1st Birthday Ho-Down

Please ignore our classic error of looking into 2 different cameras. ;)

This weekend we celebrated our son's 1st year. From reading you may know this is kind of a big deal for us, since our son only has half a heart and has already had 2 open heart surgeries during his little life. 

So needless to say this milestone has been on our radar for some time. We celebrated with a fabulous harvest festival that was just as much fun for the adults as it was the kids! 

I wanted to share a few of my projects with you that made this party extra special. 

The first was a simple DIY bunting made with fabric scraps and left over double bias tape from my new curtains. Tutorial posted here.

I think they served their purpose beautifully. Since I used leftover materials this free project saved money I would have spent on balloons or crepe paper. 

My next project was party favors. 

I had found the idea for pies in jar online and thought this would be perfect. After much debate of what to do for filling, I ended up making chocolate. This allowed me to pre-cook the pies so they only needed be refrigerated and EATEN! 

 They came out beautifully and were DELICIOUS. My husband actually found out I have two extra crusts left and is insisting I make 8 more pies ASAP. 

I also purchased adorable custom labels on etsy that I glued onto the tops with craft glue. Detailed tutorial here.

For the kiddos I made chocolate lollipops of frogs, ladybugs, and butterflies. I never realized how easy these are. You make them in the microwave. Also, I didn't feel guilty about giving parents a bunch of junky toys or a bag of candy they would have to ration out all week.

For interior decorations I printed out our favorite pictures of Lucas from the past year. Then I glued them to scrap booking paper and hung them from rope clotheslines around the kitchen with mini clothespins.

Activities: 

We had 2 games and 2 big activities. The first was hay rides on our lawn tractor. The kids loved this! Especially the birthday boy!

 Even a few adults jumped in at the end. 

Then I set up a photo station in front of our shed.

We had lots of hats, fake teeth, mustaches, noses, etc. to choose from and took family photos of everyone in attendance. I made the mustaches out of felt, poster board, craft glue, and wooden kabob sticks.

While everyone was waiting their turn I made Penny Pitch game with Poster board. I printed out some fun pictures of cows, pigs, barns, apple trees, and a cloud and glued them to the poster board. Then I picked up some giant pennies at the dollar store and a huge role of stickers. All the kids loved this game. They got a sticker if their penny landed on one of the items on the board. The older kids stood further back and some of the littlest ones just had fun putting stickers on the board!

The other game was a simple donkey printed out and laminated with a roll of artist tape on the back. This was stuck onto the backs of unsuspecting guests. When they noticed they would in turn have to put it on someone else's back. Even though we made up the game the donkey spent most of the party on my husbands back or my own. Everyone got a kick out it. It was also a nice conversation starter: ' Why is there a donkey on your back?'

Food: 

I TRIED to make a tractor cake. I bought the pan and all the accessories, but in the end it was 2pm and guests were arriving as I stood with frosting in hand not even sure how to put to put the piping bag together! Luckily my Sister-in-law stepped in and saved the day and finished the job for me. It came out adorably.

Most importantly Lucas loved it.

Also, my dear friend came baring the most beautiful delicious looking gift of all. She made vegetable themed cupcakes that she had slaved over for the past days. But, the cupcakes were never eaten.... you can read more about this tragedy on her vegan cooking blog. 

 

  We all had a wonderful day! Can't wait 'til next year!