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A Camp Themed 1st Birthday Party

Miles 1st birthday was a Camp Theme, “Camp Miles.” We held it at our home and backyard. I went with a color scheme of greens, pops of gold, and black and white plaid to give off a campy vibe. I incorporated greenery, vines and wood signs into every nook and craney of our home.  I loved adding DIY touches everywhere I could. I wanted each kid to feel special and the party to be totally unique to Miles.
Check out our post on the TheGiftInsider.com for more details as well.
For activities we had an Arts & Crafts table and tee pee and faux fire pit set up in the basement, Music Man Dave playing Camp Sing-a-Longs and a Trail Mix Bar.  The dessert table was stocked with camp themed sugar cookies, s’mores donuts and a marshmallow smash cake. We had a beverage station with “Adult Bug Juice,” each kiddie got their own bear sippy cup and we had water bottles labeled with “lake water” from camp miles. For food, everyone enjoyed the gourmet hot dog truck along with greek salad, mac and cheese and fruit and veggies cups. We had trays of puffs and pouches set up for the little ones throughout the house.
I created DIY “Camp Miles” care package favors for each kiddie filled with s’mores trail mix, bubbles, gummy worms and camp inspired patches. There were tables set up outside with plaid table clothes and DIY mason jar centerpieces with Camp Miles pennants I DIY-ed. I used the DIY pennants throughout the whole party.
Some of our favorite decor elements where the huge life size cardboard bears, huge green balloons with greenery hanging from them and green vines hanging from everywhere we could. I also DIY-ed wood signs to label each part of the party and tie it all together. Guests were greeted with a welcome to Camp Miles sign and a DIY-ed Happy Camper Zone wood sign at our front door. Each bathroom had an “Outhouse Sign” which was a last minute little touch. I created a photo garland and hung from a branch with our favorite photos from his past year. We also had huge photo strip photos of him hanging from his cake smash photoshoot.
We DIY-ed a majority of the creative elements and then found some great Etsy shops for the rest. For things like linens and tableware, we found great deals on Amazon.
– Banners: Camp Miles sweet table banner, camp miles fireplace banner and highchair banner from HouseofHooray on Etsy
– Balloons: green balloon bouquet from Party Dialect, and I added in gold orbs from OhShinyPaperCo and the 36 inch green balloons were from BlushBazarre. I added on the green garland.
– Sweet Table: marshmallow smash cake and cookies from Love and Buttercream, s’more and nutella donuts from Donut Bar Detroit and mini teepee from TenesseeTeeppes 
– Tableware: Bear plates and napkins by Meri Meri, bark cups from SteshaParty, woodland bear sippy cups from Amazon, palm leaf plates and silverware from Amazon, black + white plaid napkins from Zazzle, birch straws from Amazon
– Arts and Crafts table – wood rounds from Michaels, stickers from target, signs DIY-ed
– Favors – DIYed using mini gable boxes filled with gummy worms, camp patches, s’more trail mix and camp themed bubble wands 
– Trail Mix Bar – Happy Camper Bags from HHPaperCo, plastic bins from Oriental Trading, teepee from TenesseeTeeppes, sign was DIY-ed
– Greenery: Used everywhere, hung on garage, on balloons, on staircase, around signs. All from Amazon
– Huge Brown Bears: Amazon
– Teepee in Basement: faux felt firepit from TheHomespunMarket 
– Linens: Black + White Plaid tablecloths from Amazon
– Pennant Flags: DIY-ed
– Wood Slice Signs: DIY-ed
– Cake Stand: DIY-ed
– Happy Camper Sign: DIY-ed
– Favors: Name Pennants, s’more trail mix, labels DIY-ed
– Arts & Crafts and Favors Hanging Banners: DIY-ed
– Wood Photo Hanging: DIY-ed
– Water Bottle Labels: DIY-ed
– Adult Bug Juice sign: DIY-ed
– Mason Jar Centerpieces: DIY-ed
– Outhouse Sign: DIY-ed
– Hot Dog Cart Outside Sign: DIY-ed
Again, thanks to Lumi Photography for all these shots. Feel free to reach out if you want more info on how we DIY-ed everything and check out our site: TheGiftInsider.com

Sound the Alarm for Maverick’s Fire Truck 4th Birthday Party!

