First Birthday Party: Cupcake Theme!

I have been meaning to write about this FOREVER, so here goes...

As birthday parties go, I’m probably only going to make headlines with my own kids.  However, by the time I get done with a birthday party, I am pretty proud of it and love that I get to focus my creativity on doing something special for my kiddos.   

Turning One is such a big milestone, and in our house its a pretty big deal.  Besides that it means we all survived the first year, it also means that we can finally share one of our most favorite things in the world with our kid- cake!  Oh, yes, cake!  Cake that is loaded with sugar and then more sugar, decorated with sprinkles, and just beautiful.  

To us its a no brainer that the First Birthday Party theme should be Cupcakes. So, when you turn one under our roof, you get cupcakes, and lots of them!

Here are the highlights of our cupcake party:

1. Decorations. The Inflatable Cupcake!  I picked these up online (pink or blue) and we now have a pink and a blue one that get set up for each birthday.  It has become a tradition to take pictures by them each year to see how they have grown.  Besides, who doesn’t love a cupcake?  (If your dad doesn’t own a sign shop so that you can easily get a personalized sign made for your party, you are welcome to use my dad!  His shop is called InstaSIGN  and you can call his shop at (561)272-2323.)  

Our other decorations are the standard party decor, which I just think is sweet- streamers and balloons, as well as the giant homemade cupcake cake (made with a Wilton pan and pretty easy to make).

2. Cupcake Decorating.  A one-year old is really just fascinated by all the people around them and probably doesn’t have a clue about the whole thing.  However, the bigger kids at the party need something to do, so what did I come up with?  Cupcake decorating.  I had big plans of making all the parts from scratch- cupcakes, frosting, etc. I ran out of time, luckily, Publix saved the day by selling their undecorated cupcakes and frosting by the pound (genius!).  I set a table up with sprinkles, frosting, and other candy toppings and right before its time to sing, let the big kids decorate their own cupcakes.  

3. Other general activities.  Our party attendees have ranged in age from toddlers to teenagers, so we try to have a variety of activities.  At the first birthday we had lots of coloring sheets, crayons, bubbles, a ball pit, outside toys, horse shoes, and a birthday themed bean bag toss toy.

4. The Cupcake Toast!  This is my FAVORITE part.  For this party the cake is, of course, cupcakes.   We “tray” all of the cupcakes, put one candle in each one, light the candles and pass them out to all of the guests who hadn’t decorated their own cupcake.  Then its kindof like a Cupcake Toast while we sing.  At the end the guests blow out the candles and we can avoid putting fire in front of a one-year old.  It also helps that guests don’t just have to stand by idly while we waited for a one-year old to figure out what to do with his cake.  

So, there you have it, the basics of Our Cupcake First Birthday party.

Caroline turns 1

Other things we have learned:

- Get a cute bib!  We spent time picking out the perfect outfit to celebrate the big day, then when its time for cake (and pictures), you don't want a yucky old bib.  (I offer First Birthday bibs at the shop because I had such a hard time finding one when I wanted one four years ago.  Cupcake appliques are also available!)

- Smash cake- Use pastel colored frosting to avoid a technicolor kid.  

- Paper Items- It was so tempting to bring home plates, napkins, cups, etc with cupcakes on them. Instead, we opted for solid colored paper goods (pink and green for Caroline, blue and white for Jack).  Then we could use the extras after the party.  Also, you do not really need cake plates or utensils when you have cupcakes.  

- Take lots of pictures!  LOTS!  If you can ask a friend or family member to take pictures and video for you too, do it.  You won't regret that someone else is capturing the moment while you are spending time with your kiddo.  

Jack turns 1 (his sister helps!)

Do you have any great first birthday party tips?   I'd love to hear them!

(It has taken me two years to finally sit down and write about this party!  Hopefully it will take less time for me to post about our other party themes- Elmo, Cars, Princesses, Fairies and Pirates, and Angry Birds!)