Yesterday was my son’s monster-themed first birthday party! For this past 6 weeks, preparing for this party was an absolute labor of love, and I cherished every minute. I’ve had so much fun “pinning,” brainstorming, crafting, sewing, glueing, and shopping for my first baby’s first birthday, and everything came together just as I hoped it would.  It was an amazing day with lots of wonderful family, friends, food, and fun – I know Henry won’t remember it…but I sure will!

As promised, today, I am just going to post lots and lots of pictures of the party. But over the next week, I am going to do a bunch of spotlight posts on the decor, the food, the favors, and the onesie…so be sure to check back for all the how-to details!

 Without further ado….here is…

Monster of a First Birthday Party

6 weeks ago, friends and family received this cute little monster in the mail, inviting them to the party!

A fun little poem with all the details was printed on the inside!

Walking up the sidewalk to the house, a polka dot pinwheel adorned with a number 1 greeted our guests!

Little monsters acted as the welcoming party right outside the front door!

Once inside, a whimsical display greeted our guests!

(These are some quick shots BEFORE the food was put out!)

Up close…ready for all the food…

Little monsters were poking out all over the place!

Whimsical flower arrangements…

…and brightly colored poofs brought everything to life!

Right before the guests arrived, we put out all the kid- and adult-friendly finger foods!

The biggest hit of the party was the “Make-a-Monster Cracker Sandwich Bar”!!!

Foods for the kids included pretzels, goldfish, and animal crackers in glass containers!

Another big hit were the fruit and veggies!

Star-shaped watermelon and pineapple!

Veggie cups!

Drinks were also decorated to coordinate with the party – lemonade, fruit punch, and water!

One of the most exciting parts of the party was giving out the gifts!

Homemade fuzzy monsters!

The high chair was given the star treatment!

And sat at the head of our dining room table, which was decorated with a monster decal “table runner”!

In the center of the table, went the super fun (and tasty!) three-tiered monster cake!

With leftover cake batter (and monsters!), I was able to make some cupcakes for guests to bring home with them!

We had lots of fun activities for adults and kids of all ages!

Adults played the “How old is Henry” game – pictures were from 0 -11 months and guests had to put them in order!

Outdoor games included bubbles, a ring toss, and bean bag toss (ug – never got pics of those – shucks!)

For some of the older kids….we put out a bunch of candy and photos for inspiration, so they could make their very own Candy Monsters!

I made the birthday boy a monster onesie to wear on his big day!

 

 

 

And guests even brought gifts that went with the party theme!!! Look at this cute gift from Henry’s aunt, uncle and cousins!

Wrapping paper even coordinated with the party theme!

And as cute as the wrapping was, Henry didn’t waste anytime opening each one!

So many big-boy toys to play with!

Examining each one!

The afternoon ended with that cake! After singing, we gave Henry the cupcake on top…

He was tentative at first..

Got a little more into it…

And finally dove right in!

I think he liked it, don’t you?

By the time we pulled him out, he had eaten every last crumb!

It really was a fun afternoon had by all. I was sad to see it come to an end after all the hard work I put into it, but we left some of the decor up to enjoy it for the week! I am excited to re-live it all here on the blog as I show you all my projects up close!

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Wow. I really can’t believe my baby is one year old. Sniff.

A year ago today, we were here…

and look at us now!

In the past year, BOTH Henry and I have done…

a lot of growing,

a lot of crying,

a lot of loving, and

a lot of learning…

But as I think about this past year, easily the most challenging year of my life, only one phrase comes to mind…

from the hit musical, Wicked…

“I have been changed for good!”

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Hope you enjoyed all the pictures! I’ll be back later this week with all the details on my monster party decor!!!  (Part I of my Spotlight on Decor is up now! You can read it here!)

Have a great week!

 Megan

You can now catch up on all the Monster Party Posts here:

 

See You Soon!
Megan