Monday, May 6, 2013

Outer Space Themed 1st Birthday Party for Orion!

Yesterday was Orion's 1st birthday and we threw a big outer space themed birthday party to celebrate. I found a custom shirt I loved from Etsy which served as the inspiration for the party theme. I incorporated the primary colors of the shirt into the party decor. I also found a lot of great ideas from Pinterest. I even had a whole board dedicated to 1st birthday party ideas. I also used my Facebook page for my blog to ask questions about the party like whether I could use fondant on a smash cake. I started the planning and prep early since I wanted to do a lot myself. The results were great and we all had a lot of fun celebrating Orion's big day!


Orion's custom birthday shirt

 Balloons and "ONE" by the front door to greet guests

Dessert table with handmade backdrop, banner, outer space themed cake, and cupcakes with stars and the planet Saturn.

I love how the cupcakes turned out!

 For the cake I made a vanilla cake and vanilla butter cream from scratch but bought pre-made fondant and just rolled it out and used cookie cutters for the rocket ships and big stars. I free hand cut out the small stars.

 I used ribbon and clothes pins to display all of Orion's monthly photos from his first year.


For party favors I had custom cookies made with the photo of Orion's birthday shirt. I bought a helium tank and balloons and we attached a balloon to each cookie. Really cute favors for less than $1.50 per child.

Custom cookies

 We ordered sandwiches so we didn't have to worry about a main course. I then bought a bunch of fruit and veggies to serve with hummus and ranch.

 I hung these brightly colored balls above the drink station to add to the festive atmosphere.

We served martian punch (lime sherbet, pineapple juice, and ginger ale), water with lemon and lime slices in it, and rocket fuel (iced tea).

 Target had affordably priced paper and plastic ware in primary colors so I went that route instead of rounding up enough dishes for 50 guests. I love the coordinating paper straws.


 The smash cake ended up being a lot of work and was very big. I decided to give Orion a giant piece instead of the whole cake.

 He's had a couple tastes of sweets before but he doesn't seem to like them or even many bread products. I was pleasantly surprised that he dug into his cake.

 He may not have swallowed a lot but he sure smashed it up.

 The adorable birthday boy playing with a balloon (one of his favorite things).

After Orion got a nap and most guests had left we opened presents with Nate's family. Orion stayed interested most of the time and liked checking out all his new toys.

Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate! It was a great day!


Photobucket

6 comments:

Karen G. said...

Happy birthday, Orion!!
What a great theme! Got to love Pinterest!!!

Jillian said...

So cute! I can't believe he's already one!

vits12 said...

Hi.. My baby is turning one this May and his name is Orion as well. I was looking for ideas for his party and I had something similar in my mind. Thank you for making it easier and clearer for me to work on. Lots of love to Orion and a bigg thank you to you :)

Becca Shell said...

Are those lollypops and peach rings that make the planet-pops? That's brilliant! What brand fits so perfectly?

lisafaith said...

Do you have a recipe for the cupcakes!? Thanks!!

Unknown said...

I may be using some ideas... New grandson due "Patrick orion"