first
/fərst/
number.
a. coming before all others in time or order; earliest; 1st.
b. foremost in position, rank, or importance.
First birthday parties are a big deal in my opinion. Sure, you could say that the baby won’t remember them, which is a very valid point. But if you enjoy entertaining, a first birthday is a great opportunity for the parents to gather all of their loved ones and celebrate making it through the first year. Since I’m someone who loves planning parties, I also wanted to take advantage of what may be the only year that I have final say on the theme before my little one is old enough to voice her own opinion.
Our baby girl, Madilynn just turned one, and we had a bee-themed backyard brunch to celebrate. Because of COVID, the guest list was a lot smaller than we had hoped, but it was a beautiful day all the same! Plus, Madilynn was very familiar with all of the faces at the party, and I think that made everything a lot less overwhelming for her. She was the happiest little thing all day long!
Invitations
For those of you who don’t know, Andrew and I made our own wedding invitations, and ever since, I’ve been creating my own stationary for various events. I primarily use Photoshop and free Google fonts. For this party, I sent the invite digitally to our small group of family + friends, and we printed one copy for ourselves as a keepsake.
Decorations
The fun thing about kids’ parties is that you can really run wild with a theme. With honeybees in mind, I used a colour palette of black, white, and yellow. One of the first things I designed was the tablescape, which featured black plates and cups, black + white napkins, bright yellow cutlery and striped paper straws. Plus a sprinkle of white paper daisies!
For the backdrop, my father-in-law built eight wooden hexagons, which I stained and stacked to create a honeycomb effect. I also created a honeybee poster about Madilynn’s first year, a display of her monthly milestone photos, a time capsule for guests to write messages, and this beautiful burlap banner which we added to Madilynn’s highchair.
Food
Because of Madilynn’s nap schedule, I decided to plan a waffle bar brunch! Waffles also happen to look a lot like honeycombs, so it was a total win-win! These sugar-free waffles were whipped up the night before and reheated in the oven for the party. For toppings, I provided strawberries, blueberries, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and mini Reese’s Pieces. For sauces, I set out maple syrup, honey and two types of whip cream. On the side, guests could enjoy mini quiches, veggie bacon, and a fruit tray with cheesecake dip. And finally, for drinks, there was a choice of iced coffee, freshly squeezed lemonade made by my mother-in-law, and a large pitcher of ice cold water.
Desserts
My incredibly talented friend made this gorgeous lemon-filled cake, as well as, the tasty little cupcakes you see above. She made the honeycomb decorations by pouring white chocolate onto bubble wrap and sprinkling them with gold glitter dust. To top it all off, my sister and I tried our hand at decorated daisy sugar cookies, using recipes and skills learned in a baking class back in February. Everything turned out BEE-utiful and delicious – perfect for all of the sweet teeth in our family!
We cannot believe our baby girl is ONE.
It feels like just yesterday when we brought her home from the hospital, and yet somehow, it also feels like she has been with us forever. The first year of parenthood was an enormous learning curve – full of incredible ups and downs – and we could not have done it alone. THANK YOU to all of our friends and family who have shown us and our daughter so much love and support this year. We LOVE you all so much!