1st Birthday Celebration

I’m a believer that birthdays are too precious, too important and too exciting to only give them a day. I’ve always been that way, birth month or bust. Naturally, you would think that I would have been pinning my little heart out as the boys’ birth month approached. I’m here to tell you that I was initially going to keep it super low key. They don’t know any better after all, right? Then one thing led to another, my mom (Gigi) booked her flight, we decided a brunch at home wouldn’t accommodate the friends and family that we wanted to invite, a venue got booked, and then a party was in the works. You won’t find me complaining, although the bags under my eyes needed a good lick of concealer for a good week to follow. I digress. Today I’m bringing you a little recap of the first of birthday celebration for our little men and a few tips to get planning a baby bash of your own.

The theme was an obvious choice. We’re pretty routine over in this house, I think with two it’s a must. Every morning after breakfast we move our little party into the living room and, after a little play, we turn on Elmo. Even from being teeny tiny Elmo was a fan favourite. Then Gigi got the boys the cutest little personalised Elmo outfit to wear when they met him. The primary colour combo (green, blue, yellow and red) also made it easy to source the decor and the rest was history, as they say.

I’m still in disbelief and a little denial that my two little miracle babies have completed twelve months here on earth. Although they’re meant to be identical, from the day they entered the world their different personalities have shown through. Our little Hampton man is a Momma’s boy. He has a sensitive and sweet spirit and is aware of everything going. You can see his little mind ticking away as he constantly explores and figures everything out. His smile melts me and his slobbery kisses are my favourite. Hudson is our chilled out little life of the party. He’s our social bug and his cheeky little smirk gets me every time. He has the best giggle and his little voice, especially they way he mimics you saying “hiiii”, is just the best. I could go on and on, but I’ll save that for the baby book and the Instaspam that’s sure to continue until they tell me enough is enough one day.

The party was so much fun, even though the boys slept through 45 minutes of it. The greatest part is seeing some of our favorite people come together to love on our boys. They say it takes a village and ours, both near and far, are top notch.

Here are a few things to consider before throwing a birthday celebration for your little one.

get creative. Throwing together a great party doesn’t have to break the bank. I chose a theme and then decided a colour palette and scoured the internet for the best prices. I also tried to hand make as much decor as I could with out it looking too DIY. Items such as bunting, highchair banners, wooden blocks and lunch boxes are a great place to start.

choosing a venue. Initially I wanted to host this party at our house. Given the time of year, chances were we couldn’t host the party outdoors so we opted for another venue. We ended up renting our church foyer because it allowed plenty of space, free parking, and it meant that we could free our house from the mess.

consider the crowd. It’s also important to consider the ages of your guests. Most of the friends we invited have kids ranging from newborns to around five. We knew that having strictly baby entertainment just wouldn’t work for the crowd, so we ensured that there was a good mix. A big hit was the balloon artist, we also hired a soft play package which included a bouncy castle for the older kids to enjoy.

celebrate the memories. The first year of parenthood is full of moments of joy and many milestones. Collect all of your favourites and decide how you want to share them. I wanted to create a photobook that the boys could keep and look back on in years to come. Then I delegated to my, loving and willing, husband to put together a slideshow that we could play on loop at the party. Both of these options served as a great addition to the monumental celebration.

These are just a few things to consider when pinning and planning a birthday bash for your little. What theme are you dreaming up? Party or opting for something low key? We would love to hear!