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A few weeks ago we celebrated Baby A’s first birthday! I was shocked at how quickly her first year seemed to come and go. It feels like she’s been with us all along and she has truly been such a sweet blessing to our family. This post will be primarily about the party, hopefully I will get around to writing a 1 year recap.
(This invite is still available for customization as of 3/16! Click here to purchase.)
We decided to go with a Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Party. The colors were gold glitter and a light coraly-pink and I tried to incorporate stars everywhere I could. Leading up to the party my house was covered in gold glitter, no joke- it was everywhere! (all of the details are at the bottom of the post)
I made her birthday cake and banner- the frosting was this recipe from Lemonade Makin’ Mama and it was great. We had a Costco cake made for all of our guests and served water and my favorite pink punch!
Poor baby had a really bad cold- we put her down for her nap about an hour before the party, but had to wake her about 20 minutes after guests started arriving. We spent the day listening for sneezes and wiping her poor nose, but she was still in a pretty good mood!
Oh how I love this sweet girl!
We ordered party platters from a local restaurant. I didn’t want to have to worry about cooking for that many people, and the cost was about the same if not better. So we had the two party platters with taquitos, burritos and quesadillas in both shredded chicken and shredded beef, chips and salsa and a veggie platter.
Her party was held at noon on a Saturday, and since California is in the middle of a major drought and heat wave, the weather was fairly nice, almost too warm. It was nice to be able to have everyone outside enjoying the weather and we were able to rent a big bounce for the little kids so they weren’t destroying my house 🙂
The big bounce came with this fun little carnival game, which E seemed to like since she HATES big bounces. She actually got in after everyone was gone, she and I jumped for a little bit and I almost fell asleep- the warm weather, white noise from the pump and airy cushion was the perfect setting for a nap!
Since this girl loves to eat I was expecting her to devour her cake… she enjoyed being sang to but kept her eyes locked on me the whole time.
Then she very politely ate some of the frosting and maybe a bite or two of cake.
Since big sister was definitely interested, I cut her a piece to let Baby A see there was more than just frosting. She started eating a little more, but she never did really dig in.
MORE CAKE!
She isn’t quite walking yet but she loved to stand on her own! She has even started to dance while standing, just no movement forward.
We quickly opened gifts inside away from the warm weather. People were coming and going so we didn’t make a big deal of the opening, but she got some great things, fun toys and super cute clothing!
For party favors I made the little ones homemade glitter playdough in green and pink. I also made star sugar cookies for everyone. I am usually not a fan of sugar cookies but let me tell you the recipes for sugar cookies and royal icing from Bake at 350 have changed my mind- they were great and it seemed everyone liked them!
The details- I tried to link to the places that I actually purchased from- I bought a LOT of stuff online because it’s hard for me to get out of the house sometimes, and I have Amazon prime so honestly it’s just easier and quicker.
Baby A’s Outfit:
Gold Glitter Iron on Sheet (printed letters, traced backwards on glitter sheet, then ironed on- purchased from Joann’s with a coupon)
Pink and gold glitter tutu (sold out):
SIMILAR:
Cream/white long sleeve shirt (similar here)
Headband from Etsy
Decor:
Wooden Stars
Large Gold Stars
Glitter Spray Paint
O-N-E letters (cardboard) from Joann’s, painted with gold paint and gold glitter
Gold Tablecloth, silverware, napkins, etc- Target clearance after Christmas
Happy Birthday Banner- handmade by me (tutorial here)
Tassel Tissue banner- handmade
Cake/Favors:
Recipe for Sugar Cookies
Recipe for Royal Icing
Meringue powder used for Royal Icing (trust me- the meringue powder makes a difference!)
