I’ve been wanting to write everything down about this party for a while. This was a special one. Admittedly, it was what many considered over the top. But not only was year one a special milestone in and of itself, but that year in particular was really significant for me in my own healing journey, so I wanted it to represent the love and joy I felt for my daughter.
Some backstory: before I had her, I was terrified of having a girl – to the point that I had to go to therapy during my pregnancy. For most of my adolescence, I didn’t have the best experience with other females. And though I deeply love my mom and have an amazing relationship with her now, it was a rocky relationship growing up. As I got older, it caused me to have a very guarded relationship with other women. I wasn’t fully aware of this until I found out I was having a girl and experienced a fear and anxiety, which is what brought those hidden wounds to light. God is so good though – He knew exactly how to heal my heart.
As soon as she arrived, I saw her beautiful little face, which was an incredible moment in itself (she didn’t come out as an angsty 13-year-old as I irrationally feared!). As incredible as that moment was, I had no idea that such sweet joy lay ahead or even existed. She was such a peaceful, easy baby. I remember feeling like her smile would just light up her nursery as soon as I walked in to wake her up every morning. She truly ushered a sweetness into my life that profoundly changed and healed my heart. Her joyful smiles were so big that even her eyes smiled! They embodied the term “bright eyes”, and she truly shined pure light into each day. And she had such a sweet disposition, one that truly disarmed me and finally allowed my heart to let down its guard. She was truly my sunshine. So when it came time to plan for her first birthday, I couldn’t think of a more perfect theme that would celebrate her and capture who she was: my sweet, pure little sunshine.
In thinking about where we would hold it, we landed on doing it at the beach where we frequented. She came out a free spirit that absolutely loved nature. To this day, she prefers to kick off her shoes and run around barefoot, and she never fails to stop and literally smell the flowers and marvel at their beauty. For that reason, we felt like a more rustic vibe made sense. For colors, I kept it consistent with her nursery decor, which was blush and gold. It worked, as I felt like the gold perfectly represented the sunshine theme as well.
When guests first arrived, they were directed by this sign, as the spot we chose was off the path a bit. After walking across the sand, they reached our welcome area.
The welcome table featured photos throughout her first year and introduced the theme. I also made sun-shaped cut-outs from glitter cardstock that I decorated the table with, as well as had throughout the open air tent area.
For her 12-month milestone photos, I mimicked the one I had created for my son, which became a beautiful keepsake we ended up hanging in his nursery. So we created the same one for her, but in her colors.
I wanted to make sure that every touchpoint celebrated my baby girl, so in all the decor, I incorporated photos from various memories throughout the year.
Since most of our guests were kids under the age of 5 and their parents, I wanted to make sure that the party would cater to both groups. Rather than giving out the party favors at the end, we had them right up at the welcome area. I created a little beach pail for each kid, so they could use their favors during the party while they were at the beach.
Other kids activities included a sand art station to go with the whole sandy beach idea, as well as an ocean-themed sensory bin station featuring water beads and little sea animal figurines and seashells inside.
At the time, they had the perfect sunshine shaped sand art necklaces, though these are the only ones I could find on the site at the moment.
For the adults, I wanted to ensure there would be spaces that made them feel comfortable and able to relax as well, while embodying our rustic beach theme. I rented these tables and pillows from Found Rentals, and bought the mesh cheesecloths on Etsy.
The main event, however, was something I hoped that all would enjoy. One of the activities we had enjoyed throughout her first year was Mommy and Me music groups. So I hired some of the musicians to come and do a Parent-and-Me style music session with the kids. All of the songs they led us in were sunshine or light themed, such as You Are My Sunshine, The Little Light of Mine, Mr Sun Sun Mr Golden Sun, etc.
Finally, the refreshments. At the time, my daughter had a mild allergy to egg. Her brother however, had multiple severe food allergies. It’s always a little more challenging, but we were able to make everything safe for him (although that’s why the cake wasn’t that stable…it’s hard to make a gluten-free and vegan cake!)
And finally, the smash cake. Pro tip: It’s easier to clean the baby off if they’re in diapers only!
It was truly such a sweet wedding…I mean, first birthday party š. Even though in the moment, my daughter won’t remember a thing, I hope that when she’s grown up and sees this, she will see her mama’s heart for her – my beautiful, sweet sunshine.
That Celebration Life 