Hosting A House Party For The Daughter’s First Birthday

Oh man did we party like it was 1999. Clara’s big birthday bash was so much lively, and even the weather miraculously cleared up for us (which I fully contribute to all the anti rain dances you folks did – so thanks). Of course you are all virtually invited, so let us get this show on the road. Here is what the living room looked like decorated with some giant balloons and the fabric flag banner that I begrudgingly made for the bean simply minutes before the first guests arrived.

On the other side of the room I hung a paper pendant that I made a while back above the hallway sliders and John taped up all of Clara’s 52 weekly photos (see the whole collection here) on the fireplace. It turned out to be a strong place for people to stand and study them all (everyone had a distinct go-to) and it was so remarkable to see how much she has grown and changed.

It had rained all morning but I refused to let the dream die (you know, the dream of in fact using the patio that John worked so haaaaaard to build before the party) so I strung up some balloons that I got from Target for a few bucks to create a festive come-hither-and-enjoy-the-new-patio look. The forecast said it might stop raining by noon (which was the beginning of the party) but I snapped this picture around ten minutes before and it was still misting and overcast. Boo.

Pssst- Notice a privacy fence going on? Let us simply say John’s been busy. Details as soon as he catches his breath…

Thankfully, all that mattered to us was keeping Clara smiley, which did not hinge on the weather at all. We in fact had to wake her up from her nap to attend her own party after a few guests showed up right on time. But she did not mind. Look at that glad girl. And is not her dress cute? It is from Target.

Burger was possibly the best sport of the day to wear these ridiculous curly pink ribbons that I tied around his collar. I figured he’d immediately attack them until he got them off, but he did not seem to mind them at all. So he ended up wearing them the whole time. What a good big brother.

As for the food and drink set-up, we chose the kitchen was simply waaaay too ugly to work as the main party backdrop (oy, that paneling) so we moved the kitchen table into the sunroom to create a little food and drink buffet. We even improvised and used a cute toy bucket of Clara’s for ice. Oh and here you can see the fabric runner that I made for the table using some of Clara’s weekly photo backdrop fabrics (I will have to share the steps for making that guy soon – it was truly plain). And in the top right corner of the photo you can also see Clara’s special fabric that we designed on Spoonflower which we intended to use as a photo backdrop for everyone at the party.

Intended was the key word. We did manage to grab photos of a few guests in front of it (holding blank pieces of paper that we planned to later photoshop with their names so we could make an album for Clara to learn to recognize everyone). But the day was simply such a blur that we did not get a chance to capture everyone. Perhaps we will simply have to make her an album with photos that we already have of everyone without that cute backdrop (which I plan to make into a beanbag someday).

As for the spread, we landed on a few plain crowd pleasing foods that work for babies and adults alike… and also had special meaning to us. We even made little cards to explain why we chose certain eats (simply printed out on card stock on our own computer). For example, the pizza card said “Many of The house team’s casual dates in New York City were enjoyed over a slice of New York pizza.” It was truly pleasant to order five pies and call it a day (instead of slaving away making the food like we did for our backyard wedding – we must have been crazy back then).

We also had some of the most delicious chips and salsa in Richmond on hand – which also happened to have special meaning for us when it comes to our go-to girl. The card explained it all: “John was eating these Cafe Olé chips on his last day of work when Sherry called to announce that she was in labor.”

We also figured the other kids and parents would appreciate an straightforward little snack (one of Clara’s go-tos). In fact when we held up a few things (Cheerios, Goldfish, these) she picked these (by pointing at them and saying “dis” – which is not a dis, but in fact means “this”). And so the card read: “Clara loves munching on these veggie sticks and specifically requested them at her party.”

And although we would serve cupcakes along with Clara’s smash cake later in the party, we set out some cinnamon cookies with the food simply to fill up the table with one more crowd pleasing treat (they are also known as “labor cookies” because it is an old wives tale that the spices somehow can start labor when you are ready to pop – but it did not work when John whipped up a batch for me). So the card on these folks read: “John baked these ‘Labor Cookies’ when the doc said Clara was ready. They did not work – but they were good!”

Everyone ate their little hearts out and had a merry old time. Our party guest total ended up being 25 of our closest friends and family members, which was simply about ideal. Here is Clara taking time off from pizza eating to flirt with the camera man (our brother-in-law Todd quite graciously snapped a lot of photos while we “hosted” and soaked up the day since he’s a pro photographer – and we are oh so grateful).

And by this time it began to get pleasant and sunny out, so while most people were venturing outside onto the new patio (miracle of all miracles!), some people ate inside as well.

And Clara’s cousin John checked out our hallway frame wall with his new balloon friend. Btw, the giant colorful balloons were a huuuge hit with the kids. And two of them did pop, but they did so pleasant and loudly – which was helpful because one of the eighteen adults could swiftly grab all the pieces (since deflated balloons can be choking hazards- safety first!).

