Kingston's party favors were housed inside primary colored goody bags in this adorable burlap basket. I went a little bit crazy with favors and have about three million leftover. Inside each goody bag were ABC stencils, personalized bubbles (these bubbles are the best and looked so cute with Kingston's picture on them), personalized lollipops, ABC cookies (from the cookie bar), ABC stencils, and alphabet puzzle bags. Also in the favor basket were large foam alphabet puzzles for the kids to take, abc flashcards, alphabet bingo for the older kids, extra bubbles, and extra puzzles. Everyone was allowed to just take what they wanted because there was plenty! The fabric it sat on was an adorable fleece ABC print that my sister picked up at JoAnns. I am going to turn it into a no sew blanket for Kingston to cuddle with this winter.
This is the banner that hung over the living room couch and favor basket. This custom photo banner from Oriental Trading couldn't have been more perfect AND affordable for another added personalized touch!
I handpainted these cardboard ABC letters to match the tablescape and added some of Kingston's alphabet blocks to jazz it up. This setup sat on the island under the banner and behind the favor table.
My parents already have tons of pictures of Kingston around there house, so I added these "K" letters for something extra.
On the menu for the day was Italian subs, alphabet soup, potato salad, fruit kabobs, crackers, assorted snacks and cereal for the babies to snack on. I made this custom menu to look like a chalkboard like all of the other signage.
The soup station was separate from the rest of the food and had extra decorations.
The soup was Glam*Ma's famous chicken soup with tons and tons of ABC pasta!
His blocks came in handy for a lot of finishing touches!
Over the sink sat Kingston's alphabet name train and some more blocks!
On the island was the menu and all of the main food. One of my only regrets from the day was not getting a picture of the island set up in all of its glory!
The primary color utensils were wrapped in green napkins and tied with ABC ribbon from Gabby's Wholesale Shop.
The Italian subs were arranged on a cupcake tower that had some of the same ribbon glued around the edges and Kingston's birthday hat (which the tower wore instead of him!) on top.
In the middle of the island was the potato salad and fruit, but we didn't put that out until the first guests arrived. In front of each item was either a chalkboard sign or the name spelled out in primary colored foam letters. Above the island were primary colored poms.
For snacks we had alphabet Cheezits, Annie's Cheddar Bunnies, Chocolate Grahams, Chocolate Chip Grahams, and Honey Grahams, Snikiddy Mac and Cheese Puffs and Grilled Cheese Puffs, and AlphaBits cereal for the kiddos!
Against the mirrored walls, was the photo collage display, the chalkboard sign I made K, his guestbook, and time capsule. Also, his highchair was in that corner!
(Mirrored walls are VERY hard to photograph)
Instead of the typical picture from every month of the child's life, I opted for something I little more exciting. I created 13 photo collages from the "First Day" all the way up to "Month Twelve". It made quite a statement up on the chalkboard foamcore board we created. Also, now that the party is over, I have an amazing keepsake of his first 12 months. I plan on putting them in an album.
(Also difficult to photograph!)
Kingston's guestbook was on the left and his time capsule on the right. Everything sat on top of this amazing ABC cotton fabric that really pulled it all together.
The guestbook was one of my favorite details from the party! I had it made on Shutterfly. The guests signed the front or back cover. If you want to create your own, you can find it here. This book was so well made and the pictures were adorable. Kingston was on every page as well as all throughout the book in fun, hidden places. I was so thrilled with this purchase. Not only was this the guestbook, but also part of his gift. We are going to have so much fun reading this book for years to come.
We also had a time capsule that I will save for Kingston to open in 2030 when he is 18. We provided a series of questions for each of the guests to fill out about Kingston and life in 2013. Also, they could write his 18 year old self a message! All of the papers went in the "time capsule", a wooden ABC block box that I handpainted. I'm actually just going to tuck the papers away for him and use the ABC box for homeschooling purposes later on. I have big plans for this cute box!
I made this custom first birthday chalkboard for Kingston using PicMonkey. It was a pain in the butt to print. It kept coming out pixelated, and I couldn't seem to figure it out in the giant size that I wanted. But this one worked out just fine!
I also made Kingston's custom highchair decoration. I've seen tons of ribbon/banner decorations for highchairs all over Pinterest, and knew what I wanted. However, after looking at a couple tutorials, I just thought they looked overly complicated and figured I would make one on my own. Using a piece of yarn the same size as the highchair circumference, I tied pieces of ribbon and fabric of all different lengths and widths to the piece of yarn. After it started to look crowded, colorful, and crazy (this is what I wanted!), I made the signage for it using markers and cardstock. I was very pleased with the way it turned out. It was so vibrant and wild. Perfect for a colorful first birthday party!
Here is the present table before the party. The mirror above is decorated with "K" letters and a collage of Kingston's "First Day".
The drink table had a signature party drink for the adults, as well as a non-alcoholic version. The coolers had signs that said "B is for Beer" and "S is for Soda". There was also water.
There was even a bit of ABC love in the bathroom!
Stay tuned for part 3 (party crafts and activities)!!
I LOVE the decor Blayne! Seeing it live was even more impressive, especially with all the activities you setup for the kids to enjoy. I got a lot of ideas as well for upcoming parties!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cassie! We are so happy you guys could share in Kingston's special day. It wouldn't have been the same without his best buddy Livvy by his side! :)
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