I’m just going to put this out there…
I think elaborate first birthday parties are a bit ridiculous.
Yeah. I said it. Go ahead and hate on me, mommas.
Here we are, one month until our sweet little D’s very first birthday, and really all I can think about is myself (okay, and maybe my husband). Call me selfish, but I think October 30th should perhaps be more of a celebration of our survival as first-time parents.
A “Yay! We haven’t died of sleep deprivation!” party.
Or a “Hurray! I lost all my baby weight because I was too busy to eat!” party.
Or maybe a “Hallelujah! We don’t have to buy formula anymore, so let’s get a keg!” party.
Those sound like much more fun.
However, I’m not completely heartless. I am the mother of an almost one year old – I do have a small amount of crazy harboring in my brain (and on my Pinterest account). Dorothy will have a proper birthday of wearing a tutu and shredding gift wrap. I have already purchased her an overly expensive birthday present that she will more than likely never play with. She will smash the living daylights out of a cake, and she will have the token photo of herself with frosting in her hair.
She’s going to have a blast. And I’m going to give her the outrageous birthday party that she’ll never remember… at least for a few hours.
Let me introduce you to my inspiration board for a very un-1st birthday party.
Not very toddler-esque, right? And that’s the way I like it. Because once Dot inevitably suffers a sugar crash around 7:30 p.m., I really am having my own celebration – complete with a backyard fire and adult beverages. Maybe even some hot tub action.
You thought I was kidding, didn’t you?
But about my inspiration…
As a member of the Christmas Baby Club, I sympathize with my daughter’s day-before-Halloween birth date. For the rest of her life she’ll probably celebrate her birthday with costume parties, pumpkin patches and haunted houses – and not necessarily by choice. Instead of picking an obvious fall “theme” for her/my day, I’ve decided to run with a color scheme of purple and gold (radiant orchid, to be most specific). Of course I’ll throw in a few pumpkins and maybe some caramel apple sangria for the mommies, because duh, but otherwise we’re looking at a party that could be held in any season… and for any age.
So, tell me – did you go overboard on your child’s first birthday party? What tips would you give a first timer? Anyone else have a survival party after the cake smash, or is that just me? I’d love to see your comments!
And, just because I was adorable, here’s my only memory of my first birthday. This image, and a really tan Minnie Mouse.
I went all out for Reid’s first birthday.. Cake, home made cupcakes with pictures of his face everywhere. I invited tons of people and a lot of them actually showed up. It was fun, but I put that stress on myself when I didn’t need to. For his second birthday we just had some cake and ice cream and invited some people over. Nothing big like the first one. And for Colbie’s first bday (she’ll be one on December 10th) I’ve been thinking of doing a similar party to yours. A party for us declaring: Look we kept her alive and us 3 other alive for a whole year! Now let’s eat, drink and be marry! So I think it’s a great idea! The kids just need a couple of pictures, they won’t remember a thing π and that’s pretty awesome if you ask me.
We keep our parties strictly family. I think it’s insane these people who invite like 100 people. I try to keep it totally fun for that child’s bday and thats my focus. I like to do just fun easy food to eat (like walking tacos etc) and traditional cake or cake pops. To those who go totally crazy with their parties I say Go For It! I love to have a cute & fun theme but I def. refuse to break the bank or stress over anything nutso. π
P.S. I’m a purple freak and I could basically faint over that mood board for her party!