Emilia's First Birthday Party
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Hi Folks! If you’re new around here (well, I guess technically we’re all new here since this is my third post on the new site), you know I love entertaining and you know I love the details. Fun fact, I once spent way too much time and way more money than I care to admit to throw my dog a first birthday party at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. So when it came to my human child, well her first birthday was def going to be a fun one!
The theme: bunnies. Pink. And bunnies. Ever since I picked out the bunny wallpaper for her nursery (March Hare by Jane Churchill) it’s been pink and bunnies from then on. She even took her monthly photos on a pink bunny blanket.
After I found this darling invitation suite (and matching party favor tags, stamps, and thank you cards), the theme was official. I have used Minted for so many of our paper goods over the years - holiday cards, birth announcements, invitations, and stationery. Their quality is great and I love that you can load all your addresses into the system so they can print them on the envelopes for you. This past year since I knew we’d have birth announcements, holiday cards, and birthday invitations, I went ahead and signed up for Minted More which gives you 30% off holiday cards, 20% off all other items, and free shipping for a year all for $38. A great thing to purchase if you know you’re going to have a big year.
I knew we’d have several older siblings present at the party and wanted to have something for the older kids to do (and keep some of the traffic flow out of our house), so the obvious choice was…live bunnies! For those of you in the DFW area, I couldn’t have better things to say about Cathy’s Critters. They called me to confirm a few days before, were on time, did a full set up with cute gate and hand washing station and brought…22 bunnies (I thought I was only getting 12)! The bunnies were a huge hit with the kids, although Emilia definitely wanted to grab them by their ears like her stuffed animal bunnies.
For paper goods and decor, I was getting stumped. I wanted classic, girly, pretty paper plates, but kept finding ones with overly neon or confetti or unicorns on them (nothing against unicorns, just not right for this go around). I was looking for a Liberty of London print on a plate and after going to the end of the internet I learned they don’t make them anymore. And then, alas I found my new obsession - Coterie Party! Seriously the cutest paper party goods that are elevated and unique - you can even shop by theme. At this point if you’re thinking to yourself, “Did she just search high and low for the perfect paper plate for a 1st birthday party and then write a paragraph about it?” the answer would be yes. Welcome to my crazy. (Psst, here's a link for $10 off your first $50 at CoterieParty.com!)
The balloon swags in our breakfast nook and over the fireplace added a lot of wow to the decor. I’ve heard you can DIY these things, but that felt like a bit much to take on. Not to mention, I literally can’t blow up a balloon and DIY crafty things make me anxious. We used “Donna the Balloon Lady” to do the balloons. She appears to have no traces of a business on the internet. I got her contact from a friend and she’s in my phone as First Name: Donna, Last Name: Balloon Lady. She was cheaper than some of the well-known Dallas balloon companies and did a great job. Dallas people, let me know if you want her contact info. The darling “some bunny is one” banner was done by my DIY-loving friend, Julee. Hot tip: if you’re not a DIY person, it helps to have a friend who is.
While DIY balloons were a big no for me, I did, however, do the flowers myself. Know your strengths - if balloons seem easier than flowers than by all means pay for some pre-done arrangements. I find flower arranging oddly relaxing. I selected shades of pink roses, hydrangea (the best for arrangements because they take up a lot of surface area), hypericum berries, and eucalyptus. I’ll do another post down the line on how I arrange flowers. It’s so fun! Trader Joes and Costco are by far the cheapest places to buy flowers, but I find TJs to have a better selection.
On to the cake! Steins Bakery is my go to for birthday cakes. I took in a copy of the invitation and asked them to make a cake with that on it and they did just that. They also made a 6” smash cake for Emilia that matched, as well as bunny sugar cookies to use as party favors. Their cakes and cookies don’t just look good, they taste incredible and they always do a terrific job.
99% of the time I try to throw a kids party at non-meal times. Then you can provide snacks and not an entire meal. Although, to me, a chick-fil-a platter of nuggets is a must-have, meal time or not. Our spread was simple and what kids actually eat: apple sauce pouches, Annie’s cheddar bunnies and graham bunnies (staying on theme thank you very much), chick-fil-a nuggets, chick-fil-a fruit platter, and pigs in a blanket from Trader Joes. I put it all on my nice sterling serve ware so it was store-bought but not in yucky plastic containers. Easy! Oh and of course there was a cheese board and WINE for the adults. All kids parties need wine IMO. Chasing kids among other parents chasing kids is a work out that is substantially less annoying with wine.
Other party tips: expect a mess - especially in the playroom, have more wine and less cake than you think you need, and if you can spring it in your budget, hire a photographer (or even ask a friend) to take party pics. Having a photographer takes the pressure off you to capture each detail and get pictures with family and friends. I was much more present because I hired my talented friend Caroline Guinn Photography to take our pics. And man did she do a spectacular job!
Celebrating our little girl was so fun. I loved throwing her party and I’m kind of sad it’s over. It was a wonderful way to cap off our first year with our bubbly, sweet, and smiley little girl. Oh, and yes, she was a definite fan of cake.
