In the end, I settled on something that wouldn't limit me to a specific set of decor, ideas, etc. Vintage Red Wagon. It allowed me to use things I already own. Classic white serving ware, vintage jars, and toys and I chose two fairly common colors. Red & Aqua.
After choosing a theme, the next step for me is always the invitation. I design all my shower, and party invites myself. Here is Bug's...
Then, the easiest thing for me was the menu. It was held from 2-4 so traditionally you don't have to feed people, but that's just not the way I do things. For the adults, there were meatballs, chicken nuggets, an awesome little dip called "redneck caviar" found here, french onion dip and chips, fruit salad and a delicious fruit dip found here (made with only 2 ingredients by the way, which rocks!). There were also sub sandwiches, and pasta salad made by my awesome neighbor (not sure of the recipe but it has tri-color rotini, onions and dill. to. die. for).I served a couple sauces with the nuggets and bread and butter pickles because I like them. Let me just go ahead and give you some advice. Plan for double what you invite, and then make more food. Seriously. I ran out, which has never happened to me before, but it did & I was mortified. It is always better to have extra than to run out. Take it from me. For the little ones I got decorative paper cups from Sweet Lulu and stocked those with cheerios, and served these awesome Veggie Straws as well.
Then you have the cake. My very talented sister in law made that, and it came out awesome! The topper I purchased from an Etsy shop, found here and it was adorable! I made the ombre smash cake myself. The cake sat on top of a wooden stool purchased from Hobby Lobby and stained by me.
For favors, I made (with the help of the bakery at Publix) 4 dozen sugar cookies, frosted them and piped a red "H" on them and put them in little treat bags. The tags were hand stamped with "thank you very much" and were tied with aqua twine. So fun!
&& for drinks I chose lemonade, soda and of course bottled water and served those with matching cups and striped straws from Sweet Lulu. Amazing little site for all your party supplies!
On the present table we wanted to give people a way to leave their mark, and for us to remember who was there. I ordered a book, "Red Wagon" from Amazon and set it up with a sign asking guests to sign the book and left pens out. Of course they all stopped working. Fail #2. Word to the wise, buy Sharpie brand. Don't go cheap like I did or you might have to hunt down your mother, who might also be a pen thief and ask for some replacements. Just maybe.
For another little corner, we set up my grandmother's vintage high chair and I hung a "ONE" banner from it. I found the printable banner here. I cut those out and then cut out some slightly larger from colored paper and pasted them to it. Behind his chair was an element of my own creation, the photo wall. I used chalkboard printable that I wish I had to give you, but have since lost on my computer somewhere and do not remember their source. They each said "One Month" "Two Month" etc. and I string those on twine, four to a string leaving space for 2 4x6's in between each. I hung those on the wall, and in the spaces hung two photos from each month of his sweet little life.
Another little decorative element were the chalkboard pieces. Outside the front door was a chalkboard that said Welcome to Hunter's party and balloons were attached to that. Behind the cake table was a black poster board that I drew on with chalk pens that listed his "stats". Favorite book, height, weight, etc. It was a hit and I had a ton of questions about it!
I had a shirt made for Hunter and it was one of my favorite things!
The rest of the decor was pretty simple. Tablecloths & balloons that matched and of course matching plates, cups, silverware etc.
We let everyone eat, and socialize then went straight into the smash cake, and ended things up with presents.
It was such a good time. However I will leave you with some things I learned.
1. Plan. Plan. Plan & when you think you are crazy for panning to early, you have probably started to late. Pinterest is amazing, but limit yourself to the things that matter and go from there.
2. As I previously stated, plan for more than you think. When the party is over and there is food left, you can always take it home.
3. With little ones, it is so important to plan when it's good for them! You do not want a cranky baby on your hands. He/She will be passed around like crazy and you want your sweet one in a good mood. For us, that meant after his first nap (11:00-12:30 or 1:00) and before his second nap (usually 3:00 but can be pushed to 4:00).
4. On that note, plan your schedule to allow for baby to have as normal a day as possible and at the party prioritize what you actually want baby to participate in. If you know you will have a grumpy baby on your hands an hour into the party, you might want to make sure you take pictures and do the cake first. Baby can't open presents anyways...
5. Have fun. Do what you can before hand, so that you can enjoy the big day. You don't want to be stressing over where you put the forks or how much dip you have or don't have.
6. Last but not least, except help. I had my amazing best friend, my sister, mom, and in laws there to help me set up. My amazing husband kept Hunter at home doing his regular stuff until time to be at the party!
Enjoy planing! We all know that the first birthday is for us Mom's and it's a big day!
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