ok. so Jack's 1st birthday party is 6 weeks away!!! AAAAAAAAGGHHHHH. i have done very little to prepare myself. i've come up with the theme & picked up a few decorations. i've pretty much decided about the food & the guest list. i've even come up with a few little creative ideas, which is hard for me! but i need your help. i've never thrown a birthday party for a 1 year old. i've thrown baby showers, wedding showers & had dinner parties but a child's birthday party is a whole other ball game.
i need any tips/suggestions/do's/don'ts that you can pass my way. if you've thrown a 1st birthday party or just a child's party in general then please give me any advice you can. what worked for you? what is a big no no? what would you do differently? what should i look to spend? how much is too much for a 1st birthday cake? i want to spend the day enjoying Jack & celebrating the blessing of his 1st year of life. i don't want to feel frazzled, stressed or irritated. i'm not trying to break the bank with this party. i've picked up a few decorations off the $1 aisle at target and i'm ordering the personalized invites (super cute!) off of etsy for $15.
let me share my ideas with you so that you can get a feel for what i'm wanting to do.
*date: october 24th @ 5 p.m. at my mom's
*theme: fall
(i'm thinking i'll decorate with pumpkins, use the colors orange & brown, and any little fall decor i can scrounge up)
*food: hamburgers, chips & dip, cake & ice cream
this is the cake that i would LOVE to have for the adults (i'll make Jack a little cake for him to dive into!) anyone know of a good cake baker? i'm wondering how much this cake would cost me?!! if its too much i'm thinking i'll pick something different. but ever since i saw this, i wanted it! (of course, i'll change the 2 to 1 & change the name!)
*party ideas: i'm thinking of picking up some pumpkins & every family can carve their own pumpkin for halloween. is that cheesy or does that sound fun?!
*Jack: what to dress him in?! i've thought of ordering a cute little birthday shirt of off etsy with his name monogrammed on it. i found a few that are inexpensive. i know the early years are just about the only time i have a real say in the party theme & Jack's clothes. one day, he'll want his own thing!
my plan is to hit up hobby lobby soon & see what i can find for cheap. since i'm decorating with fall decor & pumpkins, anything i buy can be reused at my home. yay!! plus, it gives me a good excuse to go shopping!!! any suggestions on cute, cheap fall decor?! i have a few ideas myself but i would LOVE to hear from you. i have some very creative friends & family members. just check out their blogs & you can see for yourself!!
i really would appreciate any help you can give me. i'll do a post about his party once we have it & i'm even planning on doing my own do & don't list for kids parties. thanks ya'll!!
9 comments:
I LOVE the pumpkin carving idea... you could get little pumpkins for the kids.... big ones for the adults....or we could paint pumpkins instead of carve!
Get the little pumpkin buckets kids use to trick or treat to use as the goody bags & fill it with halloween candy that you can get at the DOLLAR STORE
Roast pumpkin seeds as a appetizer! They are YUMMY!
jacks shirt could be a pumpkin with a 1 in it. if you bought a shirt & fabric paint I would love to paint it on for you! [only if you dont wanna spend the money on a shirt]
You could serve some pumpkin pie! YUM
Dad has a trailor....you could do a hay ride around the subdivision after... anyone at your church have a hay farm? That would be a FUN idea!
I think pumpkin carving/painting is a GREAT idea! so fun!
Ill keep thinking and get back to yoU!:)
thanks kate! GREAT ideas! i knew you would have something good for me to think about!!
I love your ideas!!! There is a lady in our church that owns a bakery that could easily do that cake. I think it will be a great party!!! He is getting too big and I have never even met him! I love Katie's ideas, she is so creative. Have fun!!!
I need to start working on Colt's 2nd bday!
i think pumpkin carving would be super cute but also super messy. painting pumpkins is always fun. brooke & i always paint some every year. i've never given a b-day party for my kid but have just helped with ava's. brooke said from now on the things she would do differently is cupcakes & the individual ice creams. that eliminates utensils, plates, scooping ice cream, & cutting cake. jack could still dive into his own cupcake. she said from now on she's ordering pizza instead of trying to cook dinner or have her husband grill b/c then you don't enjoy it as much. fall is a good time for b-days so much cute decor to use. :)
Thanks Audrey for your comment. I love the party ideas...so fun!
hobby lobby has so many cute fall decorations.. for cheap! I was just there this week!
also, I have a really yummy recipe for pumpkin bread if you want to make some of this for a desert or something?!
carving or painting pumpkins would be fun! if we do carve pumpkins, you'd have to provide the knives and stuff. or ask people to bring them.
for a cheap/fun activity, you could fill a jar with candy corn and ask each family to guess how many is in the jar, and then give away a little price (maybe a small cute pumpkin or something?)
jack would look adorable in absolutely anything.
i love the idea of this party! it's going to be so much fun! i can't believe my sweet jack is already 1!
Something cute to have outside would be to carve or paint Jack's momogram or a big J or a 1 on a pumpkin so people could see that when they walk in.
Don't wear yourself out with it. Remember for you to enjoy it! It is alot of work throwing a bday party so do as much as you can before hand. This year before everyone got there, we went ahead and scooped the ice cream out onto a cookie sheet and put it back into the freezer. Made it SO much easier to serve everyone.
We got Jackson's cake this year at the Busy Bakery in Bartlett and they did a GREAT job and were very affordable.
Good luck. can't wait to see pics of the party
thanks girls!! i love all of your ideas!!
shannon. i'll definitely be carving a pumpkin with a J or Jack's name in it. super cute idea!!!
thanks for the recommendation about the bakery. i'll try to contact them too.
i'm getting excited about his party. we'll have so much fun & i'm going to be as prepared as possible!!!
If you're feeling really DIY--
1. Maybe just make the top part of your dream cake with a bundt pan and icing? I bet you could do it!!!
2. If you do pumpking carving, definitely go outside! Pumpkin painting may be the way to go.
3. I love the idea of carving a 1 or a J into a big pumpkin at the front door.
4. The hit of our party for Drew was a helium balloon. Invest in a few black and orange ones for a dollar or less each.
5. What about spiced apple cider for dessert?
6. You could always get everyone to wear their Halloween costume!
7. Get Jack stripped down to his diaper for the cake smashing and put a towel or old sheet under the high chair. Helps for fast clean up!
8. What about getting a white t shirt, some fabric from hobby lobby, and cutting out the number 1 or letter J in the fabric, then using WonderUnder to applique it (aka- iron it on)? Since it's just a short wear item, you wouldn't even have to sew it! Kohls also has a shirt out that says "Birthday Boy" AND an extra 20% off baby items sale right now! (sorry for the extreme run on.)
9. Are there going to be older kids at the party? Consider sack races and 3 legged races. Easy and cheap!
10. Don't make it too complicated! Enjoy it!
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