The last few weeks of our lives have been a whirlwind. I left one job, started another, attempted and failed the Whole 30, and my baby turned one. After thinking about Ella’s first birthday for months and debating lots of different scenarios – renting a room, going to a festival, having family only, doing it a relative’s house – we ended up just doing a celebration at home. And it was perfect.
Despite all my worries that we didn’t enough space, my house wasn’t clean enough, or that our girls wouldn’t behave – it was the exact opposite. Everyone seemed to have a great time, we had more than enough food and decorations, and the kids spent the whole time playing. Ella is normally shy, but she hung in there with all our guests, and even Chris and I got to eat and enjoy the party. So without further ado, here’s how you throw the perfect last-minute birthday party.
- Have it at home. I know you’re worried about your house being clean enough. Maybe you think you don’t have enough room. Don’t worry about all of that. Seriously, all your stuff is there so you don’t have to plan activities. Another good thing? It’ll motivate you to clean your house (if you’re like me and need that motivation). Having it at home seems daunting, but I promise it’ll be okay!
- Outsource as much as you can. I ordered all the food from my local Wegmans – sandwiches, veggie and fruit trays, cake, cupcakes, and more. Everything was delicious, beautifully done, and most importantly, EASY. I’m so glad I outsourced it – all I had to do was pick it up and it was done.
- Keep decorations simple. Pick an easy store bought theme (we did Minnie Mouse) and get a few decorations in that theme. Use a solid color (in our case pink) for everything else. Buy clear cups and silverware so they can be reused in future parties.
- Don’t plan a bunch of activities. We literally just let the kids play while we all ate, then did Ella’s smash cake. She did end up opening gifts at the end, but I didn’t plan for that to happen – it just did.
- Let people help. My sister Melanie was instrumental in running around and getting all the last minute things for me – balloons, soda, lemonade mix, and more. It would have been infinitely harder to pull off without her, and I’m so glad she was able to help. She even vacuumed my main floor without me ever asking her to. She’s a rockstar and I couldn’t have done it without her.
Try not to stress. I was worried, but everything seemed to work itself out and we had the most perfect celebration for our little girl. I’m so happy with how it turned out… but I’m glad it’s a little while before I have to do this again!
We hope you had the best birthday sweet girl – can’t believe you are ONE!
