It's been almost a month since we celebrated Micah's 1st birthday and I'm still working on sending out thank you cards to everyone who came and made his day so special! I am so thankful for how many people we have in our lives who truly love us and our little boy! :)
On to the details...
Date and Time: Sunday, Sept. 1st from 2:00-4:00pm
Location: We decided on having it at our house. I knew the time of the party was right in the middle of nap time, so I wanted to be home to sneak in some quiet time before, during and after the party, if needed. Also, I wanted the environment to be as comfortable as possible for Micah. Can't say an 1800 square foot house is the most ideal place to have 50+ people, but we made it work! ;)
Theme: I settled on an "ocean theme" once I realized that having a theme actually made life easier and not harder. The colors were blue, light blue and gold, and ended up being pretty similar to his nursery (I feel like he's too old for me to call it that now... :( ).
Food: Since we did an after-lunch party, we just had finger foods and cake. I searched google and pinterest like crazy to find ocean-themed food ideas and to my joy, there were some very cute and creative things out there! We had seashell pasta salad, peanut butter and jelly-fish sandwiches, tuna fish sandwiches, multi-colored (and flavored!) goldfish, "foreign fish" (swedish fish candy), "bait" (gummy worms), "pearls" (yogurt raisins), "seaweed" (spinach) dip, and "crab legs" (carrot sticks). I think this was probably my favorite part about doing a themed party. Cute food. :)
Gifts: We spent a good half hour opening gifts in front of everyone. Micah was more interested in entertaining his guests than opening his gifts, though. He sure has enjoyed playing with all of them since!
Cake Smash: This was definitely the highlight of the party! We set up a tent outside (to shield as many as possible from the scorching Florida sun) and placed his high chair under it. Then we gathered around and sang "Happy Birthday" before letting Micah devour and destroy every piece of his sugary, buttercream-frosted cake! He definitely had fun with it! (Thanks to everyone capturing photos and video, we still get a kick out of watching it now!)
Favors: In light of the theme, we had ocean "bubbles" to send home with the kids.
I am so glad we were able to celebrate this special day with so many of our friends and family! And even though Micah won't remember, it was an exciting day for Josh and I to experience together as new parents.
I am so thankful for you, Micah Jordan. You are loved more than you could ever know and more than I could have ever imagined! Looking forward to many more birthdays with you, sweet boy. :)
Watch highlights from his party below!
Shots captured by Justin Robinson Video compiled by my lovely husband. Obviously, "Little One" is his favorite song to use in almost every video. I'm not complaining. :)
>>> My advice to any other new parent planning a first birthday party:
1. Invite people who mean a lot to you and have invested in your child, not just acquaintances who have other small children. There will come a day when they get to choose their guest list. For now, help them by choosing people they are comfortable and familiar with.
2. Make sure it'll be a fun day for you too!