Birthday Party: Strawberries!

There is not much cuter than a one year old on her birthday!  For this little one's birthday, we focused on strawberries and expanded with colors.  Pinks, reds and bright greens are fabulous together and really helped make this party pop.

How do you choose your party times?  It can be tricky when you're trying to avoid nap time as well as mealtimes - but the best option is to choose a time that works best for the birthday girl or boy and hope family and friends can make it.  Having a fussy birthday baby only adds stress!  For this sweet birthday girl, the party was timed just right - not around a meal and not around nap time - and everyone was happy from start to finish.

Keeping with the theme, we planned a Strawberry Shortcake Bar for the treats and it was yummy!  The homemade shortcakes fit perfectly into the cups - topped with berries and whip cream - and they were delicious!

Cupcakes are often the easiest way to serve the masses and not have a lot of prep during the party (cutting the cake, plating the cake, serving the cake).  It's super easy to place a candle on a cupcake for the birthday boy or girl, sing Happy Birthday and allow guests to choose a cupcake at their own pace.  AND there are so many fun cupcake toppers out there to choose from!  Mom ordered these fun strawberry toppers on Etsy and they were perfect!  Perfect colors, yummy taste and adorable!

For drinks, we served pink lemonade (a small touch to stick with the color scheme)!  Covering these mason jars with cupcake tins was a perfect way to keep our drinks spill proof and the green straw added a fun pop of color.

For activities, we kept it simple - one year olds can't communicate their favorite things yet, so it's sometimes refreshing to keep it simple.  A few themed coloring sheets and playing with the new toys did the trick.

Two of my favorite small touches from the party were the polka dot balloons and little pink boxes placed throughout the house to add pops of color and theme.  The other small touch were the real strawberries planted in red containers and placed throughout the party space. These small touches not only added pops of color, carrying the theme beyond the food table, but also contributed to the overall theme of the party.

Check out those awesome wall puffs!  This unique spin off the traditional hanging puffs allows the party planner to add texture and depth to a tablescape without a ladder!  They were simple to make (1/2 the work of hanging puffs) and they are so much fun!

Handmade by mommy and friends, these personalized bracelets were a fun, final touch for kids to take home.  The strawberry beads were purchased off Etsy and the beads and string were purchased at a local craft store - together, they were adorable!  We printed custom bag toppers and ta-da!  A beautiful and fun favor for the kids to take home.

This was such a fun party to attend!  What's the next party on your calendar?

1st Birthday: Super Hero Party

For this little man's first birthday, we wanted to keep it small, but fabulous!

I had the super hero party idea, but Creative Imaginations - Super Hero Collection paper was the real inspiration. It made the whole party click and come together.  I add a few small things here and there and BAM!  Party!

We had the party in the evening and served cupcakes and desserts.  I used the sticker sheets to create fun cupcake picks and the word blurb paper everywhere!  The colors were vintage super hero - reds, blues and yellows.  I used the large superhero emblem as my template to create a simple "Happy Birthday" banner (sorry, no picture!) and hung the colored streamers in the main rooms of the house.

We sent the cousins and friends home with little goodie bags with superhero coloring books, crayons and tattoos.  The adult guests also when home with a little snack.

The party was small, but special - our little guy was the center of the celebration and it was just big enough to make it special but small enough for it to be remembered.  First birthday parties can be tricky since the little ones won't remember them, but regardless of whether you go "all out" or keep it small, they are a great excuse to get friends and family together.

Be Creative!