Liam’s first birthday party was a success! We all had a great time celebrating with friends and family… and eating cake, of course!

I wrote about the early stages of planning and how I wanted to throw a fun party with lots of bright colors instead of going with a real theme. The color palette was red, yellow, green, and blue and everything had a homemade feel.

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I designed the invitation on the left and ordered prints of it – I wanted something simple and fun, which I think I achieved. I also included the insert on the right for the donations in lieu of gifts. See this post for more about how we handled gifts for Liam’s first birthday.

We asked that guests bring cards with their donations so we knew who to thank on behalf of the children in the hospital. I love how this cool dinosaur is holding his card! The night before the party, Mr. TTT and I taped a big piece of butcher paper to the kitchen wall and attached pictures from Liam’s tumblr (or modern day baby book) in the shape of the letters O N E (top right). It was so so fun to work on this project together and that night will probably be one of my favorite memories of Liam’s birthday. We got to relive his first year through those pictures and shared laughs, as well as tears, thinking about what an incredible year it has been. The favors (bottom right) were take and toss cups (sippies for younger kids, straws for older kids), bubbles, and a snack (apple puree pouch for younger ones, natural fruit wrap for older ones). I wanted to give our little guests something that they would enjoy, but was also useful. As a parent, I know that clutter is a constant battle, so I didn’t want to send them home with anything that would end up at the bottom of a toy basket.

I bought lots of crepe paper streamers in all our fun bright colors and my amazing helpers, BFF Angie and Little Bro Mateo, hung them up under the patio where our cafe lights hang (left). I made the Happy Birthday Liam sign (middle) with full sheets of cardstock and white paint and hung it with string on the garage door. I used more crepe paper for the high chair decoration (again, thanks Mateo for helping with that) and I dressed up a regular party hat with a cardstock number and tissue paper fringe (right).

Liam was napping when his party started, so it took him some time to wake up and get used to all of the excitement.

Soon, he was ready to play on the jungle gym (a hand-me-down from one of Mr. TTT’s coworkers), sit in the ball pit, and watch the older kids play at the bubble station.

My number one priority with the party was that Liam and all the other kids had fun and I think they did!

Why, yes, our outfits are color coordinated to the party… I couldn’t help myself!

My parents made all the yummy sides (top right) and Mr. TTT manned the grill. The food was delicious and nobody went hungry! I ordered a sheet cake (bottom right) from Costco and asked for white icing with no edging and just “Happy 1st Birthday” written across the top. Then, I used letter cookie cutters and sprinkles to spell out LIAM (thanks Pinterest for the idea). It was a homemade look without the work!

Gosh, I love that little boy. And he LOVED his cake!! I did make his smash cake myself, though I used box cake mix (funfetti) and premade icing that I dyed blue. It was my very first layered cake and it turned out really cute!

Abuelo, Tio Mateo, and Grammy had to get in for a picture with the cake-faced birthday boy, too!

After he got cleaned up, Liam had more fun in the ball pit! The party went by so fast, much like the first year of my son’s life. We look forward to celebrating many more birthdays to come!

*All photos by Michelle York Photography

First Birthday Parties part 7 of 8

1. Evan's First Birthday Bash by Parties
2. Kayden's First Birthday by Parties
3. C'est la fete : Vintage Newspaper Boy by Mrs. Sunglasses
4. Little Marbles' First Birthday by Mrs. Marbles
5. Noelle's Dol | First Birthday by Mrs. High Heels
6. Modern Woodland Birthday by Mrs. Pen
7. Liam's Colorful & Fun 1st Birthday Party by mrs. tictactoe
8. Baby H's Rainbow 1st Birthday! by Mrs. Hopscotch