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Hey friends! I am finally getting around to sharing all about Dean’s Party Animal 1st Birthday party a week-and-a-half later, and honestly I haven’t even written the thank you notes yet so my priorities may be a little out of check. I’ll get to those next!
My husband and I had both decided we wanted this party to be adorable but we weren’t going to drop thousands of dollars on a kids’ birthday party. After all, he just turned one and the only memories he’ll have from this birthday will be in pictures. Here’s how I used trusty Pinterest, and added a little creativity, to pull off the perfect (simple) Party Animal first birthday party.
Theme and Invitations:
My first step was picking the theme. I settled on a Party Animal theme, because I just loved all of the inspo photos I found. I then used Evites to send out invitations because it is completely free (unless you choose a premium theme) and very easy to keep track of RSVP’s. (You can use my affiliate link to get signed up for evites here.) Evites makes it easy to include an Amazon wish list for gift ideas. I didn’t want to come off like “buy my kid a gift” but I also know a lot of people have a hard time picking out gifts for little kids who can’t tell you what they want. I got a LOT of positive feedback on including a wish list.
For decor:
I loved the idea I stumbled upon of ordering the plastic animal toys and adding DIY birthday hats. I mean how stinking cute are these?! Okay, I ended up ordering the hats from Etsy but once I realized what they were made of, I totally could have DIY’d them. I also planned to use them as a cake topper because I wanted them to be a focal point and really tie the whole party together. This was my starting block that I basically focused the rest of the decor on.
I decided on a very simple color scheme for the decor (mostly green and white with some pops of blue). I’m a lover of neutrals and clean lines so it would have been too much for me to do a ton of colors but I needed to make it fun since it was, after all, a kid’s birthday party and not mine! The animals and the photo I had of my son on the table provided the extra pops of color the decor needed.
I knew ahead of time I wanted to feature a balloon arch. You can see how I made it by watching my YouTube video (How to Make Your Own Balloon Arch), and trust me, it’s way easier than it sounds. Does my one-year-old care about a balloon arch? No. But I think they’re so cool and I wanted to try making one. I definitely didn’t want to spend the money on having a professional do it. Details like this can add up! You don’t even have to blow up the balloons (use a cheap hand pump instead).
I also really liked the idea of using these palm leaves (find them here) as part of the party decor. The pops of green definitely made it feel more safari/jungle-esque and feel less “zoo” or “circus” themed. I even added some leaves to the balloon arch to make it feel a little like a tree canopy over the cake table. It turned out so cute!
For Food:
We actually decided on having the party from 3-5pm because I knew I could schedule Dean’s naps around that time frame. That made planning food really simple because we were between meal times. Of course, we still had plenty of snacks available. No one wants to go to a party without food. I decided on doing a charcuterie board, some fresh fruits, and nuts. I also made goodie bags that doubled as snacks.
The Birthday Cake:
The most important part of the whole birthday party is dessert. Because who goes to a birthday party and doesn’t have cake?! I decided to go for a beautiful cake from a local bakery here in Tulsa (Merritt’s Bakery) as the focal point of the dessert table. It turned out perfectly- simple and neutral, with gold animals parading around the bottom of the cake. I just kept it in the fridge and placed the “party animals” on top as I was setting everything up!
Other Desserts:
Not everyone likes cake, so I ordered some cookies from my friend Sarah. They turned out SO cool and really added to the aesthetic of the party. Having a variety of desserts is the way to go to make sure that everyone gets to satisfy their sweet tooth!
Lastly but most importantly was something special for the birthday boy to enjoy! Instead of shelling out another $40-50 on a smash cake, I decided to grab some cupcakes from our local grocery store and make them fun! We also had a few kids 4 years and under and I thought a cupcake would just be a better option for them. So, my husband picked up a dozen white cupcakes with multicolored sprinkles (they matched my party animals’ hats perfectly). I found the idea to add animal crackers to the top of each of them from Pinterest. It tied the cupcakes into the theme very nicely and I didn’t have to spend a fortune on them. And the Birthday Boy was happy with his cupcake.
Party Favors:
I wanted to make sure each guest felt that we were really thankful they came to celebrate with us. After all, the first birthday party is more about the parents celebrating getting through the first year, right? AND there’s not a chance we could have made it through without all of the family and close friends who helped us. So, I made a really simple snack mix for goodie bags and attached “thank you for coming” notes that I found here. Keep this in mind for a simple, but thoughtful gesture you can make for your guests!
Thank You Notes
To follow up, I have printed these thank you cards (that match the other printable I used) and will send them out just as soon as I get this post published. A Thank You note is always a must! You can use your evite account to send thank you notes to anyone on your guest list!
So there are my secrets to how we pulled off an adorable Party Animal birthday for our son. I definitely benefitted from the help of my husband, my mother-in-law, and my aunt-in-law throughout the weekend. I also can’t forget to acknowledge my mom who came in clutch with the balloon arch attachment solution.
As always, thanks for reading and visiting my blog!
Cait
