All photo credits via.

First birthdays are worth celebrating because, let’s face it, you kept a tiny human alive for a whole entire year! You made it through teething and feedings and shots and falling off beds and every other adventure life with a new baby brings.

Celebrate this occasion.

It’s about you and your spouse and your little bundle of joy. It’s about the doting grandparents. Your friends that love cuddling babies. It’s about kids hopped up on birthday cake. It’s about one year down…and 17 more to go. (And typing that reeeeally makes me want to take a nap.) 

Here’s a peek at Carson’s first birthday party.

(Pssst! Are you planning a party? Scroll to the bottom for a sweet party package giveaway!)

Winter Wonderland First Birthday Party

We chose a ‘winter wonderland’ theme because Carson’s birthday is in January, and January is in winter, and we are original. Click here to see my Winter Wonderland first birthday party pinboard. (And don’t judge me for all of the things I didn’t carry out! It’s about inspiration, not copy-ation.)

I designed her invitations myself (!!!) using a combination of PicMonkey (front) and Canva (back).

Though the party theme colors were blues, silvers, and whites, we made this pendant to compliment our neutral living room. Other than this little vignette, the party decorations were confined to the kitchen.

For Carson’s guest book, we decided to use a story book and let people sign the inside pages. It really added a personal touch, and was fun for the guests!

My sister-in-law baked the most perfect little smash cake! We made the pendant from scrapbook paper and stickers, held together by twine and two dow rods.

I found this birthday shirt at our local grocery store months before Carson’s birthday, and used the shirt as a guide for her pink, white, and blue no-sew tutu. The baby TOMS were a gift at one of my showers. (I’m a MASSIVE reduce/reuse/recycle fan. Her party decorations were largely recycled/upcycled; for example, most of the tulle came from a combination of her Halloween costume and our wedding!)

Carson was the most darling birthday girl! I love her so!!!!!

I liked the idea of putting an embellishment on the high chair tray, but wasn’t a fan of the really elaborate ones I’d seen. I made this simple pendant from scrapbook paper and taped (yes, taped!) it onto her tray. Then gathered white tulle along the top added a nice winter-y touch.

 

We used this backdrop (from Carson’s room) to make a prettier background for photos.

Carson didn’t really make a mess with her cake! She does, however, love playing the drums and will tap out a beat on anything she can get her hands on – including two spoons and her birthday cake!

Ben and I feel so blessed to be the parents of this little girl. She’s feisty and passionate and darling and OURS!

Giveaway from M Paper Designs [WON BY BEK :)]

In honor of Carson’s birthday, Ashley of M Paper Designs graciously provided a party package giveaway from her Etsy shop. (So sweet! Thank you Ashley!)

BEK won a garland of her choice, and a package of paper straws along with a Mason jar topper.

PLEASE visit Ashley’s shop and send her some love! I wish I would have heard about her Etsy shop before Carson’s party!

Connect with Ashley by:

1. Visiting M Paper Designs‘ Etsy shop.
2. Liking M Paper Designs on Facebook.
3. Following Ashley on Instagram at @ourfulltable. 

Thanks for helping us celebrate Carson’s first year!