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I’m not gonna lie, I had SO much fun planning my daughter Olivia’s 1st birthday party. In this post, I am going to share all the things I ordered, and every detail I can think of that went into planning her party and how to plan the best 1st birthday party.
I loveeee all the little details that go into party planning. So if that’s you too, you’re going to love this post. But if the details overwhelm you, I hope this post helps you feel a little less overwhelmed!
Shop the balloon garland here, the banner here, her outfit here and pack of assorted bows here (she’s wearing the white bow in the picture above.
My parents were nice enough to lend us their new house to host the party. They have an in ground pool so it was perfect for all the kiddos to swim and have a good time in.
Here is a reel I made from the day of her party.
Theme + Planning | How to plan the best 1st birthday party
I wanted to go with a subtle daisy theme because I thought the decor was super cute.
I didn’t want to go all out on super cheesy decor (no hate or shame to anyone who uses this type of party decor it’s just not my vibe) which is why I kept it minimal where I could but still decorative if that makes sense.
Wanna know how to plan the best 1st birthday party? Start by picking a good theme and go from there.
Once you decide on a theme, the rest of the planning gets so much easier.
I love a fun theme and love how sites like Pinterest and especially Etsy make it soooo easy to make your vision come to life.
I used Evernote to clip ideas I found and loved related to the party. I created a notebook titled ‘Liv’s 1st birthday party’ and saved so many things to it.
Then, when I was getting down to the nitty gritty of details, and needed a good visual of everything, I used Milanote to create a sort of vision board of everything so I could see a birds’ eye view of it all. It helped me pin point what I need to add, tweak or remove entirely.
Decor | How to plan the best 1st birthday party
Cake Topper
Let’s start with the cake topper. I actually originally ordered a similar one from Etsy but it would not have arrived in time for the party so I had to order this one from Amazon. It was surprisingly still super cute and almost identical to the one from Etsy. Here are 3 really cute cake toppers I found on Etsy that I almost went (one, two, three) with instead of this one.
(The cake pictured is from the Amazon listing).
Balloon Garland
What is a party without a good balloon garland amirite? Haha
I loooove using this for a backdrop as well as for photos and it just fits the vibe for pretty much any party. You can choose which colors you want and then put them together mixed up or like a gradient from one color to another.
If you are in the New Jersey area though, definitely hit up ROH. She does such an incredible job of balloon garlands and decor. I was going to use her, but she was already booked for that day.
I ordered a sample of this garland to use the loose balloons for other decor. I brought them with me to Party City along with the giant number balloon to blow up with helium. I picked them up the next day and hung them out front of the house so that it was the first thing guests saw when they arrived.
Number One Balloon
I ordered this number one balloon from Etsy and then dropped it off along with one colored balloon from the balloon garland to Party City.
Birthday Banner
I wasn’t sure where I was going to place this banner but I ended up taping it to the balloon garland. I had originally wanted to get a high chair tassel garland to decorate whatever high chair to sing to her in and give her the smash cake. But I planned on just giving her the smash cake on the floor in front of the garland until a friend of mine dropped off a wooden high chair the morning of (you can see in the video above).
I definitely would’ve ordered a high chair garland had I known we would be using that. I didn’t want to use ours because it was gray and not aesthetically pleasing for photos and videos lol.
Also, I didn’t notice this until I was taping it up, but the S is upside down haha. I went to the listing and noticed it’s even like that in the listing cover image. Oh well haha.
Wooden Monthly Milestone Board
I am soooo bummed because I was so excited about using this for her party, but it wouldn’t have shipped in time. The Etsy shop owner messaged me saying they had a TON of orders recently and had to push ship dates back so I went ahead and canceled the order.
But like look how CUTE?! Especially with those daisy flowers and everything! Would’ve fit so perfectly with the theme!
Other Decor I Almost Ordered
But didn’t..
I didn’t want to go overboard with the decor so here are some items I almost bought but didn’t. And I’m including them here in case you end up liking them for your own party planning.
I wanted so badly to order cute custom sugar cookies but everyone I reached out to was booked far out in advance so I had to skip on that idea.
