and magical time celebrating your babe. People always say that the 1st birthday is really for the parents, and yes this is true, but I know my baby also had so much fun! We had a small blow up pool that we filled with plastic play balls that the other small kiddos played in too. Kohen also got a slide and a wooden playhouse for his birthday, so these items became part of the party entertainment!
We chose not to do any cutesy party favors. We didn’t want to spend the money, but mostly we really didn’t feel anyone cared to take anything home (unless it was some cookies or cake!).