First Birthday Party Ideas for the Little Man

Our little guy is almost 1 already! This year has just flown by… And of course, that means one thing: planning the birthday bash.

If you know me at all, you know I like to plan parties and to make crafty things. So this should be right up my alley, right?

Ehhh, not so much.

I had a terrible time deciding on a theme! Nothing jumped out at me as being right for our little Judah. He doesn’t really have a huge love for any one thing yet because, let’s face it, he’s only 11 months old. What does he really like other than bottles and Mommy and Daddy?

I searched the trusty interwebs and hundreds of Pinterest boards for first birthday party ideas and inspiration. I’m not a huge fan of the mustache trend so that eliminated a lot of ideas. (Also, WHY is there such a fascination with poop these days?? Just, EW.) I did see lots of cute things though, and several that made it to a list for parties when he’s older.

There wasn’t much out there in the way of helpful articles so here is a compilation of some adorable options for first birthday party ideas for my little guy!

Possible Party Ideas and Themes

Judah’s nursery is space themed so it was definitely an option for his birthday party. But I think we’ll wait until he’s old enough to appreciate it. This collection of photos featured on Catch My Party has some awesome ideas!

This is similar with moons and stars. I just love the colors she used!

Judah’s birthday is in January so obviously winter “one”derland was a consideration as well. The snowmen and penguins from Spaceships and Laser Beams are super cute! And how darling is this garland I found on Etsy?

Who doesn’t love cookies and milk? This super sweet idea was definitely in the running. Adding Cookie Monster into the mix is an obvious and adorable option for it! This garland (and other decorating options by the seller) on Etsy are perfect.

And of course, let’s not forget these charming monsters. I think this will be happening in the next couple of years too.

But nothing really spoke to me as being quite right for the little man’s first birthday party.

Then it hit me. Books! He loves books, and I love to read to him. It was the perfect plan!

Book Themed Birthday Party

The majority of kids book parties I found on the internet were baby showers, but the main idea is the same. The baby is just a bit older at a birthday party.

My inspiration for these are here and here. Refresh Living shared a book themed birthday party.  Pizzazzerie shared a book themed baby shower.  Both are super cute! And thanks, PBS for providing printables and all kinds of ideas for book themed parties!

I just ordered these library book check out card invitations. I can’t wait to see how they turn out!!

For food, we’re going to go with different things that are part of certain books. Such as…

• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs – meatballs
• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie – chocolate chip cookies
• Three Little Pigs – pigs in a blanket
• Hansel and Gretel – gingerbread house
• Very Hungry Caterpillar – fruit salad
• Dragons Love Tacos – taco bites or walking tacos
• One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish – swedish fish or multi colored goldfish crackers
• Green Eggs and Ham – green deviled eggs, ham and cheese sandwiches
• Goodnight Moon – chicken salad croissants

I’m going to make his smash cake myself. And with the leftover batter, I’m going to make cupcakes with some sort of book themed cupcake toppers. (I just ordered these.)

My cake decorator friend is going to make us a cake that looks like a stack of books! And my sister in law is planning to make a cake that looks like the Very Hungry Caterpillar.

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The photos above were uploaded to Pinterest without any owner information or credit. If anyone knows who these photos belongs to, please let me know so I can give them credit immediately!

I’m still working out the rest, but I finally feel like I have a good handle on what I want to do and have some great first birthday party ideas. Now to start putting plans into action! **For a peek into the party prep, check out this post!**

Have you planned or been to any unique parties lately? What about them made it fun or out of the ordinary?

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