Time Flies... Vintage Airplane First Birthday Party
When my youngest turned one we celebrated with an adorable vintage airplane themed party. Even at one, he was drawn to all vehicles, and especially airplanes. Since he was my third, I had already learned that the first birthday theme is really the only theme I would get to choose and that by two, he would have formed obsessions. This proved true, so for his second birthday we threw a Recycle Truck Party.
Early in the planning process, I fell in love with this printable set from Tania’s Design Studio, which provided the inspiration for the party. My dear friend Bobbi created this beautiful (and even more delicious) cake that made a lovely centerpiece for the occasion.
As a first birthday celebration, the party guests were mainly our family and close family friends. For that type of celebration, we put more emphasis on the food and drink for adult guests vs. planning games or activities for younger guests.
Luckily, my twin brothers have become pros at smoking meat. With their help, we provided a delicious smoked brisket and picnic style fixings that made it easy to feed a crowd. We also lucked out in that the weather was beautiful that weekend and everyone was able to enjoy the day in our back yard, which is fairly unusual for April in Western Washington.
I purchased the navy Swiss check fabric and some corresponding fabric in the patriotic color scheme to make a fabric banner at Joanne Fabrics. I cut the fabrics into long thin strips and knotted them on a rustic twine alternating strips of the printed materials. This type of banner could be made with any fabric choices, though looking back, I may have added a little more solid with all of the prints that I used to make it a little less busy. You may also notice that my red and white polka-dot pennant banners make yet another appearance at this party too. I really do like to reuse party decor pieces.
As a last minute decision, I thought it would be fun to make a cardboard airplane for a sweet photo prop for Callen. I was up painting the night before and my vision didn’t quite turn out how I had hoped, but our little guy loved sitting in it. With this adorable aviator hat, he was so stinking cute!
Each of my kiddos had a fun party hat for their birthday cake and song at their party. I was able to make this using the party printables for the “basic hat.” Then I folded and glued crepe paper to give the logo dimension and cut the crepe paper to create a tassel at the top and bottom edge. He didn’t wear the hat long, but just like with his big sisters, we took a few photos and put it in his keepsake box.
I think photos are a wonderful way to make a party personal. I often add a framed photo or two of the guest of honor to the dessert table. A simple frame can easily be decorated with paper elements to make it fit the occasion. I also use photos to create banners for special occasions. Here I made one with some of Cal’s monthly photos. I sometimes put these photos in the clothesline frame that Cindy made me when he was born and she threw a “Big Sisters” party. I used the monthly milestone photos I took of him and it was really fun to line them all up and see how he changed every month. I used matte onesie stickers, but it has become more popular to use a felt message board, or monthly milestone blanket. Whatever fits your style and gets you taking the monthly shots, as you won’t regret doing so, even if they aren’t taken exactly on the date.
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