I can not believe I am saying this, but …my baby is ONE! My oh my how time flies when you become a parent. It seriously seems just like yesterday I was heading to the hospital to be induced. There has been so much love and craziness in the past year. John, Char, and I all made it out alive! So, since my sweet baby turned one we had to plan a party right?
The first thing that was to decide was location. Should we have it here in Alabama or make the long trip home to Illinois? Obviously… we were going to head home to the good old Midwest. I didn’t want all of her family and our friends to miss out on this. So, we started to make the plans to go back home. The few times we have made the journey (and yes an 11 hour drive with a baby at any age is a journey in itself), we always stop in Nashville, TN. It’s the perfect halfway point between our old home and new.
With the driving dates and hotel plans booked, we focused on where to have the party. At first I was thinking of just having it at my mom or dad’s, but then I started thinking about the kids. There would possibly be more than a few, and kids like to get crazy at parties right? So, I started to think of having it at a hall. I was thinking that one large room would be great so the kids could go wild and the adults could have their own space to be social. Well, having a party at a hall isn’t cheap, so thankfully my mom has the hookup at the hotel across the street from the one she manages! We were able to have the party at no cost to John and I. Thanks, momma! After that was settled, it was time to invite people. I had originally wanted to send out super cute invites in the mail. I purchased them and everything but I just did not get around to sending them out. Lazy, I know. So I took the easy way out and used Facebook’s event page, which wasn’t the best idea. Many of the people invited did not RSVP, so I had no idea how many people would be there.
Once all the stressful party planning was over, it was time for the fun part – picking a theme and buying the decorations! I had been pinning on Pinterest and window shopping on Etsy for months, so I was more than ready for this part. I decided Charlotte was too young to understand a Sophie or Dora themed party. Instead, I went with something a bit different – Sweetest of the Sweet Sweets! From the time she was born, we always called her “sweetest of the sweet sweets”. So, I ran with that for the theme of her party, making it all about the sugar! A parent’s worse nightmare, but a total dream for a child. I stayed with my color scheme I had been loving on Pinterest – pink and gold everything. Finally, it was time to order everything I had been loving! I purchased most of the decorations from Etsy shops.
Gold ONE letters from – The Enchanted Princess
Extra large ONE balloons and a few Confetti filled balloons from – Bright so Slight
ONE sign, pink and gold tassels, mini gold tassels and ONE high chair banner from – Mod Party
I also purchased Charlotte’s outfit from Etsy shops.
White and gold sequin tutu dress from – Ellura Sage
White hair bow from – Posh Peanut Kids
I loved buying from these small shops. I received everything super fast after ordering and all of the items were as perfect as pictured. All of these shops were so sweet to ofter me coupon codes! For coupon code for these shops see the bottom of this post!
Now I had all of the theme decorations, I had to move on to the normal party supplies. I ordered a ton of supplies from Party City. It was super easy. They had everything I could have needed/wanted and more: cups, plates, forks, spoons, candy, more balloons and lanterns, seriously this store has it all. I may have gotten a little carried away. If you ask John, I went totally crazy! But hey, she only turns one once right? HA, and two, three and four!
John also had a little DIY project for the decorations. He spray painted a few of my step dad’s mason jars gold for me. I wanted them for holding candy, straws, and utensils. They turned out great! Thanks babe!
The day of the party was madness. We had so much to do before our guests were to arrive. My family was so amazing and helpful. My mother kept Charlotte and made sure she took her nap before bringing her to the party. Meanwhile, John, my step dad, and I packed my mother’s and step father’s cars to the brim and headed to the hotel. We stopped off at the grocery store to pick up the donuts and strawberries. When I said I was going all out for the sugar, I meant it! Once we were at the hotel, we didn’t stop setting up everything until the guests arrived. We were putting together all the decorations, dipping the strawberries in chocolate, and blowing up balloons until the last moment! My step dad saved my butt, I forgot to buy helium for the balloons! It was more like a blonde moment than a forgetful one. For some reason I thought you could just blow up balloons with air. Ahhhh really Whitney? This is coming from someone who has had two jobs where blowing up balloons with helium was a daily part of work! My brain is fried after having a baby. Ekk, anyway! He was so sweet to go out and buy a tank and blow up all the balloons for us.
Right as we were finishing putting everything together, the first few guests arrived! We tried to set up the room for maximum play space. All of the sweets, food(pizza) and drinks were at the end of the room. The tables for sitting were on one side, leaving a ton of room for all the kids to go nuts. There were hula hoops, balloons, bubbles, fake mustaches and lots of noise makers. Charlotte had the time of her life playing with her cousins and other kids that were there.
The cake smash went pretty well. She didn’t completely smash it but she did have a few handfuls! I want to give a shout out to my mother’s best friend Susie! She did such a wonder job on the cake, cupcakes and cake pops! She was also was the one who baked for my baby shower.
We asked that if anyone wanted to bring a gift that it be a new or used children’s book. Char loves to be read to and look at the page in books. I think she is going to be smart like her daddy. She received so many great books and other gifts. I want to say thank you again to everyone that came out. She had the best day ever thanks to you guys! I am so thankful to have such wonderful and loving friends and family.
To those of you who do not know, my family and I lost my Grandpa Harvey just a week shy of his 88th birthday, Feb 7th. We had planned to have the party on this day long before he passed. We were going to celebrate their birthdays together. Even thought he was not there in body, I know he was there with us in sprit. IU Grandpa <3
To our family, thank you all so much for all the love and support you have shown John and I over the past year. We would not be the parents we are today without you. This party was amazing because of all the work you guys put in.
Coupon Code for Etsy Shops
The Enchanted Princess – THEWHITNEYSTORY for 15% off
Bright So Slight – WHITNEY40 for 40% off
Mod Party – WHITNEY for 10% off a $50 purchase
Ellura Sage – ELLURASAGE15 for 15% off
Megan Sullivan says
Happy birthday to Charlotte! I love all of the details of the party. Thank you so much for sharing.