Wow, I can’t believe I have a 1-year-old! Like I said in this post, her first birthday party was more for me than her. I did survive 9 months straight without sleeping through the night and kept all three of us alive, so a celebration was in order. We decided to do a sunshine first birthday theme because Raylee is “our little sunshine.” Look at the name of my blog, how could I not use this theme?
We had around 25 people come to celebrate with us, and it was a blast! I was afraid Raylee might be shy or fussy with so many people filling our house, but she was actually happy and smiley. I could tell she was having fun and enjoying it. Here are all the details!
Sunshine First Birthday Details
Invitations
I bought invitations from Cute Party Dash on Etsy. I think they are so cute! You just download them and print them from home — so easy and much more affordable. This is their photo of a sample of the invite.
Decorations
I decorated this little table to display all her baby books for people to browse.
I love how our mantle turned out. I made that fabric garland myself!
Time Capsule
Instead of gifts, we asked people to bring a note or letter to Raylee to add to a time capsule. This little box won’t be opened until she turns 18! I think it will be so neat to read all of these notes someday. I got the box at Hobby Lobby and painted it, and I bought the notecards and sign from Etsy. I also included a newspaper from the day she was born and I printed out her birth story to add to the box.
Food
For food, I wanted to keep it simple. I bought chicken salad sandwiches, a meat/cheese tray, and a veggie tray from Publix. We made rainbow fruit kabobs, and we had lots of chips and dip. To drink, we had bottles of water and fresh-squeezed lemonade that my husband made.
Cake
My mom always made cut-out cakes for my brother and me when we were growing up. I wanted to do the same for Raylee. So I made a sun cake. If you’ve never done a cut-out cake before, I suggest doing a trial run before the party. Thank goodness I did because my first go-around was not so pretty! When I found out how many people we were going to have, I knew my cut-out cake would probably not feed everyone. So I also made another round cake. Both cakes were banana cakes like my aunt used to always make for all my cousins’ birthdays.
Raylee approved of the cake! She ate an entire piece!
Raylee’s Outfit
Before her birthday party, she received a gift from a friend. This T-shirt was part of the gift, and I loved it. It was perfect for her party, so it became her pre-party outfit!
Another friend made her shirt for her birthday party and I bought several tutus to make sure it was extra fluffy. She looked like a little doll! Her headband worked perfectly with the outfit, and I got it in a 10-pack from Amazon.
The whole birthday party was a huge success. We are so thankful that our families are so close and love Raylee so much that they are willing to drive all the way down here and celebrate with us. She is one lucky little girl!
What theme did you do or are thinking of doing for your child’s first birthday?
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Wow All images are so beautifull. Lovely post.
Thank you!