Looking for 1st birthday food ideas, or maybe simple 1st birthday ideas for a party on a budget? You’re in the right place. As a dietitian and a Mom, planning my son’s 1st birthday definitely revolved around the food, and I’m always looking for ways to save money. Make your own crowd-pleasing lion-themed party dip or carrot cake cupcakes, and I promise you won’t be disappointed. Get your recipes below and see what else we did to celebrate!
I am not a party planner.
But I am a mom.
So when it came time to plan my son’s first birthday party, it wasn’t hard to channel my inner Martha Stewart.
Except, hat’s off to Martha, because she worked her magic way before Pinterest and Amazon.
I didn’t really feel like I had the skills to pull off a birthday bash, but I did have enough love for my little boy to try. He is such a gift to us and a light to everyone he meets, so we wanted to celebrate him… and the fact that we had made it one year as new parents! We had a little bit of a rough start with tongue and lip ties, torticollis, and a plugged tear duct, but we survived and we were ready to celebrate!
The Theme: Where the Wild Things Roar
My husband’s favorite childhood book was Where the Wild Things Are, and if you peek around in Pinterest, you’ll see that it makes a super cute party. However, we had a wild animal theme for our boy since before he was born. We used wild animals to decorate his nursery, and after my husband bought a lion puppet to read bedtime stories with, lions began popping up everywhere His personality even began to align with all the lion-themed cute shirts and rompers that his grandmothers bought: he was majestic, strong-willed, playful, and king of the house. Oh, and my once-bald baby boy was beginning to grow a gorgeous blonde mane!
So, a Where the Wild Things Roar party theme emerged that blended both Where the Wild Things Are and wild animals – with lions, of course! Read on for our budget-friendly and simple first birthday ideas that put a spin on this unique party theme!
The Decorations
Pinterest, Pinterest, oh how I love thee!
I really don’t know what I would have done for decorations if I didn’t have Pinterest to rely on. I just love DIY projects and crafts, which we know Pinterest is heaven for!
I made simple banners of his 12 month progression pictures and those featuring his baby milestone cards. Then, I scoured Amazon and Hobby Lobby for budget-friendly party supplies and decorations, and I recruited my husband for helping me sew a set of DIY streamers.
Yes, I broke out the sewing machine for $0.97 paper streamers! I was a little more anxious at that time of my life and wanted everything to be perfect. But, overhaul-Mom-mode aside, they were super easy to make and really popped at the party scene. I loved how they also stayed together so easily, too. As soon as I finished making them, I hung them up so they wouldn’t get tangled, but you can also wrap them around a piece of cardboard until they’re ready to be used. If you’re looking for 1st birthday party ideas on a budget, then definitely give this one a shot. Don’t let the sewing machine intimidate you, because it’s worth the little bit of extra effort!
A few tissue paper pom poms completed the look of the main decoration. I really wasn’t sure where I was going to hang these, but I liked the look of them clustered together. We hung them from our kitchen light in between the streamer banner and trimmed some of the streamers out of the way.
The Balloons
Those big big round balloons became popular at the time of his party, and I had to get my hands on some! A friend of mine warned me that they’re more expensive to air up, but it may actually save you money if you can get by with fewer balloons since they make such an impact. I did a mix of large green balloons, standard-size animal print balloons, and a number 1 balloon. I love the way they all came together! Budget tip: Buy just a few of the bigger balloons that cost more for helium, then fill in with more of the standard-size balloons. Also, get lucky with a store attendant accidentally charging you the same price for all balloons – whoops!
The Food
Once I had a handle on the theme, invitations, and decorations, I got to work on the menu. Naturally, Pinterest provided many cute 1st birthday food ideas, and my aunts were wonderful at pulling it all together the day of the party when I was more focused on icing the BEST carrot cake cupcakes. Seriously, if you want to blow the socks right off your guests, make these cupcakes! I didn’t realize how much of a hit they would be, and everyone requested the recipe (even those who don’t like carrot cake!).
