The Big Birthday Blast

For Bryce's first birthday party I did a jungle animal theme using blues, oranges, and yellows. According to Sandy (and any other parent you'll talk to) the first birthday is more about the Mom than anyone else. I can attest to this. Countless hours were spent deciding on theme and decor, how to design the invitations "just right", and what the birthday boy should wear. A couple months back I found this bib he's wearing on sale at Gymboree. The cute little giraffe (not that you can see it all that well) sealed the deal for me!

First step was to design the invitations. As a designer I (1) LOVE this part of the planning, and (2)feel a certain amount of (self-imposed) pressure to do it really well. This is what I ended up with (and yes, it made my professional website --- and yes, that link inclusion was intentional...I like free lance work. :)

Next step to tackle was the menu. Bryce's allergies posed a challenge here so I ended up doing whole foods for the healthy snack portion and for his cupcakes I used a Duncan Hines Devils Food cake mix which is free of milk, eggs, and isn't made in a nut facility. I also decided to go with cupcake toppers as opposed to dyed frosting.

You can't see the labels too well in this picture, but you're looking at "Tiger Stripes", "Elephant Tusks", and "Leopard Spots". (And yes, I think I found this more amusing than anyone else.)

I used Bryce's noise-maker giraffe to help display the party favors which were little plastic jungle animal toys with blue sugar crystal suckers. Each had a label with the guest's name on it.

Most importantly I think Bryce had a good time. Here are a few pictures of him celebrating his big day with friends.