Oh how time flies!!

Disclaimer- Pretty much all of the decorations I made for Max's birthday were ideas found from Pinterest that I straight up copied or altered slightly to my own taste. With that being said, I am not including the links to all of the blogs/websites were I found these ideas, because I had a file with clipped pictures that I used. If you type any of these ideas into Pinterest I am sure the original sites/blogs will appear. I hope it is okay and not offensive that I am doing this.

Max's 1st birthday party was a labour of love. I will be honest, I spent the last few months working on the decorations. I just kept seeing ideas on Pinterest that were too cute not to add :) I would chip away at them during nap time, but mostly after he had gone to bed. I think my husband was pretty sick of seeing my scissors and glue gun by the end of it all ;) 

I have often said during Max's first year that I cannot believe how quickly time passes when you have a little one, so when I saw this theme it was perfect for us :) I chose red and blue as the colour scheme.

The invitation I chose was a downloadable file from the Etsy shop, Posh Paper Parties. Here is the link to the shop.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/PoshPaperPartiesCo

When people entered the building where the party was held I had an easel outside the door so everyone would know what room we were in. On the easel was Max's one year 'stats' board outlining some personal details about him. I used various sized stencils and metallic markers for this project. There are so many different ways to create these boards.

The main table housed the thank you treats, the dessert and Max's birthday book. I had a friend of my mom's make special airplane cookies for our guests to take home. They were the yummiest short breads you've ever  tasted.. I think I am up to a six count of how many I have gobbled (there were some leftovers).

Using scrapbooking paper, stamps and card stock I made tags for the tops. I also had mum mums for the baby/toddler guests to take home. These were tied with ribbon and set in a vase on a bed of cotton balls aka clouds :) 

The theme of one of my baby showers when I was expecting Max was Build Baby M's library. So I thought it would be fitting to have a book everyone could sign as a way of remembering years from now, everyone who was with us on the day. As with most of my ideas, I found this on Pinterest.

 

I then purchased downloadable files for the cupcake toppers and wings from the super cute website http://ihearttoparty.com. They have lots of other themes as well! I used scrapbooking paper to make the cupcake liners that the cupcakes sat in. Here is the website I bought the files from. Very good deal! I printed them off on regular paper and them cut and pasted them to cardstock. Yes this took forever, but it was cheaper then taking the file to a printer. 

 

The backdrop I used was taken straight from Pinterest. I didn't change it at all because I loved it so much. I used the leftover canvas from the teepee I made Max to serve as a rustic table cloth for the main table. Don't you love when you can use materials you already have lying around?!!

For photos, I have taken monthly pictures of Max in the same chair, wearing a different "month tie" each month. You can find these sorts of stickers all over Etsy. Like any parent I have taken a gazillion pictures of my first born in his first year, so it was important for me to share with our friends and family some of my favourites. I saw the idea of collaging pictures into the shape of the number your child is turning and knew immediately that this would be part of the decor.

I rented a set of airplane to use as centerpieces for the table, as well as for the top of the cupcake display. I also found two antique suitcases and used these for the Flight School and for Max's thank you cookies. The idea for the other table centerpieces were also found on Pinterest. All materials for these four center pieces except for the straws were purchased from the dollar store; styrofoam balls, cotton balls, a pack of twelve jets, brown grass and four small planters. It was difficult to get the straw to stand up straight due to the heaviness of the ball, but it was stuck in a piece of styrofoam that was covered by the grass, and I just had to be really gentle when placing them on the table so they would stand up straight.

For Max's highchair area I found some really cute ideas on Pinterest. A sign that read "Max's Cockpit," and an airplane bunting for the front of his highchair tray. I used scrapbooking paper, felt and leftover string from my Christmas tags for these decorations. I used red streamers to make the space behind his chair a little more pleasing to the eye for the purpose of pictures, and I had a balloon bouquet beside him that consisted of a giant blue number one balloon paired with three red balloons. 

The other two balloon bouquets I had consisted of a grouping of three white balloons to look like clouds. A paper airplane was taped halfway down the ribbon, and they were both placed in festive airplane boxes.

For the pre-school aged boys that were invited I wanted to have a few activities they could do with their parents, since the toy area I blocked off was mostly toddler and baby focused. I decided on Pin the Propeller on the airplane, Flight School and birthday and airplane themed colouring sheets. Each child also got to pick out the letter sticker for the first initial of their name and stick it on a party hat. This is a cheap and easy extra to add to the party. The party hats came in bulk from the dollar store and I had the letter stickers lying around the house from a menu board I made (see my post on meal time organizing). 

Other details included all red and blue cutlery, napkins and plates. A jar of cheerios (aka Birthday Boy Chow) with a plastic scoop and cups for the babies and toddlers to snack on, festive straws, a blue dollar store tablecloth and decorative themed chalkboard for the present table, a "refueling station" sign where the food was located and finally one of my favourite decorations, an airplane banner made out of scrap booking paper. I was able to find cloud and airplane paper! These were from Hobby Lobby. They have a way better selection of paper then Micheals does, and it is cheaper.

 I made a cake stand for his smash cake out of a plate and candle holder from the dollar store. I then made a little bunting for his cake as well. This was also one of my favourite decorations.

The Birthday Boy had two outfits. I layered his outfit with a ONE onesie (from Old Navy) as an undershirt, so when it was time to eat his cake I just had to take off his dress shirt and tie. Very slick and it gave him a cute second look for pictures :) Max's moccasins were made by my dear friend who owns a company out of her home in Whitby, Ontario. Her business is called My Little Moccs. Here is her website.
http://mylittlemoccs.bigcartel.com/
Each pair is $40, and every so often she offers discounts.

Keeping in theme with the birthday, the time completely "flew by." But, it was such a great time and all the kids had fun, especially Max who just had fun walking all over the room with a big smile on his face. It was as though he knew it was his party.. too cute :) :) I am happy with what I did for his party. While he did not get much out of the theme and decorations, I love detail and if I can bring a smile to my guests face as they enjoy my decor and presentation, I have met my goal :) .. and I hope Max looks back on these pictures when he is older and smiles/shakes his head at his mama :) This party was about celebrating the amazing first year of Max being in our lives. But oh, how time flies!!

~ K