We pretty much knew what the theme for Mason’s first birthday would be from the time he was born. His nursery was done in a monochromatic theme (you can see his nursery here) and he slept with a zebra nightlight since we brought him home from the hospital.
Here are a few other things we considered when planning his big day!
Location
Mason’s birthday happened to fall during a time when Tyler was in New York for an Emergency Medicine rotation. Obviously, we couldn’t celebrate without his papa! I am from New York, so we decided to bring the party there!
Mason’s Nana loves planning parties so we put her on the job. It was also a great opportunity for him to finally meet a bunch of our family and friends who live in New York!
Nana chose the Babylon Carriage House, which is where we had his baby shower as well. We already knew they had great service and amazing food, so we would only have to worry about the decor and details!
Invitations
We wanted to find a unique first birthday invitation that would capture how incredible the past year has been and how much Mason has grown and changed. I decided to use Basic Invite because with 180 different color options and instant previews you can get as creative as you want! (They also have super cute holiday cards so start thinking ahead for December.) We added a bunch of pictures from his first year, and honestly, the hardest part of planning his party was picking out which photos to use.
Decor
This wasn’t too tricky since we knew we wanted everything to be black and white! We threw in a little gold throughout as accents. I didn’t want the zebra theme to be too ‘babyish’ because ummm Mace is a big kid now (I’m not crying, you’re crying).
We had a candy bar instead of party favors and Mason matched the theme with the sweetest little zebra moccasins from Freshly Picked. I made a balloon garland to use outside by his cake smash and it was WAY easier than I thought it would be. We used this little kit from Amazon and I blew up half of the balloons the night before so we weren’t rushing around too much the day of. Just a warning though – balloons start to deflate 24 hours after you fill them!
We brought a little touch of home with us and had zebra cookies made just for the occasion from our favorite French bakery in Virginia. I saw them in the store one day and even though they don’t make them regularly, we pretty much begged them to make us some for the party. No shame in my Mom game.
Stranger Danger
I was a little worried about how Mace would react to meeting so many new people at once. He is pretty social, but in these kinds of situations you never really know! In order to make sure he was in the best mood possible, he took a long snuggly nap with Grandpa right before the party and arrived ‘fashionably late’. At this age, a four hour party is a little too long – even for a birthday boy.
He did SO well and loved hanging out with the family. He wasn’t shy or cranky at all and we were so proud of him. He played some games and let everyone snuggle him!
Cake Smash
We did a cake smash for his half-birthday and wanted to do another one for his first birthday! I made a simple white cake for him and put a toy zebra right on top. His party hat was made just for the occasion by Candace Decker of Presh Party – she also made his half-birthday hat, bow tie and cake topper! You can see the adorable pics of his half-birthday cake smash here.
He definitely didn’t get as messy as the first go around, but he still had fun! Everyone sang Happy Birthday and I am so lucky I get to do this every year as a mama. It truly is amazing how much having a baby changes you and how exciting the little things in life become again. I was also more than excited to pick some cake boogers out of his nose for him….
Let Them Eat Cake
We had a simple white cake for guests with a gold laser cut cake topper. I had one picture from every week of his first year printed by Parabo Press and hung them with black and white wooden clothespins behind his cake. (Use code DOCTOR for $10 off your first order.) Everyone always says it, but seeing a whole year of photos truly makes you realize how fast they grow!
Family Forever
Words can’t express how amazing it was to have our little family back together even just for the weekend. Those of you have been following along with our journey know that Tyler has been gone for the past four months. I have really missed these moments together. It’s also pretty nice to have someone to help me chase this little goose around! He is not one for sitting still these days!
It is so bittersweet to see your babies grow up. I miss how tiny he was, the long naps on my chest, breastfeeding, and all the milestones he went through the first year. That being said, I am SO excited to continue to watch him learn and grow. His personality is shining though more and more each day. He is a sassy little thing, and he is the world to me. Love you my Mace Man!!
Thank you to Silver Pebble Photography for capturing this day for us (and every other beautiful family photo we have)! We love you Amy!
What did you guys do for your littles birthday theme??
