i was initially conflicted about whether or not to even have a first birthday party for my daughter. i mean, of course we would have celebrated, but i didn't know if a party was something she would even be able to enjoy at such a young age.
but then as her first birthday got closer, i started getting bummed about how quickly my baby girl was growing up, and that's when i decided a party was definitely in order! if nothing else, i needed i diversion!
i decided to go for a hot air balloon themed party. the reasoning was that while i was in labor with jia and just about to start pushing, there was a hot air balloon floating outside my hospital window! despite everything that was going on for me in that moment, that made a special impact, and to me is a cool memory of her birth!
so i started putting together a party for jia and her batch of baby friends from church, and drew on some ideas from pinterest. if you look up anything about baby parties on pinterest, expect to be bombarded, and for things to quickly spiral out of control! it's like i couldn't help myself...pinterest projects turned into my therapy. although i must say, not all the ideas were stolen from pinterest...i did have a couple original ones in the mix!
i made a hot air balloon fruit basket, with rainbow fruit skewers, and photo "clouds." basically i used the walgreens app to print the instagram pics i've been taking like crazy for the past year, and i taped them to the end of balloons. it was a sweet little photo gallery.
the picnic part didn't quite turn out like my vision though. we were supposed to have a couple balloons on each picnic blanket, tied to lanterns with little citronella candles in them to keep the mosquitos away...but alas, the wind blew us all away. we had to resort to weighing the blankets down with random stuff...but at least the wind also kept the mosquitos at bay...and you can't complain about a breeze when it's 100 degrees! and i totally recommend a picnic for little ones...it makes the clean up so much easier!
we did cupcakes for everyone instead of regular cake...and since a lot of the guests were under 1 year old, i actually made healthy(ish) chocolate zucchini cupcakes so we wouldn't feel as bad about the kiddos chowing down! and contrary to how it sounds, they are delicious! for party favors i had goodies in some little bags with a pinwheel and balloon on top...it kind of looks like little hot air balloons, right? maybe?
jia's smash cake was really just 5 and 1/2 cupcakes put together into the shape of a cloud, and iced over! on top i put an actual pic of the hot air balloon that we took while in labor. it's kind of like it's floating on a cloud, right? as with all smash cakes...cuteness in sued.
one of my favorite party pinspirations was a little hot air balloon photo area. i mean, does it get any cuter?
please! the cuteness!!
but of course the babies would have been just as happy if the whole party had only consisted of the little splash pool. (water is a necessity at all texas summer parties!)
at the end of the day, we all had fun i think. jia was too wiped out at the end to really appreciate gift opening, but the next morning was pretty much like christmas for her!
so even though the fullness of it all was a bit lost on jia, it was still fun to celebrate our little girl, and reminisce a year that all too quickly flew by! and i gotta say...kid parties are fun!
**a big thanks to Akshay Harshe Prasad Photography for the pics!**
but then as her first birthday got closer, i started getting bummed about how quickly my baby girl was growing up, and that's when i decided a party was definitely in order! if nothing else, i needed i diversion!
i decided to go for a hot air balloon themed party. the reasoning was that while i was in labor with jia and just about to start pushing, there was a hot air balloon floating outside my hospital window! despite everything that was going on for me in that moment, that made a special impact, and to me is a cool memory of her birth!
so i started putting together a party for jia and her batch of baby friends from church, and drew on some ideas from pinterest. if you look up anything about baby parties on pinterest, expect to be bombarded, and for things to quickly spiral out of control! it's like i couldn't help myself...pinterest projects turned into my therapy. although i must say, not all the ideas were stolen from pinterest...i did have a couple original ones in the mix!
we just did all different types of sandwiches and snacks foods...and my husband did a few kabobs as well. i wanted to stick to mostly finger foods for the kiddos...and plus it was a backyard picnic so it just worked!
we did cupcakes for everyone instead of regular cake...and since a lot of the guests were under 1 year old, i actually made healthy(ish) chocolate zucchini cupcakes so we wouldn't feel as bad about the kiddos chowing down! and contrary to how it sounds, they are delicious! for party favors i had goodies in some little bags with a pinwheel and balloon on top...it kind of looks like little hot air balloons, right? maybe?
jia's smash cake was really just 5 and 1/2 cupcakes put together into the shape of a cloud, and iced over! on top i put an actual pic of the hot air balloon that we took while in labor. it's kind of like it's floating on a cloud, right? as with all smash cakes...cuteness in sued.
one of my favorite party pinspirations was a little hot air balloon photo area. i mean, does it get any cuter?
but of course the babies would have been just as happy if the whole party had only consisted of the little splash pool. (water is a necessity at all texas summer parties!)
so even though the fullness of it all was a bit lost on jia, it was still fun to celebrate our little girl, and reminisce a year that all too quickly flew by! and i gotta say...kid parties are fun!
**a big thanks to Akshay Harshe Prasad Photography for the pics!**
Hi there! I'm Heather and I was wondering if you would be willing to answer a quick question I have about your blog! My email address is Lifesabanquet1@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteYour daughter is so adorable! She has similar features as my daughter, Maya :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for a 1st birthday party too!
These are such amazing pictures from the first birthday party. Well dear, I am also in need of some nice party themes for a 50th birthday bash of my Mother-in-law. We want to host outdoor party at the event venues Chicago. So please suggest some suitable ideas.
ReplyDelete