Welcome to Hunter’s Whale First Birthday Party! We had a whale of a time this past Sunday celebrating with family and friends. Where did this first year go!?! I had such a blast planning Hunter’s first birthday party. I got my inspiration from a roll of light aqua and white whale wrapping paper from Home Goods earlier in the year. As soon as I saw it I just knew that a Whale of a Party was going to be my theme!
Of course, like any good party planner, I went straight to Pinterest for ideas galore! To keep everything organized I created a new board just for Hunter’s First Birthday…you can find the board here.
The first thing I found that I knew would completely tie the whale theme party together, was this cake. So I contacted a local baker, Carina’s Cakes, and asked her if she could make it. Needless to say it came out perfectly!!
I wasn’t sure how into the cake Hunter would be (I pretty much figured he’d give it one poke and be done with it. He does not like getting messy!) but I wanted to be sure to have cake available that hadn’t been poked at by a teething, slobbery baby. Whole Foods made these cupcakes to match! I loved being able to offer natural, no preservative, and absolutely delicious cupcakes to our guest!
I absolutely love baking, crafting and diy-ing. But I knew that in order to host a successful party the key was going to be delegate, delegate, delegate. Anyone who knows me know this is no easy thing for me to do! But it really did allow me to enjoy his party and the planning instead of worrying about whether my cupcakes would rise the day before the celebration! One thing I delegated was this darling birthday banner and matching party hat. Thanks mom!!!
Since hydrangeas are in season I just knew I had to use them as the flowers in my tablescape.
And these mason jars were so easy to make! A little FolkArt Chalk Paint
Our guests were able to add a personal touch to some wall art for Hunter’s room that doubled as a “guest book”. Using the same FolkArt Chalk Paint
Anyone who follows along on my Instagram knows I just love a monogram. Most of Hunter’s nursery is monogrammed. So to incorporate his signature monogram into his party I had a local baker make these monogram sugar cookies as favors.
We all know that first birthday parties aren’t really for the birthday kid, so it was very important to me to include big brother. Carter and I talked and came up with the idea of turning his Clubhouse (aka playhouse) into an Ice Cream Shoppe. Unfortunately the day was a damp and chilly day, but thankfully all the guests played along and enjoyed an ice cream treat from Carter. Oh and little did I know, my Carter decided to charge for his ice cream treats! Hey, what can I say, any little entrepreneur is a little one after my own heart!
Because we didn’t have enough sugar between the cake & cupcakes, ice cream shop and cookie favors (ha! sugar rush!), I decided to use this Whale Cookie Cutter
It was a wonderful day celebrating with those who were so vital in Hunter’s first year of life. I can’t believe I have a 1 year old! (tears!!!!) Speaking of tears…
Happy Birthday Hunter James!
With Love, Jennifer
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Such an adorable party! I am a lover of all things nautical and sea or coastal inspired so I had to check this out. You are right, the cake was the clincher, but you did such a lovely job, the ruffled banner on the high chair, the plates, everything! I love it! I am pinning this one and would LOVE it if you would stop by and share this over at the Celebrate Your Story! link party. If you have a moment to share it, here is the link: http://celebrateanddecorate.com/celebrate-story-30/
Thank you so much for the invite! I’m linking up with you and will be sure to stop by next week with something new too!
I just love this theme and I love the wood table that you had the cake and cookies on- where did you get it…. or did you make it?
Thank you! So you are never going to believe it, but the wood table (a potting table) was actually picked up from a dump! My grandparents have a place called Take It Or Leave It at there dump…and this was one of the things I scored a couple years back!
What an adorable theme and perfect for a 1st BiRtHdAy party. I make rice krispie treats all the time, and never think about shaping them. #weekendbloghop
Delegate, delegate, delegate is so important, trying to do it all can certainly leave you frazzled. You worked this theme perfectly and thanks so much for sharing it at Celebrate Your Story. Have a great weekend!
What a beautiful party! I love all the little details, like the “rope” around the bottom of the cake. Great job!
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe at the #RecipeSharingParty! I hope to see you next week. Pinned and Yummed. Please visit #OverTheMoon on Sunday or #ThursdayFavoriteThings for more sharing fun! Don’t forget to Comment your link #’s so I can be sure to visit and you get a chance to be featured!
What a wonderful party idea, Jennifer – everything looks so beautiful! I’ve pinned this post as it’s great inspiration for kid’s parties. Really enjoyed the pictures – and what a beautiful cake and cookie favours! Thank you for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Hop.
OMG I love that theme and I love that super cute whale cake even more! It’s so beautiful!
This is the most adorable party ever. Every detail is covered. Featuring when my link party opens up tonight.