Details from Lucy’s First Birthday

favors, invitations and bubbles

I thought that I would share some of the resources for Lucy’s First Birthday Party. It has taken me a while to getting around to sharing the details.

When I first started planning, I didn’t a theme in mind, per se. I was at the studio and realized that her birthday was three weeks away, so I better get to moving. Since my planning was close to Earth Day, I decided that I wanted to try to buy as little as I could and aim towards more environmentally friendly options. Most of the items I bought are reusable. So I hope you like them, because you are likely to see them again. Year after year. Child after child.

Animal Stamps by Cavallini

These animal stamps and some circle stickers were in front of me at the studio. So I decided that polka dots would be the theme. I used some cement placecards from Paper Source and glassine envelopes for the invitations, which you can see in the top picture.

Lucy's First Birthday

Along with the tissue paper pom-poms, I cut out the circles on the table. I had a collection of vellum papers from a project I completed over ten years ago. I used a Martha Stewart Circle Cutter to cut out various sizes in all of the colors. I placed them sporadically on the table once I set everything out.

A Bird's Eye View of the Table

We lost our table cloth from our wedding. So I bought a new one from Williams Sonoma to match our linens. Since our table needs to be refinished, I really wanted a new table cloth. I did iron it, although it doesn’t look like it from this picture.

I ordered most of the other party supplies from Green Party Supplies, an environmentally friendly party supply company. Many of the products are plates and napkins you have seen in other stores. But it is nice to that the owner has done her research and there are a wide variety of options. She has a minimum order to help keep shipping costs low. I originally ordered a different napkin and realized that it was a little darker than I expected. She exchanged them for me quickly and easily. Plus she has posted a link to the truth about balloons. Balloons are made out of latex, which is a renewable resource and environmentally friendly. So puff away. But remember that they are a serious choking hazard. I picked up a pack of water balloons from Target and made a small bouquet for her chair.

baby water balloon bouquet

cups, straws and labels

My order included the banner, the party hat, plates, napkins, and I bought the last of the teal compostable cornware cups. I placed the cups in the top of the dishwasher and they survived! If you are having a really big party, Green Party Goods also offers the striped paper straws. But I bought a smaller quantity from HeyYoYo on Etsy. I really didn’t need the straws. But they were just so cute! I think Maya used one. She is two. In my defense, I considered serving Izzes at one time. But then I realized the pretty bottles of lemonade from Trader Joe’s were a much cheaper option.

I bought the labels many years ago while wandering around the Container Store. They are erasable file folder labels, which include an eraser and a Sharpie. I have millions of colors of Sharpies, because as this blog post claims, I am also an office supply geek. Often office supply stores make me swoon more than art supply stores. Don’t ask me why. But please note, all of the VBS crafts were made from office supplies. So before the party I wrote my invitees’ names, colored my dots and made the labels. Now I can go back and erase them for the next party. Who knows if that will ever happen. But I can. And I still have almost a full package of straws to use with the blue cups made out of corn. Anyone up for a festive beverage?

Lucy's First Birthday Cake from Sticky Fingers

The cake and cupcakes were from Sticky Fingers, a vegan bakery here in DC. We ordered red velvet cake decorated with lots of polka dots. It turned out pretty cute.  It was a little larger than she really needed, but there isn’t a size in between this and the cupcake.

same cake, different look

We put the leftover cake in Rocky’s freezer and redecorated it for the birthday party the following weekend in North Carolina. Brenner seemed to enjoy it.

Lucy feeds Brenner some birthday cake.

Finally for the favors, I created a small goodie bag. This was tough because what works for one-year-olds? And several of her friends were younger. I believe our youngest friend was six-months. But I wanted something fun that was also age appropriate. That was really hard. Favors aren’t really necessary, but they are fun! I came close to buying a bunch of board books on clearance at Baby Gap. They were only $1 each.

favors for a one-year-old

But I found these Jumbles by Crayola instead. I bought one box for Lucy’s birthday present and another to be divided amongst our guests.

Jumbles are quite addictive to play with. They are sort of like a cross between Legos and clay. They have a sticky way which makes them easy to stack. Actually they look like giant jacks. And they do bounce. Something she discovered early on. I love sitting down and playing with them with Lucy. Today we sorted the colors and counted them. I often find her holding one of the ends in her mouth like a pacifier. I thought that it was a fun toy that any age could enjoy. If the kids really loved them, they could easily find more.

And what is any party without a play list? I made a mix CD of our favorite songs. Plus I did a search of iTunes using words like baby, party, birthday. It resulted in a pretty interesting play list. I stamped the labels, added a few suckers from Trader Joe’s and tied up the little bags. They were left over from my bra note card days. Way back when. I set them in a dismantled Jumbles box covered in a cupcake dish towel from Ikea. These towels came in handy by also covering a baking pan a la cupcake server.

Voila! I think that is it.

I have an extra copy of Lucy’s first birthday party CD. If you would like for me to mail it to you, please leave a comment.