My Baby Boy is One!

My husband claims I only wanted a baby so that I could have an excuse to throw more parties.  Although that's not entirely true, I do love a good party, and I was so excited to put together this Sesame Street Themed Birthday Party to celebrate my son's first birthday.

Theme
I really wanted to pick a theme that my son would enjoy.  He really loved Elmo and Sesame Street, and I thought he would respond well to the characters he loved so much.

Decor
One thing I didn't think about when I chose the theme, is that all the Sesame Street characters are licensed, and the costs for the stuffed animals and other decorations started to add up quickly.  So I decided to stick mainly with bold colors:  red, yellow, green, and blue, and I added touches of Sesame Street to remind people there was a theme.  I also rented a large bounce house that came decorated with Sesame Street characters.

One of the best decorations I got was the these easy peel off wall stickers and these ones of different Sesame Street characters.  I placed a couple on the front door to greet guests, and scattered the rest of them around the walls in my house.  I even backed one of the Oscar stickers with a thick piece of foam board, and stuck it to the ice bucket to make it look like Oscar and his trash bin. 
















These were a very affordable way to decorate.  I spent more on some of the stuffed animals then I spent on all the stickers.  The best part is that after the party, I removed the stickers from the various places I put them, and I used them to decorate a wall in my son's playroom.

I got inexpensive large outdoor blankets in blue and green (which we still use all the time) and spread toys all around them, to create a large play area for the babies.   I made a similar play area in our living room because the weather forecast was on the colder side (with a chance of rain), but the weather ended up being so nice, that we moved the entire play area outside.  We also had the bouncy house.  I was going to do an Elmo coloring station, but I ran out of time.  We really didn't need it though.

Play area mid-set-up

I ordered 100 balloons (for delivery!) and I spread them around the edge of our yard, and used them for centerpieces (I tied the balloons to fish bowls full of goldfish snacks and I tied little Elmo balloon weights to the tops of the bowls).  I also left some loose balloons floating around inside our house and the kids were excited to play with them and be able to take one home. 

 

Food

The party was in the afternoon, but I figured that a lot of the guests (especially the ones with babies of their own) would head to the party without having lunch, so I went ahead and did a lunch buffet, and I also had tables with snack foods (for adults and for kids).  

• I did a sandwich bar, so that everyone could maker their own sandwich.  I had assorted breads, cheeses, condiments, cold cuts, and various toppings.  I even put out a toaster for those that preferred their bread toasted.  I decorated the buffet with Sesame Street characters (which now live in our playroom), and I also made special labels for the condiments that used a picture of my son sitting on Sesame Street with Big Bird and Elmo (I also used the image on the invitation):

• Side Dishes - I also made a bunch of different salads, including Pasta Salad with Olives and Broccoli, Israeli Couscous Salad with Apples and Dried Cherries, Fruit Salad, Israeli Salad, Garden Salad, and Pear Pepita Salad.

I'm still not sure why, but we ran out of the fruit salad quick!  (and I refilled it three times).  It was just mango, strawberries, grapes, and blueberries.

For the kids snack table I filled plastic buckets in primary colors with puffs, mum-mums, string cheese, and goldfish.  I also had a snack table for adults with my tomato lentil dip with crackers, assorted trail mixes, and other snacks that were easy to put together. 

For dessert we had vanilla cupcakes and chocolate cake (and of course, there was a smashcake for the birthday boy!).  I stayed away from food coloring for the cupcakes, so I used colorful paper for them instead.  I never put the chocolate cake out, and I asked friends to start cutting it before we sang happy birthday, so that we could serve it right after.

Drinks

I filled large beverage containers with water and Arnold Palmer's.  We also filled drink bins with sodas, milks, juices, and beers (our friends without children were grateful).  I had hot water for tea and instant coffee in the kitchen (away from the children), and I had a small sign on the beverage table letting my guests know to check inside in the kitchen for hot beverages.

I had sippy cups for the kids, as well as straws and lids for the cups. 

Favors

For the kids' favors, I packed red, green, and blue gift bags with sunglasses, bubbles, mum-mums, and mini bag of goldfish.  Sort of a mini-version of our party in a to-go bag.  For the adults, I had a Cookie Monster Cookie Bar.  I got a pretty good assortment of different cookies (including girl scout cookies and cookies from a famous local cookie store).  I found great inexpensive jars at Target, and I decorated them with ribbon and labels.  The jars were a great find and I have already used them for other parties we have had.

Cute As a Button Baby Shower

I wish I could take full credit for this shower, but it was very much a team effort.  I admit, I was at first skeptical of the selected theme - "cute as a button."  It would not necessarily have been my very first choice for a baby shower theme, especially for this particular mama-to-be.  But all the details came together perfectly.

Decor:

The colors were the same as the baby's nursery (mint green and brown).  We decided the best way to bring in the mint green was through linens.  One of the hostesses found gorgeous linens, and they really set the tone for the entire party. 

The same hostess also came up with the brilliant idea of going to the garment district downtown to buy buttons - tons and tons of buttons.  We made napkin holders out of ribbons and buttons, we made a faux runner out of buttons, and we even tied buttons to the bottom of the champagne glasses (we tried to use different ones to help guests remember which glass was theirs).  We also sprinkled buttons around the buffet table and the drinks table.

 

For the centerpieces, we used glass vases that I had on hand (accented with ribbons and buttons), and arranged white hydrangeas and mums in the vases.  Both flowers were so easy to arrange. 

