Let the Wild Rumpus Start!

For little J’s first birthday, I wanted to have a big party with all of our friends and family. Months ago, I decided on a “Where the Wild Things Are” theme, since that was my husband’s favorite book as a child. I scoured the web and Pinterest for planning and decor, since I’ve never thrown a party like this before. I began doing as much handmade decor as possible, to save a little money and to make it even more special for J. With the abundant help of my amazing family and a couple of my best girlfriends, the party went off without a hitch! Here are a few photos of the details of the party. I think it was an absolute hit!Handmade felt bunting and paper lanterns hung from tree to tree! The tables were covered in white linens with a burlap runner. I kept the table decor simple, elegant and earthy with baby’s breath and billy balls in mason jars painted gold. Pine cones and moss balls adorned the length of the table, leaving plenty of room for the guests to eat and socialize. I created a photo banner of baby J’s first 12 months with baby clothespins and twine to hang from a small tree.The main food table was home to lots of tasty and healthy food items including chicken, steak and shrimp skewers, a fresh mediterranean salad with kalamata olives, avocado and feta, mini caprese skewers with a balsamic reduction drizzle, hummus and cucumber cupcakes, pita chips and roasted red bell pepper hummus, fresh fruit skewers, and a delicious couscous tabbouleh.Refreshing lemonade was the perfect beverage to accompany the adorable grey, yellow and white-striped paper straws. We also offered ice water and fruit juice boxes for the little ones.I purchased die-cut crown confetti from this Etsy Shop, and decided to create my own cute little mini-cupcake toppers with them to top these delicious and adorable mini cupcakes! There were lemon, chocolate and carrot cake cupcakes to accommodate every taste bud.These “Wild Thing Paw Print” cookies were so adorable and delicious and were quite the hit! I made the birthday boy his own special cake. It was an organic apple spice cake I found here with a cream cheese frosting. He was able to enjoy it after the party, since he was quite obviously not a fan of the frosting all over his hands!Family and friends were given these adorable handmade crowns to wear. My Mom even made extras in all sizes so that the “Wild Thing” could come out in anyone and party!We had a fun little “photo booth” to capture some of the fun guests of the party. Instead of the traditional guest sign-in book, we purchased a copy of the book “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak as a keepsake for baby J to have that he can actually appreciate.For the party favors, we sent the little ones home with a crown, a little snack box filled with organic treats, and some bubbles as “A Magic Trick to Tame the Wild Things”.The older guests took home a s’mores kit to make a yummy treat at home!

Thanks to everyone who made it to J’s first birthday bash, especially to those that traveled long distance, it’s a not celebration without the people who love him most! Thank you to my husband for putting up me and with the months of planning and crafting.  Thanks to my best gal pals, Betsy of Snap Lovely Photography, for all the amazing photos, for handwriting the photo props, and for helping prep all the delicious food, to Kelli, Amy and Aly for last minute crafting and the delicious cupcakes and fruit skewers, and to Cassie who snapped a few of the  pictures above.

And of course, a special thanks to all of my amazing family who all traveled out from Arizona and helped SO much with all the party details and set up, and were here to celebrate the big one year! I love you all and couldn’t have done it without you!

“This is the Day which the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” – Psalm 118:24