Kids Parties: A Little Golden Book themed First Birthday

PARTY #1

Recently, we celebrated Master M's first birthday - in fact, I have been planning this Little Golden Book themed party since he was about 5 months old after being inspired by Vanessa over at Tried and True Blog who created this gorgeous Little Golden Book Baby Shower and also Dylan's Little Golden Book Birthday by Nashville Moms. I collected so many Little Golden Books from op-shops, friends and family, to use as decorations and to start a collection for Master M to read. I scrolled through Pinterest and Google images to get more ideas and there were plenty to choose from. After months of planning, it was finally time to put everything together and I am really happy with the way it turned out! Master M had a great first birthday with his friends and family and now I get to share it with YOU...Enjoy!

THE INVITATIONS

I would have designed my own invitation however I found this gorgeous one on Etsy via WonderAndWishes (click on the name to see more invitation designs). I couldn't resist and had to purchase it. I was very impressed how quick and easy it was to order from Etsy (first timer). The printable digital (.jpeg) file was emailed to me within 24 hours, I saved it on my usb and had the invitations printed on 6x4 photo paper at The Warehouse Stationery. The invitations looked amazing and I absolutely love them. 

SAMPLE ONLY via WonderandWishes

Sending out the birthday invitations... I added two strips of golden washi tape on the side of the envelope to set the theme...and wrote names & addresses using gold pen. It was a nice surprise for our friends who received 'happy mail' in their letterboxes. And it suited the vintage (old school) theme I was going for. 

THE DECORATIONS

Table display

As I have mentioned before I collected Little Golden Books from op-shops, friends and family for over 6 months prior to Master M's first birthday. Pinterest is such a wonderful tool when planning and organising parties (of any kind) - and that is where most of my ideas came from. I love the old school, vintage feel that the Little Golden Book gives! 

I found this gorgeous white frame from The Warehouse on special for $5 - it was perfect for the invitation (I did the same for Miss B's party invitation too). I bought a wooden M & some mod podge from my friend Tracy at The Scrapheap and decoupaged images from a spare copy I had of The Poky Little Puppy. Add a copy of the book and the mantel piece looked complete. 

"Everything I need to Know I Learned from a Little Golden Book" book was perfect to use as a keepsake for Master M's birthday. I got everyone that attended his party parties to write a little message for the birthday boy. This is something he (I) will treasure forever. 

Wooden blocks - I spelt out Master M's name using these blocks too 

Books galore - I managed to get a nice collection of Little Golden Books for Master M

I made my own bunting using pages from the Golden Books and hung them diagonally across the lounge. I also made yellow & white tissue poms-poms. Simple, yet effective DIY decorations to suit any theme.

This was my favourite decoration: Each month I took a photo of Master M with his giraffe friend, "Raffe". He wore a white onesie and I used Monthly Stickers, that I got from a friend, to capture his first year. I printed them out on 5x7 and stuck them on to the inside cover of the Little Golden Books. They look really cool and it's a great way to showcase how much our baby has grown in his first year.

Milestone bunting

Bunting: View from the kitchen

All ready for our guests to arrive...Play Area...

I put a vintage (woolen) blanket in the middle of the lounge for our toddler friends to play on and Mums to sit around. I had a treasure basket,  DIY Drum and shape sorters for the kids to play with on the blanket, plus there was the ball pit, a range of toys with 'wheels' and other toys to keep them entertained. (no games - just play)

BIRTHDAY OUTFIT

 This was a last minute decision and I absolutely LOVE it! I didn't know what Master M was going to wear to his parties, so I grabbed a white onesie and some Sharpies and created this Little Golden Book '#1' outfit for him! Super cute!

PARTY FAVOURS

I wasn't planning on doing party favours, but these windmills are super cute and a perfect little keepsake to give to your guests. I only spent $5 for the doweling (bundle of 4x1.2m), the rest of equipment I already had e.g. the pages from Golden Books, and pins (tacks).

Anneliese from Aesthetic Nest shared these awesome free printables on her blog a while ago (thank you, Anneliese. You're a gem!). I printed the cute little book covers and put them on white lolly bags that were filled with gummy worms (Party favour: Bookworms). I also used the same little book covers and made cupcake toppers (see photo below).

FOOD & DRINK

I made The Organised Housewife's amazing and easy to make Easy Tropical Punch, and used the little milk bottles (you may remember them from the Little Man Baby Shower). I bought the yellow straws and plastic cups from KMart. I also had bottles of water available (24 for $10 from Countdown). 

Tropical Punch

A massive thanks to everyone that brought a plate to share, we had a range of sweet and savoury. It's the best way to do things nowadays, saves costs, and your guests won't mind (well, mine didn't).

Mini cupcakes with the Little Golden Book cover cake toppers I made using Anneliese's printables. (How cute do they look!)

Some more yummy treats....

THE CAKE
I had big plans of making a giant cupcake for Master M's cake, but with other things happening all at once, I just couldn't do it all. I bought this Indulgent Chocolate Cake instead, added a gold ribbon, my own DIY Cake Bunting and a #1 candle. That's it! Something simple, yet perfect for the theme! Master M thought it was pretty cool and that's the main thing! (check out more cake pics below).

Big smile of approval!

Yummy!

***Happy 1st Birthday Master M***

Birthday Boy 

Sibling Love (Miss B & Master M)

Family Photo 
#inthepicture

PARTY #2

In the afternoon, we continued with the birthday celebrations, with a BBQ dinner with our family & close friends. This time we had TWO cakes (Master M's ONE & Miss B's TEN)...again simple cakes - with ribbon, cake bunting and a candle placed on trays that I covered with wrapping paper. I bought the Paris themed wafer paper from Kiwi Cakes and added an Eiffel tower on Miss B's cake. (Miss B's Paris themed birthday party COMING SOON - Watch this Space)

TWO parties in ONE day was full on, however I was passionate about the birthday theme and everything worked out in the end! 

I hope you enjoyed this post, if you did - please Share it, Pin it, Tweet it! 

Click to see: Miss B's Paris theme 10th Birthday

LINKING UP:

 #ToddlerFunFriday

My Bored Toddler, Mom Explores Virginia Beach and Kidz Activities

Made for Kids #4

The Resourceful Mama, Play Dough & Popsicles , Raising Little Superheroes , Books and Giggles 

#WeekendRewind

Sonia at Life, Love & Hiccups & Bron at Maxabella Loves 

Saturday Spotlight -  All of Life's Little Adventures

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