You donut want to miss this llamazing birthday party!
I spent many midnight hours searching Pinterest for 1st birthday ideas. I found all sorts of things: hire a clown (umm, no thanks), build a photo booth (sounds like too much handy work), design your own treat bags (I thought the treat was the cake?), etc. Honestly, none of it felt like "me." Call me a simple mom, but all of those ideas make the birthday party feel less about the birthday girl and more about entertaining the guests.
It's not that I don't think first birthdays matter, becauseeeee...HELL YES they do! We made it! An entire year of taking on parenthood with no instructions went down! Let's cheers to that! :) *clink* She's happy, she's healthy, and she's been loved every single day of her life! No magician, wooden donut display, or overly-themed lunch will show that. And, can I just point out that she's never going to remember this?
This is real life. I'm bad at pretending to be someone I'm not. Simple mom it is!
That damn mom guilt caught me up a few times, so I did some crafty things and splurged on a few, but for the most part we kept it simple! Here's a few things that I did for her birthday party:
THEME:
I am guilty of catching the I-have-to-have-the-most-original,-most-creative,-most-amazing-theme-that-no-one-in-the-world-has-thought-of fever. It kept me up at night. Lame, right? Here I am skipping sleep because I'm worried about my lack of creativity. Until, Ben actually slapped me back into reality. Whew! That was a close one! We decided...her theme was going to be the things she loves the most! Isn't that what every birthday theme essentially is? *smack my head*
Llamas and donuts are Waylin's most prized obsessions, so away we go! The good thing was, we could utilize some of our llamas we already owned as decor (aka money saving score!) I highly recommend searching your house for things you already own. Chances are, your kid probably owns something relative to their chosen theme!
INVITATIONS:
One of my secret old lady hobbies includes card-making. It's fun, but oh-so time consuming. This is one of the things I probably spent the most effort on.
It took me W-E-E-K-S to sew these handmade birthday invites! And, if I'm being truthful: I didn't actually send everyone an invite! The "burn out" was so real after I made a couple of these. I just text my side of the family to invite them! Whoops! I'm sorry Salfelder family! I knew they would understand! :)
FOOD:
Call me Satan, but I wanted no part of feeding everyone lunch at the party, nor did I want to drop $$$ on a pizza delivery. I spend every single day stressing about what to make for dinner and trying to master the "toddler lunch" that I just didn't need that kind of stress in my life! We made the party at 1 PM as an "after lunch" treat for that very reason.
My sweet sister lives in Oakwood/Danville area which is home to Royal Donut Company. They have some of the BEST donuts I've ever had! She picked up two dozen donuts for us on her way over to the party. It was a tremendous help not to have to drive there myself on the day of the party. It's all about those FRESH donuts, ya'll!
Again, here's another example of using items in my home that I already had! I had this huge green Rachel Ray platter tray that I hardly use. You know the type: the dishware that is always stored in your least favorite cabinet - allllll the way in the back where the dust bunnies live? I cleaned it, I swear! Did it match any of the decor? No. Did it do it's job? Yep! It turned out much better than I imagined.
CAKE:
A month before the party, I told myself I was going to make two cakes: one for everyone and a personal smash cake for Waylin.
Two weeks before the party, I told myself I would still make the smash cake, but I would BUY a store-bought cake for everyone.
Theeeeeen, mom guilt set in. The cake seems to be one of the birthday party must-haves. It has to go with your theme, it has to NOT look like a cake, and it has to taste good. Yeah, I can't do that. My baking skills are nil and my waistline probably thanks me for that. I decided I needed to have a cake made! My best friend in the whole world has a very talented sister who works in a bakery at a local grocery store. She has no idea how good she is, because she was completely shocked when I asked her if I could pay her to make the cake!
I let her take the creative reigns on this llama cake and she did a great job! I actually had #mombrain because I didn't know what flavor I chose until it was time to cut the cake! Everyone kept asking, so I did what any sleep-deprived mom would do...tell a teeny-weeny little lie and say it was a surprise. :) I mean technically, it was a surprise! Because I can't believe I picked chocolate! :)
I repurposed a few other things, but that was the extent of my first birthday party planning! I remember when all the family went home, Ben and I both recapped the party later than night as the best way to do a birthday! Simple won this year!
One thing I learned through this experience is that all the fixings and decorations don't really matter. What was most important to me was the family that surrounded us during our first year as parents. They have all been instrumental in helping us make it through the first year!
I am very thankful to show Waylin what family means. The word means something that can’t be expressed; it is felt.
And I whole-heartedly believe she felt it at her birthday party!
Here are some pictures from her big day!
That "toofie-cheezy" smile is the absolute best!
This wasn't the first time she's ever had cake. I'm no "kale-blending, organic only" kind of mom. I thought I was, but who am I to deny her a taste of cake every once in awhile? She'll live.
She surprised me with how good she was at unwrapping her own presents! I originally was going to tell our family "no gifts", because she really doesn't need anything. I work hard to provide her with everything she needs and I'm really proud of myself for that. But, in case she remembers her party, I didn't want her to hate me for "no presents." :)
She got a lot of books, llama gear, and this cute adirondack chair that my in-laws made for her! It has a little beach umbrella on it as well! Too cute!
And that picture of her hugging her llama was an immediate response all on her own when she opened the gift bag! *heart bursts into a million pieces*
Oh, and we reached another milestone at her birthday party! She got to experience bubbles for the first time, and is there anything greater than a baby's curious mind?
I swear, we blew bubbles in the house, in the bath tub, in the car, etc after this experience. I have bubble containers in two different areas of the house (because #momlife, ya'll).
