Elodie’s first birthday party turned out to be such a magical day that we’ll never forget! With the help of Going Lovely, we were able to transform our space & create a fun afternoon for kids and adults alike! Here are a few of their tips for planning the perfect party:
The pressures of planning the perfect first birthday party can seem like a daunting task, but being realistic with about what’s most important to you and focusing on the details first will help alleviate pressure.
1. First things first – get organized! Make spreadsheets mapping out your total budget, decor items, and tasks. This will help you keep all your details in one place and allow you to check things off as you go.
2. Come up with the color story and theme for your event. Pinterest is a great place to find inspiration and keep your ideas together. Taylor chose a pastel pink, mint, and gold magical wonderland theme, which was referenced when planning out each and every detail. This will really help your event feel cohesive and well thought out.
3. Plan a mix of activities for the adults and the little ones! We made sure to create a designated space that the kids could play in while the parents enjoyed the delicious treats and mingled with the other guests. For the space, we included coloring books, play dough, and construction paper crafts giving them the chance to be creative and interact with each other.
4. Get creative with seating. You don’t have to have a seat for every guest (especially if you know people will be coming in and out throughout the day) but be sure to include some seating options for guests that may want to take a break from standing and mingling to sit down while enjoying their food. We re-arranged the living room furniture to allow for space for tables and created a lounge using Taylor’s living room sofa and set up a darling PBK teepee with pillows and toys for the little ones to hang out in.
5. Keep the food simple! We hosted the event in the late afternoon so guests weren’t expecting to eat a sit down meal. Finger food appetizers are easy to prepare (and replenish) and are also fun for the kids. We stuck to kid and adult friendly bites like mini pizzas, meatballs, veggie sticks, and a charcuterie platter. We also incorporated a pretty and tasty punch to go with the whimsical theme.
6. Get creative with desserts. Instead of going the traditional route and serving a large birthday cake, we opted for a mini dessert bar along with a custom Elodie sized smash cake for the birthday girl. Guests loved the variety of desserts to choose from AND as a bonus – they doubled as built in decorations. The table featured mint chocolate meringues, rice krispy balls with sprinkles, macaroons, cupcakes, and ice cream sundaes. Pretty and delicious. A win win in our book!
Celebrating sweet Elodie’s first birthday was such a treat and the perfect way to close out the year!
Photos by Jenna Rae
This is such a beautiful party! I love the colors you used. I like the idea to plan activities for the adults in addition to the children’s. You want all your guests to enjoy the event! Would it be better to have one menu for everybody, or should I split that up into kids and adults too/ Thanks for the inspiration!