Birthday Parties- Back to the Basics

I love to plan and organize, so naturally I decided to DIY my daughter’s 1st Birthday. I really went all in. I made the invites, the cupcake toppers, the signage, some of the decor, and a ballon arch.

It was space themed, and yes…she was dressed as an astronaut. I had space themed foods and a star shaped piñata filled with starburst and little toy aliens. Although it was so fun to do and plan, by the end of it all I had spent so much money and time DIY-ing this over the top party. I realized I could have kept it simple and it would have been just as much fun and a lot less stressful. So after everything settled and I’ve had time to think about everything I’ve put together a list of things here I will be doing differently (or keeping the same) for future parties.

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Venue

I rented out a neighborhood club house for her birthday party. Although it was nice to have the open space, I most definitely am opting for more frugal options in future years. We have gone to parties at parks which were fun! You can rent one of the gazebos so you still have the space to set up food and decor and the kids can run around and take advantage of the playground. You could also save on the cost of the venue altogether and host a small party at home. Better yet, maybe even skip the party altogether and opt for an experience as a family. ◡̈

Food

I overdid it on food. I told you I love a good themed party and I felt the need to have a variety of options for party guest. I had pizza, desserts, appetizers, candies, and even space themed lemonade where you added a star shaped ice cube to your drink and it turned it purple. I could have most definitely scaled back because 1) people filled up on pizza and ended up only picking at everything else. 2) A lot of just people didn’t show up.

Gift Bags

Don’t do it. They are a waste of money. Let’s be real here, they are little bags full of things people don’t want or need. Most people end up throwing away anyway.

Decor

Almost everything I bought and made ended up being thrown out. (I did try to sell the leftover decor on FB marketplace for over a month. I really did try my best not to be wasteful). I bought all of these different things, just for them to have to be discarded. I will 100% be taking a different approach for future birthdays. Mainly just by keeping it simple!

• I’ve seen the construction paper links and I think they are so cute and cozy. You can customize your colors to match your theme and they are recyclable.
• I had a ton of the cheap plastic table cloths that ripped just by laying them across the table. Next time I will probably opt for actual cloth table cloths. A bit pricier, but a lot more sturdy and can be washed and reused. In the long run its better for your pockets and the environment. (Honestly, this mindset is one I’ll be adopting for all decor. Longevity and versatility)
• Okay so this particular decor item I am torn on… Ballon arches. I loved the ballon arch I made and thought it was a nice touch. It wasn’t that expensive to make and it was actually kind of therapeutic once I got the hang of it. I bought a metal arch and cloth arch cover both of which have already been used again since her birthday. But I know that balloons themselves are terrible for the environment. I did look for biodegradable ones, but they were all a weird yellow color and didn’t have the best reviews. I don’t think I can completely do without ballon arches. They really are so fun!
• One thing I LOVED and will do every time, no matter the size of the party, is have a display of pictures hung up. I had a banner with photos from each month of her first year of life. It was so special. For us and for the guest.

Desserts

I know a lot of people love to do smash cakes for first birthdays. I however am not one of those people. You give a baby an entire cake to themselves for them to maybe take one bite and then just spread icing everywhere? The same results can be achieved by giving them a singular cupcake, which is what we did! We got simple Vanilla cupcakes from Sam’s club. I jazzed them up by adding the cupcake toppers I made (I had a variety of different planets and my daughters face on an astronaut’s body). I did splurge on the custom sugar cookies that are popular. The baker matched the cookies to the invite. Desserts were the one thing I felt I was sensible about.

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With overconsumption culture we are fed this rhetoric that everything has to be new, over the top, and social media worthy. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE a themed party, but I am most definitely choosing to be more mindful and intentional for future parties. I will still be having themed parties, you can’t take that from me. BUT I will use decor I already have, borrow from friends, or scale it down. If you love to throw an over the top party go for it! I’m just sharing my experience to say you shouldn’t feel pressured to throw an elaborate party every year. Mom’s have a lot on their plates already and they last thing we need is feeling like we have to commemorate another year of your kids life by spending a ton of money and adding a bunch of unnecessary stress orchestrating an extravagant party. My kid probably would have had just as much fun playing with rocks or with playdough for the day.

Even though the birthday party I plan and throw may look a lot different I am still very proud of all my hard work and effort I put forth towards her party. So enjoy some of details from her party ⋆ ˚