We also mentioned that we hoped to create a birthday time capsule for people to contribute to at the party (we talked about it back in this post, which also has sources for a lot of our party supplies). What we ended up doing was grabbing a basket for people to drop notes and “artifacts” from 2011 into, which we would then transfer into a tin box for Clara to open on her 18th birthday. Oh and the note to direct people to contribute said: “Add something to Clara’s Time Capsule! We are making a time capsule for Clara to be opened on her 18th birthday. So please write a note to be slipped in. (Something about her, about 2011, or even about yourself. Whatever!)” She ended up with plenty of well wishes, a newspaper from that day, a party hat, and some stat cards full of gas prices and top recording artists and TV shows today. It should all be truly lively to look back on when she’s eighteen.

See those little striped pens? Those were from the sentiment cards that people filled out for our wedding. I was so glad to spot them in the drawer when I went digging around for some lively little pens. And as for the note cards, they were simply pieces of 8 x 10 card stock that I cut into quarters and drew a little heart at the top with pink, blue, and green markers. So the whole time capsule project was f-r-e-e.

And speaking of low-cost thrills, these bubble containers shaped like ice cream cones were less than fifty cents a pop at Target (they sell them four per pack in the party aisle) and I used a silver sharpie to write each child’s name on them to create cute little favors. Once again, we printed out a little card stock sign to explain the whole shebang: Thank you for coming to my party! If you are a young bubble enthusiast like myself, please take the party favor with your name on it. (This means you Laney, Elsa, John, Emanuel, Hayes, and Edison!) xoxo, Clara

Happily, they were a hit. Especially since everyone was gravitating outside to the patio (with rain clouds nowhere to be seen).

The balloon garlands were also fairly lively for the children to look at, poke, smile at, and talk to (kids are kind of weird, but quite cute). Look at my sweet momma and my sweet baby girl, living it up underneath them.

People even began spilling out into the carport, which is where some crowd rallying dancing took place. Here is Clara’s cousin John getting the party began with some Macarena-ish moves.

We took the carport lively as a sign that it was time for my homemade piñata. That is right the ugly goiter-esque creation that I shared on Friday in fact worked out! I used a blow dryer to eliminate the moisture issue, popped the balloon, and then covered it with tissue paper “scales” for a lively girly effect inspired by this one I pinned on Pinterest a while back. I will be back with a detailed walkthrough to share all the steps (I tweaked it to create a “pull string” piñata so the wee ones did not need a bat to get to the goodies inside, they each simply yanked a bunch of strings to pop open the bottom and get to their treates – which were individually wrapped packets of Teddy Grahams and Goldfish). Long story short: it was plenty o’ lively.

And because some of the party-goers stuck around in the carport for more bubble adventures (while others made their way back to the patio or the sunroom for more snacks/drinks/time capsule lively), we chose that it was time for some smash cake for the bean…

For those unfamiliar with a smash cake (my own Italian momma had never heard of it) it is a tradition where you bake a compact kid-sized cake for your one year old…

… and encourage them to dig in and make a big ol’ mess while snapping plenty of photos and giggling uncontrollably. Clara was not shy.

It might have been the cutest thing I have ever seen.

And she even generously shared some with us, so I ended up with a little icing in the hair situation and John got a cake goatee. Best time ever.

Here is the cake carnage. Not a bad job for a dainty little girl, eh?

Then we pulled out three dozen cupcakes from our go-to bakery (Ukrops) and announced that everyone else should dig in too, since Clara set a strong example. And did they ever. Oh and since all the other food got a label, of course the cupcakes earned one too: “These are the same cupcakes that The house team enjoyed at their wedding, which Clara was unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.”

And in some miracle of bulk cupcake ordering magic, three dozen of these pink, green, and blue babies came out to under $14. Yes, that is less than 38 cents a cupcake. And I did not have to make them. I am in fact not sure I could have made and iced three dozen cupcakes for under $14, so it was certainly money well spent. And it freed me up to make Clara’s smash cake, which was plenty of lively.

Here is where everyone was outside and we realized that we hadn’t taken a wide shot of the sunroom with the kitchen table all set up with food (well, cupcakes and cookies at this point) so we snapped one (that table in the corner is where the bubble favors and time capsule stuff was set out for everyone).

And here is a shot of everyone hanging out on the rain-free patio (there was even some ball playing in the backyard). We felt so lucky to end up with a pleasant day to celebrate the bean.

And we capped off the event with a little year-in-review video that John made for Clara on the computer using iMovie (and then burned to a DVD so we could share it with everyone on the TV in the living room). Look how many people we can fit on good ol’ Karl the Sectional.

Oh and as for the bean’s presents, you folks know I made her this quilt (which she quite cutely pawed and smiled at when I gave it to her) and we also got her this lively little stacking game where you make sandwiches from one of our go-to eco companies. She loves it! And John will be building her a sandbox any day now to complete the gift trifecta. She also got plenty of books and some strong “activity presents” like a membership to the Children’s Museum and a series of toddler nature classes from the family. And her boyfriend Will Bower got her a especially lively bathtime bubble blower and an über stimulating book called First 100 Words and this vivid dress that she’ll wear to woo him the next time she sees him.

So there you have it. Our precious baby girl’s first birthday party full of food, family, friends, lively, bubbles, balloons, cupcakes, chaos, and laughing til we cried. And the cycle of babies continues! John’s sister Katie lately announced that she’s expecting again (you can see her cute baby bump in the photo above our Clara video). Congrats to Katie and Martin! I am sure we will blink our eyes and find ourselves at that baby’s first birthday party before we know it.