 

The Menu

We served brunch (in case you haven't noticed, I am a big fan of brunch).

We had:

• Bagels, Cream Cheese, and Lox
• Pear Pepita Salad
• Assorted Pastries from Sweet Lady Jane
• Hash Brown Frittata
• Israeli Couscous with Apples and Dried Cherries
• Assorted juices and sodas and champagne
• A beautiful cake by Sweet Lady Jane (clearly the big black oval in the middle of the cake is my way of respecting privacy - and not part of the decorations)

 

Games:

1.  Guessing Kisses -  We filled a jar full of kisses, and we put out a sign asking guests to guess how many kisses there were in the jar for the mama-to-be's baby.  I think every shower should have at least one passive game (where no one has to do much, but someone wins a prize) - and this is a great one.

2.  Quiz - One of the hostesses prepared a quiz about the parents-to-be.  I usually am not a fan of quizzes because I feel they are antisocial.  I like games that facilitate chatter.  But, this was hands down the best quiz I ever played at a shower.  The questions were so personal and hilarious.  The hostess who put this together asked all of us (and the mama-to-be's sister) to share funny and touching stories about the parents-to-be.  She took each funny story and turned it into a question.  We were all laughing as we were reading the quiz, but the best part was reading the answers.  Each question really enabled the mamma-to-be to reminisce about her own childhood and her relationship with her hubby.  It really was the perfect quiz.  Now whenever I do a quiz, I try to make it so that each question is really an opportunity to tell a cute or touching story about the mama-to-be.

3.  Preg or Porn - Yup, that's right, there is a board with closeup pictures of women's faces, and the guests have to guess if the picture is of someone giving birth or someone in a porn.   

Every time I play this game it is a huge hit! 

This was the first time I made a preg or porn board, and I learned quickly that my pictures were too easy, and I have found much better pictures.  (but for the record, it is much harder than you might think to find pictures that work well for this game, and I shudder to think about what my Google search history must have looked like that day). 

4.  Tray Game with a Twist - Shockingly, I am not a huge fan of the tray game (the game where you spread items for the guest of honor on a tray and guests have to remember as many items as they can).  I get that it's a popular game, and maybe that is why I am not a fan.

However, I went to a shower a couple weeks before this one, where they played the game with a twist.  The mama-to-be and hostesses walked around the room with a tray, as we all took turns trying to see what was on it to play the tray game - yet again.  Only, they never actually told us what we were playing.  They just handed out cards and pencils and told us to wait and see what we were playing.  Then, after they waled the tray around the whole room and the tray was put away, the hostess said "OK, now everyone write down as many things as you can remember that the mama-to-be was wearing."

We didn't really have the time to properly play this game (so many guests came late that we were on such a delayed schedule).  At the very least, the mama-to-be got some very useful things from the tray.  If we had more time, I think this would have been a great game. 

Favors
For the favors, one of the hostesses made these amazing button cookies from Martha Stewart's website.  They were so cute, and they tasted great!

Pear Pepita Salad

I am a HUGE fan of Brianna's Homemade Dressings.  The Ginger Mandarin Dressing is one of our favorites.  After we got a little sick of the citrus salad I kept making (baby spinach, oranges, apples, almonds, dried cherries, and Brianna's Ginger Mandarin Dressing), I tried a variation with pears.  It has turned into a favorite of ours, and I often make it for brunches and showers.

Ingredients:
Bag of baby spinach
2 Pears, chopped in 1 inch cubes
1 Cup of raisins
1 Cup of pepitas (which are shelled pumpkin seeds)
Brianna's Homemade Ginger Mandarin Dressing

Directions:
Add spinach, pears, raisins, and pepitas to serving bowl.
Toss with dressing if serving right away, or serve with dressing on the side to avoid sogginess (and have a chance at leftovers).

Halloween Playdate

 

I don't think there is anything cuter than a bunch of babies dressed in adorable Halloween costumes!  So it seemed like a no-brainer that I should throw a Halloween Playdate.  The challenge - maternity leave was over, and I didn't have much free time.

Decor:

I tried to keep it really simple and baby friendly - nothing too scary.  I mainly stayed with black and orange, and happy pumpkins and such.  I curled black, orange, and white ribbon and hung it from the ceiling at the edge of each room.  I also hung ribbons and small pumpkins from the chandelier that was over the food table.

Menu:


The party was between meals in the afternoon.  I decided to just do desserts to keep it simple.  If I were to do it again, I would have had another table with snacks.  I think a lot of people skipped lunch and having substantial snacks would have been better.  Lesson learned! 

• Cupcakes
• Worms in dirt (just chocolate pudding, crushed oreos, and a gummy worm)

• Chocolate spiders
• Fruit Kebabs
• Halloween Oreos
• Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips
• Pumpkin Pie (from Costco)
• Candy!

I also had a small spread out for the babies (who were mostly between 5 and 9 months):

I didn't have time to make any personalized labels for the soda bottles, but I found these premade labels from Party City for $1.99, and they worked great (it probably would have cost me more to make them). 

My favorite part was the skull and bones ice that I made with these ice trays

Activities:
I spread blankets on the floor, and I spread my son' toys around the blankets for the babies to play with.  I also set up a coloring station for the older siblings.  I printed free Halloween coloring pages from the Internet and I put crayons in a pumpkin treak or treat pail.  The best activity of all was seeing the kids all together in their costumes.