Safari - themed 1st Birthday Party

A lot of people have a lot to say about "going overboard" for a birthday party when the child is too young to understand what is going on. To that I respond: he may not get it, but we do. Moments are fleeting. Having lost my mom at 17, I carry with me the constant reminder of how slippery time can be and I choose to cherish the times as they come, not at some distant point in the future. I am not ashamed to admit: I thought about that first birthday party for months before he actually turned one. I just felt so profoundly lucky to have this amazing little treat as my own and I could not wait to do something special for my little boy. I felt like he had already given me so much off the bat - an indescribable taste of parenthood that filled me with a love I had not previously known existed - he deserved a celebration. Heck, I deserved a celebration! That first year had been no cakewalk by any means ( and I challenge any dismissive non-parent who belittles the intensity of parenting a newborn to a few nights of an infant with an ear infection), and I felt like completing that first year was some kid of feat. We had all made it out alive and in tact! Hooray! Now let's party!

I chose to go with an animal/safari theme, because animals are abound in baby's first books and toys.

We made a huge BBQ and found cute plates and napkins adorned with cartoon animals. I used pastel yellows, blues and greens for the tableware.

As a centerpiece I found these long plastic cups at Party City and filled them with solid colored Jelly Belly Beans. Clear Yard Glass

For a fun activity we had a zebra pinata filled with candy and safari animal toys. Pinata

Here everyone is, digging in!

Always my favorite part - here is the delicious safari cake. I added some cake toppers for a 3D effect as well.Jungle Animal Cake Toppers

Cutting the cake! I love that the sides were decorated with trees, to keep with the Jungle effect. 

Basically - in our family, when you put cake in front of us - we don't hold back! 

After all the prizes and treats, I did not need to send the kids home with huge goody bags. Instead I found these adorable safari-print Cupcake boxes and made some home-made frosted cupcakes as take-aways.

Cupcake boxes

All in all it was a sweet day!