This first birthday party post includes affiliate links.
Tate just celebrated being one at her posies and pinwheels first birthday party and I wanted to share some of the cute and creative details with you! I added a lot of creative elements to the party but kept the overall idea really simple and it was a total success!
I really like dressing my kids in a special outfit, especially for the first birthday. Tate looked so cute in her birthday outfit. This outfit was really simple to make since it started with a ready-made onesie and skirt.
The pinwheel invitations were delivered a few weeks ago, and four little playgroup friends came over in the afternoon to join in the festivities.
I made a monogrammed wreath and hung it by the front door to greet guests …
… and placed a chalkboard easel {with a stitched paper garland made with paper punches strung across the top} in the front entryway to display a birthday message.
The little guests amused themselves with treats from activity jars.
Each guest was given a small gift bag …
… and got to choose goodies from the activity jars. They played with the items and then got to take some home at the end, as a goody bag.
To make the activity jars, I used ninety-nine cent planters from IKEA, added cute labels that I made on the computer, and filled the jars with whistles, balls, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and pinwheels. The treats all came from the cheap bins at the party store.
These simple activities were perfect for little ones and parents and siblings played along with them.
While playing with the activity jars, I set out little tins of baby goldfish so the kiddos could snack and play.
When the kids had played themselves out, we went inside for a balloon drop. Luke and Lila had a balloon drop at their first birthday party too and it’s one of my favorite ideas for little ones.
I taped yards of tulle to a ledge in our house and filled it up with balloons.
My older kids released one side of the tulle and the balloons fell down on the little ones. A balloon drop is always a big hit! {To make a balloon drop easily, you can buy a balloon drop kit online.}
When the balloon drop was over, the kids sat down at the party table which was decked out in pink and orange. The centerpiece was made up of branches covered with pinwheels and posies and stuck in a vase of tulle.
I tucked the napkins into patterned library card pockets and set stamped wooden spoons on top.
I served water in flower-topped mason jars with decorative paper straws …
… and scattered confetti circles and flowers on top of the table.
I placed baby snacks in little mason jars with labels …
… and just set them on the table within reach of little ones.
Tate had her own homemade pink and orange smash cake …
… and she was pretty intrigued with the whole process!
She modeled her knit birthday hat perfectly and we got some really cute photos of her enjoying the icing on the smash cake.
While Tate was eating her cake, the guests enjoyed pink and orange iced cupcakes with homemade pinwheel and posy cupcake toppers.
When it was time to leave, Tate’s friends took home bags filled with their activity jar treats and pinwheel-topped boxes …
… that contained a homemade flower-shaped teething biscuit.
We had lots of fun celebrating Tate and loved celebrating this big milestone!
Jane and Lou says
I love it! You are very clever my dear. Nice colour scheme, and love the pinwheels and posies, and the favour boxes. Great photos too. Jane:)
Anonymous says
Man oh man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jenny says
We had so much fun!! Brenner couldn’t stop talking about it! What about the group photo on the couch?
barb says
I love everything you did for Tate’s party but I really love how excited Tate looks in the first picture! She is so cute.
Thanks for sharing it with us!
Pati @ A Crafty Escape says
What a beautiful party! I love the party hat… did you make that?
Linda says
I love that first photo of Tate. So cute! Great details! Wow, you’ve spent so much time and thought on everything. I love the branches with the pinwheels on it.
Elizabeth says
This is one of your best yet! I love the color scheme. What a fun party Randi!
The Martin 6 says
SUPER cute!!!
"bigcanadiangirl" says
Way to go Rand. Excellent details. Maybe we should do a styled children’s birthday shoot together. She looks so cute in the first photo – like she just walked over and plunked down on that chair.
Jerri says
What a great party! You did such a great job on all the table decor! I love her birthday hat too. Did you make it? Or was it ordered?
Randi says
Thanks – I love the hat too. I made it … you can see a link to the pattern here:
http://6dukes.blogspot.com/2010/08/hat.html
michelle@everyday celebrating says
fabulous! Love the balloon drop idea! I’ll be featuring it on Everyday Celebrating!
Maureen says
What a great party! You continue to outdo yourself!
Kim's Treasures says
What a beautiful party!!! Love her hat!!!
Kim @ seven thirty three says
Gorgeous party. So many great elements!
Thanks for linking with Sugar & Spice.
Sandy Ang says
What sweet party decor !
Tammy@ Not Just Paper and Glue says
What a sweet party! I love all of the special touches you added to everything.
Dee says
What a lucky girl! I love the name Tate…too sweet!
Donene says
What a great party! I loved her hat and she is so darling!
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Katie's Nesting Spot says
Oh golly that was ONE PARTY!!! Seriously I don’t even know where to begin…I am so impressed it was amazing! Okay I guess I’ll begin by saying why have I never heard of a balloon drop before…one word…fabulous! I love how you labeled everything to make them super cute and that branch centerpiece was so fun as well! Can’t believe you even had matching straws!!! Thank you for joining us at A Crafty Soiree! I hope you’ll come back next week and link up again!
Lolly Jane says
stop! that’s SOOO cute!! i love it ALL! new follower, thanks for visiting. 🙂
I♥naptime w/ Chocolate Sundaes says
This is such a cute party!!! love it! I’d love for you to link them up at sundae scoop! http://iheartnaptime.blogspot.com/
Amanda @ Serenity Now says
I LOVE the orange and pink color scheme. The bday girl’s outfit is just precious!! The cupcakes look amazing. Love all the little details. I’m visiting from The CSI Project today. Hope you’ll stop by my blog to say hi. 🙂
Kim @ Frost Me! says
very sweet! I love the color combo! And the little snack jars are adorable!
hugs! Kim @
party inspiration
malia says
what a little dollface + what a lovely blog. i’m your newest follower. hope you link up again this week at a crafty soiree
Ashlee @ I'm Topsy Turvy says
What a fun party. The orange and pink is a fun party theme. I really liked the garland as well as the pinwheels.
Jami says
Pink & orange are one of my favorite color combination! The party favors are especially cute. I hope you’ll stop by the Pretty Packages Party and share them!
http://blackberryvine.blogspot.com/2010/10/pretty-packages-party-3.html
smiles!
Sandi says
adorable!! love this color scheme. the balloon drop is precious!
Piggy Bank Parties says
So sweet! Another party we’d love to see!
Kendra@My Insanity says
So cute! The balloons are a great idea! Kid heaven!
{ L } says
Ok! I’m a new big fan of yours! I love your parties and I’m a new follower too. 🙂
Gentlemanjoe says
somebody loves hot pink! Wow!…. good show.