Ulysses’ Little Lion First Birthday Party

My baby turned one! We celebrated this little boy with the biggest smile and the loudest roar with a party fit for the king of the jungle. I’m so thrilled to be able to share how we pulled it all together with these beautiful photos by Sew Stratton Photography!

I’m sharing some of my best tips for how to throw a great party:

How to pick a great theme
How to choose your party decor
What to consider for food and drink
How to choose a party venue
How you, your kiddo, and your guests can really enjoy the party!

Picking our little lion theme

Not everyone chooses a theme for their party, but it can be a great organizing tool. Think of it as your vision that speeds up decision making. Even if your theme is “blue,” that can be so helpful in making choices less overwhelming!

For Ulysses’ first birthday, I’ve known he would have lion-themed party ever since a stuffed lion became his favorite. He’s kind of like a lion himself– so sweet and happy but with a ferocious temper. It was meant to be! 🙂

What’s important is that the theme makes sense for the age of your child, your available resources, and the theme of the party. Ideally it should reflect an interest or character trait of your child or at least the party venue. A random theme will indeed feel off–don’t force it!

Invitations

I love using the invites as the first chance to share my theme! This card from Paperless Post is a convenient way to keep all the responses and communication in one place. The custom envelope liner was my way to hint at the “lion + jungle” theme. .

Finding the perfect decor

I wanted the lion theme to feel stylish and not too campy or cartoonish, as if we were in a fun, modern jungle with some gold and white accents so that kiddos and adults felt welcome.

Balloons

Starr Phelan of Starr of Texas Memories went above and beyond to bring my vision to life with three large balloon installations- an arch at the party entrance, a long garland over the craft/birthday cake table, and then a lion garland at the photo booth. The balloons added so much life and energy to the party!

I loved the balloons so much that I even dragged the garland home with us in and hung them in our dining room for a week!

Food display

I added my own little touches to pull the theme into other areas, such as the food display. I used a lot of things I already had–monstera leaves, Schleich toy animals, handmade garlands, and twine and mini wooden clothespins for Ulysses’ monthly photos!

Outfits

Though it’s not technically “decor,” I love to tie elements of the theme into our outfits. So when I found Ulysses’ safari-print chambray overalls from Janie & Jack, I decreed that white and blues were the family uniform for the day. I found a lightweight chambray dress from Madewell, easy knit shirt and shorts from Carter’s for Arthur, and some navy Faherty shorts for my husband from Stag.

Deciding on food and drink

Planning food and beverages can be easy if you think intuitively and strategically. First, consider what your guests would normally be doing at that hour. Second, consider what’s available at the location, such as air conditioning/refrigerators/protection from flies. Third, the things you serve and their sizes/presentation should change depending on the kiddo’s ages.

Our 10am party fell during brunch, which means breakfast tacos in Texas. The venue was air conditioned so we could have fruit and veggies out and display the cakes. The kiddos were mostly between two to four, so we had bags of Barnum animal crackers and veggies sticks for snacks. We had apple juice boxes, sparkling waters, coffee, hard ciders, and mimosas. The parents and kids loved it! 🙂

Cake

Our cakes were created by Austin’s Dream Bakery. For the birthday cake, I requested a gold lion and jungle leaves. It had alternating layers of gluten-free chocolate and vanilla cake with chocolate ganache and raspberry fillings. It was so delicious that it reminded me of our wedding cake!

The smash cake was gluten-free vanilla with simple gold sprinkles around the bottom. I spray-painted a gold lion cub (but not the underside of the feet) as the simple focal point. We used custom cake toppers from Starr of Texas Memories and a tall gold candle.

We gave lion cookies as favors, as the kiddos were already making their own take-home art favor at the party. Yummy, on-theme, and no junk for the landfill, win-win-win!

Choosing a venue

If you’re like us and live in the city, most of our parties require more space! When I am trying to find a venue, I always consider the following:

How many guests and what are their ages?
What kind of activities would they enjoy?
What will the weather be like?

I needed a space that was safe for crawlers putting everything in their mouths, would be comfortable in the Texas summer, and could provide lots of sensory experiences to keep wild preschoolers entertained. Figment Creative Labs was just the place.

Amber Scardino, Figment’s founder and owner, used our theme and the ages of the kiddos to create an age-appropriate take-home craft and custom sensory stations and activities for the party. I have to say that this is one of the first parties I’ve thrown where I was able to have multiple medium-length adult conversations!

The kids all painted jungle leaves and then sprinkled the paint with salt for an awesome effect! There were jungle-themed stations with toy animals, jungle “worlds” with modeling clay and little animals, water stations for “washing” and playing with sea creatures, and then large group-painting activities to make a large lion, a birthday banner, and a “jungle” painting!

And if that wasn’t enough, there were bunnies and chickens on the property, too! Figment is also an art-based preschool, so they really couldn’t have a more perfect space for little kids! If you can find a space that offers so much hand- on help and interactive activities, jump on it!

How to enjoy your child’s party!

Lastly, the most important part of a party is the people, and then second, that you all have a great time! To enjoy your party, please include the following:

People who make you happy
Big, interactive activities to keep kids entertained (minimal adult intervention!) such as animals, an art project, a bounce house, water activities
Alcoholic/fizzy/interesting beverages/coffee
Easy food that can be held one-handed while holding a child
Lots of help with set up and tear down
Lots of lists and planning time
A buffer of time as things inevitably run behind
Outsourcing tasks to talented friends or vendors to create/build/bring the things you can’t. Don’t DIY it all!
A sense of humor
And a change of clothes for the family 😉

We had an incredible time at Ulysses party because I tried my best to consider all these things for our enjoyment! Don’t let all the tasks take away from the joy of the day! You can always simplify, and I certainly had to in a few areas. The perfect is the enemy of the good, so sayeth Voltaire. Ulysses’ sweet smiles and endless happiness on his birthday let me know that I had made good choices for him and that made me feel like a job well done!

I’m so grateful to my family, friends, and amazing vendor friends who helped make this party so special, gorgeous, and incredibly fun. I hope that my tips can help your next party be the best one yet! <3

Vendors

Photography: Sew Stratton Photography
Balloons: Starr of Texas Memories
Cake Topper: S tarr of Texas Memories
Cakes and Cookies: Dream Bakery
Venue: Figment Creative Labs