As Aden's first birthday approached, I thought about some of his favorite things and I kept coming back to one item -- balls. Our boy loves bouncy balls! Aden flashes his beautifully big grin any time a ball is rolling his way, so I thought a "Have a Ball" birthday party was a perfect way to celebrate him.
I purchased this raglan birthday shirt on Etsy and based the party around its fun, bright colors.
To get things started, I hand-cut circles from card stock for invitations and enclosed the party details. We kept the event on the small side by inviting only grandparents, aunts and uncles so there weren't too many invitations for me to assemble.
I also made a "Happy Birthday" banner from card stock cut into circles and a "ONE" banner for Aden's high chair (which I completely forgot to stick to the tray before he ate his birthday cupcake!). I also made paper lanterns to resemble bouncy balls from strips of paper and hung those beside the banner as well. I loved his brightly-colored party decorations so much, I put them up on Aden's birthday-eve and kept them displayed in the dining room right through the party. Birthdays are week-long celebrations in my book!
What first birthday is complete without a month-by-month glance to see how much the baby's grown? I crafted circle identifiers next to a photo from each of Aden's 12 months of life.
And finally, ... the food. It was pretty easy to brainstorm a menu packed with circle-shaped foods. We served meatballs, chicken wings, a dried-beef cheese ball and crackers, spinach balls, chips & dip and fruit and veggie sticks. For dessert, I made cake pops, peanut butter balls and dairy-free cupcakes. If you're in the market for dairy-free chocolate cake, I highly recommend Cherrybrook Kitchen boxed cake mix.
Andi grilled chicken wings outdoors on our snow-covered deck ... a truly Minnesotan thing to do.
Tory assisted Aden in blowing out his birthday candle ...
And, Aden was a big fan of his cupcake. He crumbled it to smithereens within seconds and did the classic baby-shudder when the sugar high hit his system.
Our boy was spoiled with some great birthday presents. We gifted him his very own ball pit, and it's been a bit hit with both Tory and Aden alike. He also got a Dusty Planes 4 in 1 ride-on toy, a ride-on car wagon, boatloads of adorable clothes and books and his very own personalized library bag.
Of course, the big box one of the ride-on toys came in was most exciting for Brooke, Neeley and Tory.
Hard to believe Aden is ONE! What a great day celebrating our new one-year-old.
You do such cute parties! Can't believe your baby is one either! Crazy!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great party! Good job on the details mama...love how it turned out!! And loving that viking hat of Aden's - super cute! How is he one, by the way? I can't believe how fast this year flew by...he is such a handsome little guy!
ReplyDeleteI refuse to believe that Aden is already a year old! What a cute party theme :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE this party idea and all of your DIY projects! The invitations are awesome and the banners and ball lanterns are so cute! Great job! I also love how you carried the ball theme over into the food, haha! And most importantly, it looks like he had such a fun day :) Walker got that blue buggy car for his first bday too and it's his favorite thing in the whole world. In fact, he refuses to sit in a stroller now, so that beast stays in my trunk and we use it when out and about, ha!
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