One Year Old in a Flash: Party Details

I love a good party and what better reason to plan a bash than a first birthday! I had so much fun scouring the internet and Pinterest (of course) for ideas. Since, Jackson is only one there wasn't really an obvious theme choice and I didn't want to push a random theme on him... When I came across this party, One Year Old in a Flash, I was sold immediately!! I've probably talked about how fast time went during Jackson's first year about a thousand times! Plus, I'm obsessed with capturing every moment on camera (even tantrums). This particular party was designed for a baby girl, so I tweaked the color scheme (ours was teal, lime green, and navy) and also made some menu changes (we went with more hearty snacks and less dessert options). Here are the details of Jackson's party!

Invites:

I absolutely loved the custom invitations that were made for the inspiration party, but we saved some money by designing ours on Shutterfly. You can see the full design here.

I thought the pictures along the side, on the front, and along the top, inside the card, had the effect of a photo strip. I wanted to make the theme a little more obvious so I searched for a camera sticker or stamp to add to the card. Luckily, I found the perfect stamp at my second stop (Paper Source).

The invites were complete!

Photo "Booth" and Props:

While browsing at Paper Source for the stamp, I was thrilled to come across a photo prop kit! I didn't even know that such a thing existed and had planned on making the props myself. I thought the $14.95 price tag was well worth the time and energy it would have cost me to create them from scratch. All I had to do was punch out the shapes and attach them to the dowels, that were included, with a little hot glue. They turned out great!

As you can see, I also added a frame prop. I used the frame from an old mirror that was collecting dust in the basement. I just removed the mirror and painted the wooden frame lime green (I used some left over paint from Jax's nursery).

I set up the photo "booth" in our office because it has good natural light and was out of the way of the rest of the party. I used duct tape to secure a queen size sheet to the wall and then hung some extra party decorations to add a little more pizazz.

The party pics were zoomed in so the bed and attractive duct tape edging didn't show. Everyone who attended the party had their picture taken (some with a little more prompting than others) and signed Jax's guest book. I'm going to add each group's picture next to their message, so Jackson will have a nice keepsake from his party. I'm also planning on sending everyone their picture, along with the thank you notes, as a souvenir. I'll include some of the pics in another post, once we get them back from our photographer (my darling and talented cousin Becca).

Decorations:

This was my favorite part of planning the whole party! Besides this package of first birthday decorations and some balloons, I made most of the decor myself. My absolute favorite was the party hat garland.

I made another, more simple, garland using Jackson's monthly pictures.

I also made a banner for Jackson's highchair (inspired by the one from my copycat party).

Finally, I designed little cupcake picks.

I will detail all of my DIY party decorations in future blog posts!

Food:

This was definitely my least favorite part of the planning... Shocking, I know. We decided to keep things as simple as possible because we didn't want to spend Jackson's party in the kitchen. Since the party was at 2pm, we didn't have to worry about serving a meal (which would have been impossible with close to 40 guests and limited space). Instead, we had heavy snacks and dessert (and beer and wine). In all of the hustle and bustle of the party, not only did I forget to take a picture of the food table, I even forgot to put out a couple of things! This is what was served:

• meatballs
• cucumber sandwiches
• meat & cheese tray
• veggie tray
• hummus & pita chips
• potato chips
• vanilla cupcakes with vanilla cream cheese frosting
• chocolate cake

Everything was made ahead of time or came straight out of a bag. Unfortunately, we forgot to prep and put out the fruit. Oh well, we had lots leftovers so hopefully it wasn't missed...

So there you have it! We had a blast and I think our guests did, too! Thanks to Elle Belle Creative and Pinterest for the inspiration, my husband for putting up with my craziness in the days leading up to the party, my cousin Becca for taking pics, my mom and sister for babysitting while we prepped for the party, and to everyone who came to help celebrate!