1st Birthday Party Inspiration

First of all, I apologize for my absence around these parts lately. Work is insanely hectic, life at home is hectic, and I've been a little under the weather. All that to say that blogging took a backseat as usual. It also didn't help that I feel like I'm in a rut over here. I posted on my IG stories the other day to send me blog post ideas and thanks SO much to those of you who responded and sent me some great ideas! 

Now. Onto more fun things. 

We are QUICKLY approaching a VERY big day around here! Our girls will be ONE YEAR OLD on October 2. We are planning on having their party on September 30, which to me sounds like it's just around the corner! 

If you've known me for any amount of time, you know that I'm a sucker for party planning and themes. There will only be a limited amount of years to plan the girls' parties before character themes become involved. Which don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with a cute character theme party! In fact a close runner up this year already was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse because even at 8 months, those girls are smitten with the mouse and his pals! 

I've tossed the idea back and forth for a few months (yes, months) between a donut theme and pancakes and pajamas theme. Ultimately, our love for donuts won out and here we are! I began my Pinterest board and my Etsy Favorites Page to bookmark tons of ideas! 

We have a large family and pretty big circle of friends with kiddos too. It goes without saying, we'll probably have quite the crowd at the 1st birthday! There are SO many CUTE invitations on Etsy; it's so hard to decide!! Color scheme wise, I think we're sticking with white, pinks, purple and blue with a little gold thrown in for pizzazz! 

The obvious answer is yes, there will be donuts! Stephen's brother is a great woodworker. I've shown him this exact picture and asked him to make me a donut display stand like the one above! I'm so excited!

No kids' birthday party is complete without balloons...of which there are some super stinkin' cute options around these days! 

I love this idea to use for centerpieces on the tables and filling them with fresh flowers or bunches of baby's breath. 

Of course there'll be somewhere to display the monthly pictures I've taken of the girls! It's just a matter of figuring out how best to put them all up. 

I'm also on the hunt for a cute shirt  or dress for them to wear! I love this design, but would like for their name to be a bit larger. I'm still on the lookout!! 

Several birthday parties we've been to in the last few years have used these "year in review" chalkboards. There's Etsy stores that design them and send them to you in a pdf or jpeg format. All you have to do is send it to be printed at Staples or somewhere in poster size, then pop it in a frame or hang it on a wall! How easy peasy is that?! This option is also reasonably priced and seeing as how I would have to buy TWO, "reasonably priced" always plays a part in making the final decision! 

Finally, a first birthday requires a smash cake...or two. Our girls will each have a simple small cake with a sparkly gold #1 on the tops. If time allows, I plan to make a couple fabric banners for the fronts of their high chairs similar to below in our color scheme. 

I can't wait to see everything come together for our girls' special day. Of course they will have no memory of any of it, and I'm doing all of this for my own satisfaction. BUT, it's our daughters' first birthday! The babies that we prayed so long and hard for. The babies that so many others prayed so much for. They deserve and are worth the celebration to be had! We cannot wait to celebrate sweet Amelia and Mae Parker! 

What are your best party planning tips for kids' parties? How do you find party inspiration? Do share! 

Happy Weekending!