Food coloring for cake and cookies (a mixture of pink and peach)
Star Cookie Cutter
Bottle and tip for outlining cookies
Squeeze bottle for flooding cookies
White containers for playdough (gold stars are just stickers)
Cake Banner- handmade by me using bamboo skewers and gold glitter washi tape (tutorial here)
And if you made it past all of that! That’s all 🙂 It was a great afternoon spent with some of our closest friends and family celebrating the first year of our sweet Baby A!
What an adorable party! I love the way you did the theme! And the smash cake – so cute!
Her party turned out adorable.
She is one??? I can’t believe it! Such a cute theme! Happy birthday!
Where did you find your highchair? I’ve been looking for the contempo in rittenhouse print all over and can’t locate it.
Hi Jamie, we ordered it on Amazon a few years ago, probably 2011. Hope that helps!
Try Amazon GRACO chair I bought my this year.
Hello, I thought a few months ago you had an example of the birthday invite that you made for your daughter? You offered to send the file for a small fee. I really loved the invite that you used but I cannot find it anymore. Do you still have it? Thanks!
Hi Rachel! Yes, I do- you can find it here 🙂 Sorry about that- I just updated my blog and forgot to update that post! Thanks!
http://howsweetdesigns.com/baby-as-1st-birthday-twinkle-twinkle-little-star-party/
Hi! How did you make the tassel tissue banner?? This theme is adorable! And so is your daughter!
Hi! I followed this tutorial, but just used scissors to cut the tassles. It was super easy!
http://www.marthastewart.com/1081248/how-make-tassel-garland#1081248
Would you be able to share your recipe for the play dough?
The playdough turned out great! I actually still have two little tubs in my fridge that my girls play with. Here is the recipe- I think it’s a pretty common recipe, nothing special- except the glitter!
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/4 cup salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tsp cream of tartar
Stir everything together first, if you are making different colors- separate them out and add your food coloring or kool-aid, and your glitter (use the coarsest glitter you can find). Add the mixture to a pot on the stove, turn on medium-high. Continue stirring with a spatula until a ball is formed (it will move pretty quickly so watch it closely). Remove from heat- I put it on some wax paper- let it cool a bit, then knead with your hands until smooth. Repeat with any other colors!
Hi, thanks for sharing your play dough recipe. I was wondering if the glitter comes off when playing with it? Or does the glitter stay in the dough pretty well even when playing with it? And do you add the glitter into the mixture right from the beginning? Thank you!
Hi Esther, I don’t remember the glitter being an issue (it’s been three years 🙂 ) The glitter was pretty coarse and seemed to stick well. I added the glitter last thing- hope it works out for you!
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your wonderful ideas. I am doing the same theme for my daughter and you have given me so many great ideas. I LOVE how you added links to everything. You are awesome!
You’re welcome! I always love when people give the source of purchase, it just makes everything easier so I always try and do that as well 🙂 Hope everything turns out great!
Hi! Great party ideas! Can you share where you got your daughter’s gold star headband?
Nevermind, I just saw the link 🙂
Hi! I love the play dough idea but I’m wondering about the glitter – did it stay in the play dough when kids played with it or does it make a glittery mess?
Thanks so much for sharing your ideas!
I don’t recall it making a mess when they played with it 🙂 It was pretty course, so it seemed to stick to the playdough well. There may have been a few specs left on the surface where they were playing, but nothing too bad. Hope that helps!
Hi! Your daughters 1st birthday party was beautiful!!!! I’m looking for the link to the homemade banner but it was crossed out. Do you still have it?
Thanks!
Corinne
Thank you so much! Yes! It’s here 🙂 http://howsweetthisisblog.com/2014/01/diy-birthday-pennant-banner-html/
Hi there! I loved your “Twinkle Little Star” theme. I especially loved your invites that I bought your template to use for my daughter’s 1 year birthday. I created my design and paid on paypal on Wednesday 4/26. I was wondering when I would receive the template to print? Will you be sending this to my e-mail (kelstrandy@yahoo.com)? I’m really excited to get it
Oh so cute party idea and must say your doll is really like an angel i also love her outfit.