We hosted my grandson's first birthday party at our house--out of necessity, we have wheelchair access, and my daughter Jess wanted to make sure her brother Nick could attend.
Jess did all the planning and designing of the party, and I just helped her make it happen. Here's a cute pic of Jess and Finn before the party:
That hat!
Jess made the birthday boy's cute hat from felt. Here's a closer look at it:
Jess used felt that had been treated with fabric stiffener, cut out a "1," added a fuzzy pompom tot he top, and a bit of elastic. The back had a seam covered in cute red ribbon. It must have been comfortable, because Finn didn't mess with it at all and wore it for the whole party, even while enjoying his cupcake.
The party was baseball themed with colors being dark red, navy, and white. Because our beloved Cubbies were in the playoffs, it turned into a a Cubs theme too. This is before they broke our hearts in the NL playoffs--Wait 'til Next Year!
Because we are Cubs fans, we have a lot Cubs paraphernalia, so I took down all my regular decorations in the dining room and replaced them with Finn/Cubs/baseball themed items, costing very little to do. Here's the mantel:
The two canvas photos on the far right and left sides are all pictures from Finn's newborn photo shoot. The Wrigley Field replica "Be Alert for Foul Balls" sign (signed by two Cubs players) and the Rizzo doll belong to Finn. The book with Harry Caray on it was a gift several years ago, the brick is leftover from Jess's high school graduation party, and the bat is a wedding gift from Jess to Neal with their wedding date wood burned into it. The only new item is the banner.
A closer look at the banner:
It was made with my Cricut, CTMH cartridges, and baker's twine. Easy!
We added balloons (cheap) to the opening between the living room and the dining room. Tom was in charge of this project, which he accepted since he could use his air compressor--and he'd do anything for Jess and Finn.
Here's the whole string:
Jess picked up some inexpensive baseball lanterns at the local party store, and we hung them over the kitchen peninsula:
And we made another banner for over the buffet where the presents were stacked
More pictures of Finn clustered together for decoration, along with a brick and antique blocks spelling "Go Cubs." Cost = $0.00
More baseball themed decorations for the table:
I use this leftover glass container from Jess & Neal's wedding for EVERY occasion and holiday. I consider it magical. Anything I put it in becomes a decoration. This time I used baseballs.
I used a cheap platter and hot-glued baseballs to the bottom to make a stand for the baseball cup cakes we served. After the party, I removed the baseballs from the platter and the glass container. They're now in the garage waiting for a future game of catch. No waste and little cost.
I used one piece of cardstock cut into the shape of home plate for a mat for the glass container. Too easy.
Here's a good look at the high chair (& Finn!):
The banner is three felt triangles with cs letters cut from my Cricut. Scraps of every red, white, & blue ribbon I had are tied to the ends. The whole thing was taped to the high chair tray. I'll reuse the ribbon pieces in future projects.
Here are some pics of the room all decorated before the party:
It turned out great and everyone, especially Finn, had a wonderful time. The decorations were fun even though they were really inexpensive.
