One Year in a FLASH!

I've heard people say that first birthday parties are unnecessary because the one year old isn't going to remember a thing past dinner time anyway. But to me, that's all the more reason to have a party, so you can share with your child, when they get older, this milestone that they aren't going to remember on their own. It's also a great way for parents to celebrate making it this far in the raising a kid business. Besides I love throwing parties! I have been planning and looking forward to Olivia's 1st birthday party for months now.

The Theme

Every good party needs a theme. I searched on the internet/pinterest for themes and decided that 'One Year in a Flash' fit perfectly. Olivia has a Papa and Mama-razzi for parents and we've taken thousands of pictures and videos since her birth and watched her grow from baby to toddler almost over night!

The Invitations

I decided the color scheme based on her nursery colors except I replaced the lime green with teal to give myself a change.

 The Decorations

 

 

I have taken pictures of Olivia in her crib every month in the same position (basically) and same baby bloomers and bow. It has been kind of a hassle at times, but now that the project is finished, I'm so glad I kept at it. I've been planning to put the pictures together in a collage to display in her nursery but then I got to thinking that they would also make great decorations for the party. Richard had an idea to use old film strips and hang them on the wall. We combined our efforts and this is what we came up with.

I combined several ideas I found from Pinterest for this photo garland. I attached pictures of Olivia's 'firsts' to scrapbook paper and then using a needle I ran kite string through the paper (as to not damage the pictures) and hung the finished product in front of the sliding glass door. 

Another Pinterest idea that I adapted: We borrowed a giant chalk board from Richard's parents (one that they used for birthday messages every year when he was growing up) and using numbers, wrote out the amounts of different significant things in Olivia's young life. Some are obviously estimates but still fairly accurate.

The Time Capsule

I went back and forth on whether I should do the time capsule or not, right up until a few days before the party. In the end I decided it was worth the extra effort and would be something fun for her to look forward to opening. And it wouldn't be a difficult tradition to keep up with for other children that come along in the future. Because I was indecisive, I wasn't able to send out the information with the invitations. That would have been so much better. Instead I had to keep the suggestions simple, something that they could do at the party. Other items we are including are baby shoes, hospital bracelets, baby pictures, footprints, the candle we used at the party, etc.

  

 

  

The Food

One of our nicknames for Olivia has been Baby O and ever since we started calling her that, I knew I wanted to serve Oreos and Cheerios at her birthday party, whether at this one or one down the road. Once I got going, everything just fell into place. I never realized before just how many food items there are that have 'O' as part of the name. 

 The best thing about the food is that it tasted as good as it looks!

The Party

It all started with some Duplos for the little ones while the older ones visited.

Then we ate!

 And visited some more.

  

We've got an artist in the family!

The Cake

Our dear friend Mindy made the incredible cake! With our 'One Year in a Flash' theme, I wanted a film reel cake. She had never done anything like it before but was up for the challenge. Her cake decorating talents amaze me! It turned out exactly as I pictured and we loved it!

 

The cake was DELICIOUS! Once it was cut, it didn't last long! Thanks again, Mindy!

The Video

Along with all the pictures we've taken of Olivia this year, we've also taken a lot of videos. Richard has some pretty sweet skills with video editing (he made our wedding video, too!) and I asked him to put together a video for Olivia's birthday. It turned out great and will be such a keep sake for years to come! It's a little long to be included here but I just wanted to mention it because it was such a fun thing to have at the party.

The Presents

We knew at Christmas that Olivia hasn't grasped the concept of opening presents yet, but I think this time next year, she'll be all over it!

 

 

  

she.was.spoiled! Thanks everyone!

 

 The Party Favors 

This was one of my favorite things to put together. Again, I wanted something that fit the theme but that wouldn't break the bank or be unnecessary like a dinky toy camera. After doing a little research, I decided to make Oreo Pops, which at least fit the food theme. They were so fun and easy to make and I love how they turned out! I also wanted a fun way to display them. I had an old green planter container which I covered with the same scrapbook paper I had used with other decorations and bought a large white Styrofoam cone from Michael's to stick the sucker sticks through. Everyone went home with an Oreo Pop and a little note from O.

 

 Planning a party can be stressful at times but it sure is worth it when all the ideas you've had for months finally come together. It was a picture perfect party and hopefully we made some memories that we can pass on to Olivia when she's older.