Some other decor I almost ordered but didn’t were: This happy birthday banner, this super cute boho highchair banner, this daisy paper garland, these daisy paper wall decor cutouts, this first birthday highchair banner, and this hanging flower garland.
Food + Drink | How to plan the best 1st birthday party
Smash Cake + Cupcakes
I know these photos aren’t the best quality. I forgot to take photos of everything so I had to take screenshots of the videos I took. But look how cute it turned out!
I ended up ordering a smash cake and 30 cupcakes from Bredenbeck’s Bakery, located in Philadelphia on Germantown Ave. I’ve ordered from them in the past (we originally used them back in 2019 for our wedding cake!)
I requested 15 cupcakes with daisies and 15 without. Here is an actual screenshot of the email I sent to the bakery.
If you’re interested in using them for your next event, you can contact sales via email here or head over to their website here for more information.
Also, if you’re not familiar with what a smash cake is, according to Google, In case you’re unfamiliar, a smash cake is basically a tiny cake meant to be relished by your kiddo on her first birthday. And since 1-year-olds are pretty much lawless, that means she’ll likely dig in by using her fingers, or “smashing” her face into it the second it’s placed in front of her.
Charcuterie Board
Another big hit that I LOVEE putting together is a good ole charcuterie spread! All you need is a nice thick cutting board or serving tray and line it up with: fruit, cheeses, crackers, meats, nuts, your choice of spreads (I love to use fig spread), popcorn and finish it off with some rosemary to tie the board together. I also added a handful of daisies to match theme of the party.
Pretzel Tray
In my opinion, you can’t have a party without a rivet pretzel tray from the Philly Pretzel Factory. These are ALWAYS a hit at every party we throw.
Ham + Cheese Sliders
These were for sure a big hit with the guests. I remember using this exact recipe a few years back up the mountains with family and everyone loved them.
Chicken Salad Croissants
This was a great option and super simple, quick and easy to put together. My mom and I hit up Costco the day before the party and bought the croissants from the bakery and their premade chicken salad container and just scooped it into the croissants the day of the party. Everyone loved them.
Mac n’ cheese
I feel like mac and cheese is definitely a food option for parties that almost everyone loves. Here is the exact recipe my mom used to make this. And here is another awesome recipe I’ve used in the past and it turned out bomb (if you like your mac on the crispier/fancier side).
Summer Salad
This too was a hit and is similar to the one I had at our gender reveal party. Here is the link to the full recipe.
Deviled Eggs
My Mom had a piping bag she used to make these look more decorative.
We also set out chips and salsa as well as a veggie and dip tray we picked up from Costco.
That concludes all the food we served. I had a fun drink in mind but ended up not having enough time to make it. We also picked up an assorted Honest Kids juice boxes to set out for the kiddos.
My mom also made her famous homemade sweet iced tea and we served sodas and alcoholic beverages in an outdoor party cooler. I think this is similar to the one she has but in black.
Click here to shop this outdoor cooler on Amazon.
Outfits
Olivia’s Outfit
I got her outfit from a recent haul I did that I shared on the blog.
My Outfit
I ordered my outfit from Amazon. This romper had SO MANY great reviews I could not help but get it. I loved it, it was super comfortable and flattering.
Overall, Liv’s party was a success (minus the cake smash) and I still cannot believe she is already one! Speaking of the cake smash, I think what happened was I rushed her into it when she was tired and hungry. I should’ve done the singing right away after everyone arrived. I think another reason she got overwhelmed was from all the people crowded around her (and also right before we did the singing, I accidentally pinched her finger on the highchair! The poor girl! lol)
Anyway, my best advice to you especially if you’re planning a one year old’s birthday party or ANY kid’s birthday party is to get the cake singing and gift opening all out of the way shortly after everyone arrives and have had a chance to eat. This way you, the kids and everyone else can just relax and enjoy the party once that’s out of the way.
I hope this post was helpful and inspired you to have fun planning your daughter’s first birthday party!
xo, Kristen
