My baby is ONE, plus our “sweet one” party theme

Well you all told me it would fly by, and here I am wondering how the hell it flew by. I actually love this age wayyy more than the newborn stages, but I get so emotional thinking about how fast the last year has gone and how quickly she’ll be walking and talking.

She already walks, but only about 15 steps at a time. I’m constantly trying to write down milestones so I don’t forget, but geez these days and months just fly by. She’s so, so determined (and sassy) and she knows what she wants.

Whenever she’s about to do something mischievous (or she just gets excited, really), she wiggles her little nose like Samantha from Bewitched. It’s my favorite. She feeds herself with a fork. It’s. all. so. freaking. special!

Becoming a mother has changed me so much. It’s given me a new perspective on so many things. I say this all the time that Ella teaches me patience, and it’s so true. While I want to give her everything, I also feel like not giving her everything is what builds character and creative, well rounded little people.

Party planning: We did two smaller parties for her first birthday. While most of our older family members have already had the opportunity to be vaccinated, we just wanted people to feel more comfortable getting together. So instead of one big party, we did our families separate (We’ll go big for two ;)).

I stuck with the “sweet one” theme. I love a good pun, and there are some cutes ONE puns out there.

I started by creating this mood board. I love I love getting my ideas out of my head and seeing them, sort of, next to each other. I also find them inspiring, so I’m a big advocate of a good mood board.

To start: I bought a large pack of “donut grow up” first birthday decorations from Amazon.
While I had intended to use more of them, I ran out of time preparing everything. If anyone tells you throwing a party is easy, they’re lying.
I really liked this banner than said “Sweet one” so I bought it separately. Mine is sold out, but here’s a similar one. I used safety pins to hold it on to the table cloth. This table cloth I use for every party. It’s a nice taupe color with very subtle gold strands in it. Here’s another similar one.

My DIYs I decided to do two DIYs. I was inspired by this print I found (shown in mood board) that said NOM NOM NOM with donuts as the O’s. I had this chalkboard stashed away from Ella’s baby shower (another Walmart find) so I drew it out.

ANOTHER DIY: I also made these donut mason jars. I originally found these on Etsy, but I wasn’t organized enough to order them. I only started planning a week or two ahead of time. So, I made a project out of it!

I’m sharing a few progression pictures vs how they turned out, so you’re not discouraged to give them a try! I used a foam brush and acrylic paint. It took a lot of coats and I thought I was a little nervous they weren’t going to come out. I’m working on a more detailed how-to blog post for them.

Pulling it all together: I used baking sticks (intended for cake pops), and just stuck them in donut holes. Watch my Pinterest video to see me putting the table together :).

Other things seen on the table are these cupcake stands from Target. I stacked donuts on top of them instead. Cake stand is also a reuse from Ella’s baby shower. It’s still available and on super sale!

[Transparency reminder: I make commission off some of these links. I only share products that I’ve used or would use]