The very FIRST birthday is a special day that every new mom (and dad) look forward to with Christmas-like anticipation. Full of stress, creative strain, organization dilemmas, and of course unparalleled joy and excitement. What better First Birthday theme for my May Day Baby than May Day?
My Rou was born Friday May 1st, 2015 at 7:16 pm. To say it was a life-changing moment would be the understatement of all understatements. I won't go into detail here since I don't want to be repetitive and bore you all to death, you can read my birth story and other mama stuff here. But the First Birthday is something I think most parents look forward to. For me, it was sort of a congratulations you can keep another human being alive mark. It's an unofficial pat on the back that you now have a one-year old and to be honest every mother I see with children I want to give them all badges and say YOU DID IT. That first year is TOUGH. I would like to say it's all downhill from there but why would I lie to you. After the one year mark, it's different struggles but that first year you learn a lot about child rearing as well as yourself. And to keep with this honesty streak I'm dealing out, can we all just finally admit that the first birthday party is really for the parents? I mean c'mon, the baby has absolutely no idea what is going on. The party is magical for everyone but really it lives on in pictures for the child and memories for the adults. Did I still go a little overboard? Yes. Do I regret any of it? Absolutely frickin not. My baby only turns one once and by god I was going to make it special!
To get on with the party: Since baby was born on May Day, the only theme I had in mind was......May Day! I find it fitting. I'm not a very creative person so what did I do? I went to Pinterest. Would you believe I was actually being creative? I could not find a May Day birthday theme at all! I was pretty pleased with myself! But that meant I had to start putting ideas together. What do you need at a May Day party? A maypole. A flower crown. Flower Baskets. And a TON of flowers. These were my driving factors to create the theme.
Now for a string of photos! All of these were taken by the lovely Nicole of Little Wildflower Photography you can visit her Facebook Page or even visit her at her blog Black Sheep and Little Bo Peep.
Phew, that was a lot! Food wise, I went along the lines of brunch. I made deviled eggs, quinoa salad, Quiche Lorraine, and then bought sandwich makings, a fruit platter, and vegetable platter from our local grocery store. For drinks, we had cute little mason jar drink dispensers full of ice tea and a homemade "limeade", as well as bottled water, and mimosas (my favorite!).
Rou was dressed in a white dress from Gap that was on sale and her flower crown was from Etsy. Her cake was a gluten-free funfetti as well as the cupcakes that were AH-mazing so please try them! The cake topper was also from Etsy and I placed fake flowers from Michael's on top as well as sprinkles.
I bought the decoration makings at Michael's which included the vines I hung on the wall and used mini clothespins to pin pictures from Rou's first year around the room. The banner (not shown) was also from Michael's and I just used a regular sharpie and stencils to write out her name. The tablecloth and paper plates were all floral themed. The utensils and napkins were held in mini watering cans.
As favors, I made little May Day flower baskets with a thank-you gift tag attached and flower seed packets for everyone.
DIY Maypole:
Thick and thin ribbons of all different colors
Scissors
Flower crown
Hot glue gun
Wooden pole
Either a circular saw or gardening stake
1. First I got a wooden pole at Home Depot as well as a ton of ribbons from Michael's. I used the hot glue gun to first cover the pole with a thick ribbon in a circular motion down the length of the pole. Then I used the thin ribbon to criss-cross around to add a little more color.
2. My S.O. used a circular saw to create a point at the end of the pole so he could use a small sledgehammer to then put it into the ground. If you do not have a circular saw you could always attach the pole to a gardening stake and then place the stake into the ground.
3. Once the pole is secure, glue the thick ribbons to the top by finding the length you would like the ribbon to hang (remember it needs to be quite long so that it can be woven around the pole) and then double that length. Make all of the ribbons the exact length.
4. At the halfway point of the length of the ribbon, this part will be secured to the top of the pole. Do the same with the rest of the ribbon.
5. I already had a flower crown from a festival so I placed this at the top but you could also make a flower crown by using wire and fake flowers from Michael's.
6. Once all is finished, learn how to do a May dance!
DIY May Day Flower Basket Favors:
Tape
Scissors
Paper towels
Rubber bands
Plastic wrap
Flowers
Gift tags
Single hole punch
Thin ribbon
Decorative paper
Flower seed packets
1. Fold the decorative paper in half (I used the wood-looking paper out of the scrapbooking section). Create cone shape out of the paper and tape to secure in place.
2. Punch a hole on either side of the large opening of the cone. Use thin ribbon to create a handle, tying each side in place.
3. Write thank-you note on gift tag and tie to ribbon handle.
4. Cut flowers to size to fit into the cone. Wet a paper towel and wrap around the base of the cut stems. Wrap plastic wrap around the paper towel and secure with rubber band. Place flowers into cone.
5. Add flower packet to basket. Marvel at your ingenuity!