FIrst birthday parties are always so, so sweet! And this one was even sweeter because it was for my (not so baby) boy, Brooks.

Coming up with a party theme for a one year old isn’t super easy. First of all there’s so many options and ideas out there, and second, it’s not like the birthday boy could communicate which one he likes best! So, I thought about what we should do for a while. I made a list of all the things he likes and what makes him super happy. And I kept coming back to the song that he loves the most - Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

Anytime I’d sing this song, he’d just light up. We sing it every night before bed and whenever he needs a little pick me up. Even big brother, Ryan, loves the song and requests it all the time - only he calls it the “Blue Bird Song”, because of the line “Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly, and the dreams that you meant to dream really do come true”. I just adore this song, and thought it would make for the perfect first birthday party theme!

So I got to planning. I knew I wanted to incorporate balloons into his birthday party because, well - I love doing balloon arches! I decided that I’d make a big, gigantic rainbow as the back drop for the cake. I think I was dreaming a bit large because before I knew it I created a 30’x40’ rainbow with 95’ worth of balloons! With the help of my very patient husband, we got it installed, despite some windy weather. I also created clusters of white and clear balloons that resembled clouds and hung them so that they’d look like they were floating over our food table. And of course, I added in 100 origami blue birds since my boys love the line about the blue birds.

I know sometimes rainbows can seem to skew a bit more feminine, so I wanted to make sure that this party didn’t feel girly. After all, the birthday celebrant was a boy - not a girl. For this reason, I choose to use blue gingham table cloths. I wanted to create a picnic, farmer market type atmosphere, and thought the gingham print would be perfect! I sourced mums from a local nursery for an easy centerpiece. Since we had kids of all ages in attendance, I wanted to have activities for everyone. So I created an interactive favor station, where our guests could choose their pot and plant a flower to take home. I also created these very easy garden-inspired sensory bins. Everything came from the Dollar Tree and Walmart - and they were a hit with all the kids.

It’s always hard to see another year go by and realize our kids are getting older. Creating these memories for our family means the world to me! Hope you enjoyed seeing a few of our favorite party photos!

PS. Our little party animal woke up not feeling to great for his party day. He fully embraced the whole “it’s my party and I can cry if I want to!” saying! LOL So we didn’t get the epic cake smash photos we were expecting …. but we’ll try again another day!