A First Birthday Party Picnic in the Park

The park, balloons and snacks—these are a few of my one-year-old’s favorite things. In lieu of a traditional themed first birthday party, we decided to throw a kid-friendly picnic at our local park to celebrate Brody’s first year.

Throughout planning, the mantra “keep it simple” rang loud and clear. We wanted the celebration to be special, but we also wanted to be able to enjoy the party without stressing about too many little details—that’s tough for a type A like me!

Most of our party guests were under the age of two, so ensuring all of the details were toddler-friendly was high on the list of priorities. We created a picnic area just for the little ones, complete with a play tent and a toddler-sized picnic table. The low-lying picnic table was a simple DIY project made with three wood planks that were held up by a series of cinder blocks. We laid out aqua-colored Turkish towels and tossed a variety of throw pillows in various shades of blue around the table. It was the perfect spot for our littlest guests.

For food, we kept things simple. No fancy food bar, no catering—just some old-fashioned brown bag lunches (in cute containers of course!). We wrapped sandwiches from the deli of our local grocery store in glassine bags and topped each one with a festive balloon sticker. Along with a bag of chips and a piece of fruit, we placed them in wooden berry baskets that we had painted to match the décor.

No party is complete without desserts—a piece of colorful fabric made a stunning backdrop for our dessert table. Hand-dipped rice krispie treats and confetti cupcakes were arranged on top. To help give dimension to the table, we layered the plates on different sized boxes that were flipped upside down—it’s a simple trick to use when you’re in a pinch!

We lucked out because the park that we chose has a charming ramada, so decorating was easy! Using 12” x 12” cardstock, we cut triangular pennants in various shades of blue. The triangles were taped together with twine, creating an impressive ombré banner to swag between the pillars.

Nothing excites Brody quite like balloons, so we filled a few giant balloons with colorful confetti and weighted them in the grassy area as a final touch. Nothing excites this momma quite like the perfect birthday celebration.

Be sure to check out more party details at Momma Society.

Photography by Elizabeth Lawlor Photography