Happy First Birthday, Kaiden!
Sidenote: I will update this with more pictures once I get them!! I didn’t take any and am waiting for others to see what they have. Silly Mom brain!
I know I keep waxing on about how fast this year has gone, but seriously? How is my baby already one?!
I knew that we were going to do something big for Kaiden’s first birthday party. Andrew and I host pretty big parties just to have a party, so it was almost expected that it’d be a big thing for Kaiden.
After planning a party like this, it definitely makes me realize that I am not a party planner. I don’t have the organizational skills or time management to actually make this a thing. The parties always turn out to be great though!
For his first birthday, we did things just a little differently.
I actually did give myself a lot of time to get stuff done. I don’t think it really made a difference in the long run, but it made me feel like I was being good with my time.
Picking a Theme
After scrolling through Pinterest endlessly, I decided that I wasn’t going to do a character theme, but something a little cuter for the first birthday. Bumblebees!! Pretty much it was going to be a lot of yellow and black. You can do so much cute stuff with bees. I’m not 100% crafty/willing to spend my time on creating everything from scratch so I knew that I wasn’t going to have a bunch of the things I found on Pinterest.
Pretty much my theme turned out to be way more yellow than anything else! I ended up decorating with yellow tablecloths, yellow balloons that I did stripe to make into bees… and silver birthday balloons. I didn’t really want to put too much money into the decor because it’s only for the afternoon.
Picking a Location
Originally (and normally) we have all the parties at our house. Unfortunately this year our backyard is completely out of commission, so we couldn’t have the party at home. Just in case it rained, my house can’t fit 80 people in it without the use of the basement.
So that had me on a hunt for a community centre or hall that was not super expensive. I ended up picking one that was a little smaller and in Etobicoke so it was pretty central for everyone to make it too. I think that the venue turned out really well – the kitchen was in the room so John (who was in charge of food) was able to be a part of the day and not stuck in a room by himself. It also allowed for us to use the fridge and not worry about people wandering off? And getting lost? Plus the room had these lovely large windows that let in all the wonderful natural light.
The Food Situation
Andrew and I decided this time to not do the food ourselves, and actually cater the event. Our friend John catered it and I think it turned out wonderfully. It was a little stressful getting everything organized and cooked and to the event, but it all worked out!
The menu was pretty simple stuff – pulled pork sandwiches and pasta with grilled veggies were the mains. Kale slaw for the side, with a bunch of cheese, veggie, fruit, and meat trays. Chips and dips to round out the party staples. It was all amazing. I didn’t eat too much at the party – too busy flitting around making sure everyone else is OK. I never really eat much at parties regardless.
Originally I was going to do cupcakes, but that turned out to be too expensive to outsource and I just didn’t have the time to make them the day before. And I definitely wasn’t going to do them on the day of. So we decided to do the fan favourite – Chinese bakery cake. I wish that there was a bakery a bit closer to home that made the Chinese buns and stuff, but alas, I have yet to find one!
No smash cake for this guy! I honestly don’t even know if he got any cake… he pretty much spent the day with everyone but me.
Overall, it was a great day.
Having the venue not be our home added some extra challenges that we weren’t used to. Figuring out how to get food up and prepped was the big one. We overcame and everything came together. The party before us ran a little over their time too, so that meant we were running a bit behind schedule too!
Honestly, Kaiden (and Andrew and I) are super blessed with the people that we have in our lives. He’s surrounded by so many people who love and adore him that I get overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity. He got a lot of books; I’m so excited that he’s starting his book collection so young. I honestly can’t wait to hand down certain books to him when he gets a bit older. Fingers crossed he’s a reader like me!
While we didn’t have a budget for this, we definitely didn’t spend that much money. The most expensive thing was the food (of course), then the venue. Little things add up quickly, but it’s all worth it in the end! He’s the first of the first for our family so like everything we do gotta go big.
How did you spend your little one’s first birthday?
J x