I made a slightly different healthy smash cake recipe for the birthday boy. He didn’t have processed sugar his first year of life, and I wasn’t ready to overload him with it on his birthday to wind up having him get a potential stomach ache or to make him feel less than his best at his party! So, I whipped up this easy and healthy smash cake and stirred in some of the grated carrots from the carrot cake recipe. He LOVED his cake and ate every single bite! I even liked it and think it would make a great everyday breakfast muffin for anyone.
Now, while my excitement was all about the carrot cake cupcakes, this lion made out of hummus and vegetables was the real show-stopper. My artsy husband knocked it out of the park with this one! And, it’s super easy to do (I’m not lion! – sorry, had to).
Enter your email below to get the super easy recipe for this lion-themed hummus dip!
The Gifts
Aside from the food, one of my favorite parts of his party was a gift from one of our guests. She is a professional photographer, and she captured such sweet moments for us to treasure. I loved her idea for shooting the crowd singing Happy Birthday from our son’s perspective, something I would have never thought of (plus I’d be singing and in the wrong position!). This is such a sweet idea that you can implement if you have someone willing to snap the shots.
The Favors
With all my focus on the party food and decorations, I totally forgot about buying party favors (such a party foul!). We had just gone to a birthday party right before his when I realized my mistake. Luckily, my cousin gave us a box of books that had been cleaned out from her school’s library. I stuck the book box at the door and let each guest pick one on their way out. While it wasn’t what I intended, it worked out perfectly, and what child doesn’t want a new book to read?! Keep this idea in mind for your party and either look for free books or grab some at a great discount from a thrift store or yard sale.
The Extras
To blend Where the Wild Things Are, we used the book as a guest book for everyone to write our son a special message. We loved looking through the book later to see all the sweet words they wrote about him. I also got glitter crowns for the guests to wear, and my husband drew the photo booth prop with a Where the Wild Things Are design (I told you he’s artistic!).
The Activities
What do you do for a 1st birthday party? Well, I didn’t know either until it happened! I planned some activities that I thought the adults would enjoy and that would hold their attention, like signing the guest book and using our homemade photo booth. I also printed a ton of pictures from our son’s birth and first year and put them in an album (like the old days!), which they enjoyed flipping through. Thankfully, a lot of our friends have young kids, and they definitely provided entertainment and loved helping him open presents! We didn’t go crazy with activities, and this seemed to be enough after food, cake, and visiting with one another. I would say this was a small 1st birthday party, as we had to fit everyone into our small house on this hot summer day!
The End!
We had SUCH a blast celebrating our little guy for his first birthday. I never knew that planning a party and letting everyone into my home could be so fun! As an introvert, parties aren’t exactly my scene, but I just couldn’t help myself in making him feel as loved as he’s made us feel in the 365 days we’d known him. I’ll be honest and say that I was leaning heavily on taking a trip instead of having a birthday party. We’ve agreed that we would like to do this when our kids are older, and I was tempted to start at the 1st birthday. Now, I’m glad my husband talked me into the party, and I can’t wait to plan the next one!
What’s your favorite party idea I shared? I would love to hear if you use any of these same ideas at your party! Better yet – send me a picture!
Passionately,
Alyssa
Details:
Theme: Where the Wild Things Roar
Zoo animals photo booth props – Amazon
Photo booth frame – Homemade
Baby boy brown sandals – Gymboree
Guest book – Where the Wild Things Are
Gold foil streamer – Hobby Lobby
Blue and green streamers – Walmart and the dollar store
Streamer tutorial – How Does She
Party Punch Recipe – The Frugal Girls
Carrot Cake Cupcakes (THE best carrot cake!)
Cupcake papers and cupcake toppers – Hobby Lobby
Cupcake stand – Hobby Lobby
Animal print balloons – Party City
24″ large green balloons – Party City