My son LOVES fire trucks. I mean, he can’t get enough!  There is sheer excitement in his face when one passes us on the street with its lights flashing and sirens blaring!  So, for his 4th birthday, we decided to pull out all the stops and throw him the birthday party of his 4 year old dreams – A Fire Truck Birthday Party!
I sent out invitations that I had designed and have for sale now in my Etsy Shop.
For party activities, Smokey’s Fire Engine came and toured the kids around the neighborhood with sirens blaring and lights flashing!  The kids also did an obstacle course which we called a ‘firefighter training course’, in which they got to put out fire in a “burning building”, toss hula hoops around a hydrant, and use a backpack with a water hose to spray down cups.  There was also a fireman craft table, yummy fireman-themed food, and endless fun had by all!
Some of my favorite parts of his party were:

the fireman on straw poles
the fireman obstacle course
the fondant cake by Les Pop Sweets with Maverick’s name in the fire hose!
the rides in a real fire truck around the neighborhood
the flame-look balloons we used as table centerpieces
The fondant cake topper with his name in the hose spelled out!
The stuffed Datamation puppies we gave away as party favors
the smile on Maverick’s face as he thought he was a REAL firefighter!

To easily recreate this party for your own special little fire-truck loving boy, you can head over to my shop and purchase the Fire Truck / Firefighter Digital Printable “Party in a Box” Kit!  It takes the stress out of planning a birthday party, and your little man will have the best day ever!
 

Li’l Lumberjack Birthday Party

For Henry’s first birthday, as we are entering the colder months and plaid seemed apropos, we decided on a “Li’l Lumberjack” theme. Decor included red-and-black buffalo plaid, wood accents, a retro red “logging” truck, faux pine trees and pinecones. The menu was also lumberjack-inspired, featuring “lumberjack” chili (with assorted toppings such as Black Forest bacon), Maine Root sodas, apple crisp, “tree” nuts, pretzel “logs” and pretzel “twigs, S’mores mix, carrot “sticks” and celery “sticks” with hummus and ranch dip. The cake was red-and-black plaid, topped with a moose and two pine trees. It also featured an ax decorated with the number 1.
Guests were encouraged to wear plaid and facial hair (real or otherwise.) The younger set made their own paper beards and also built cabins out of Lincoln Logs.
On one wall we displayed black-and-white photos from each month of Henry’s life from newborn to 11 months. On another we displayed his newborn onesie and diaper contrasted with this 12-month onesie and diaper. A great way to show how much he’s grown over the past year.
I’ve been using the hashtag #ohhenry on Instagram, so we also displayed a bucket of Oh Henry candy bars. I was excited to find the buffalo plaid bucket at Target for $3.
As a nod to a lumberjack’s lunch pail, we filled a large lidded basket with goodies displayed in paper bags: pretzels, trail mix, S’mores mix.

Aiden’s Milk, Cookies, and Mustaches Party

Much to my delight, Aiden requested a mustache party! Yes, it’s been done but I loved mustaches (found them hilarious) before they were trendy so I was really excited.
Plus it’s perfect for Aiden who is one of the smartest kids I know but a total goofball who loves his milk and of course, loves cookies.
I did as many DIYs as possible to keep the costs down and to make the party personal.

Jake & The Neverland Pirates 2nd Birthday Party!

I designed and created all the decor and elements for my son’s 2nd birthday party – a Jake & The Neverland Pirates theme!
We held the birthday party at an indoor play venue where the kids, and even some adults, got to enjoy inflatable slides and a foam shooting range for 1.5 hours, plus face-painting, caricature drawings, and pirate favors for all the kids. It turned out wonderful and it brought joy to my heart to see all the smiles on our friends and family’s faces.

Arctic Explorer 1st birthday party

Having a winter birthday party in Brooklyn, NY forced a little extra creativity. Outside lavish garden parties with lovely tents and strings of lights just wouldn’t really be ideal in this climate. Although those are the kinds of parties I dream of throwing! I kept seeing winter party ideas but none of them really fit into my vision. I wanted something with a stronger theme to build upon. Then I had this idea of an Arctic Explorer theme!

What’s the Word on the Street? Miles is 2!!!

My son, Miles, LOVES Sesame Street right now, so I decided to use the classic children’s tv show as the inspiration for the theme of his party.  We also decided to do a breakfast party and start it at 10 AM (just like Sesame Street starts on our TV at home!)  The unique time of the birthday seemed to be a hit!  From the cupcake toppers to the napkin holders…there are ALOT of details in this party!  With my mom’s help, we created a party that we were proud of and, most importantly, Miles and his family and friends had such a fun time at!