Margot's First Birthday - A Small Backyard Affair
/My baby girl turned one year old this summer!! We celebrated her with a simple outdoor bash with a few friends and family. We had colorful decor, a custom felt crown, a pile of berries, and the sweetest one-year-old!
Our newly landscaped yard is the perfect place to host gatherings! It’s newly designed to accommodate our family, plus since we still do only outdoor social gatherings, it works well with our COVID-cautious precautions.
The landscape is already a lovely backdrop, but we dressed up the space with some simple, reusable, colorful decor.
I lined the entire yard in these rainbow pennant banners and they add so much flare, charm, and color for such a simple item. They’re felt so I can reuse them year after year - or maybe I’ll find more things to celebrate as an excuse to hang them up over and over again.
Guests came in through the adorned gate and on their left was an homage to each week of Margot.
Every week of Margot’s sweet little life, I’ve taken a photo of her on my instax camera to capture her growth. I started just getting photos of her little body, but then slowly started to add her favorite thing at that time - like when she was really into chandeliers, or when she started taking a liking to my childhood Princess Diana Beanie Baby - you know, the one we thought would make us all rich one day.
I got the idea to take the weekly photos from my dear friend Kim.
I hung each photo up using red and white twine with mini clothespins. It was such a treat to admire them on display!
I can’t mention weekly baby photos without highlighting the monthly photos I took of Margot in her bassinet! I used this online printer service for making a poster-size print of the design. I hung it in this frame with a plexiglass front which is safe for Margot’s new routine of poking the print and exclaiming “baby!” repeatedly throughout each day.
The rainbow pennant banners were a nice border around the yard, but I also added these colorful hanging paper fans to add a little oomph to the otherwise plain underside of the umbrellas. The set comes in a bunch of colors and the fold up compactly so I can decorate with them time and time again.
Psst! This oversized umbrella looked funny at first, but now we really can’t imagine living without it!
The plants add plenty of color and texture, but I love how festive those pennants and paper fans are! I considered leaving them up for months, but decided they’d lose the special-ness.
The red check waterproof picnic blanket is a must for picnics at home or on the go.
Anyway, that’s enough about the decor, let’s get to the birthday girl!
Gahhhh she’s the sweetest little nugget! I’m writing this around two months after her party and can’t believe how much she’s grown since then! She’s got four more teeth, inches more of curls, and oodles more personality.
We got that custom name puzzle stool as a baby gift and I can’t recommend it enough. I thought it’d get only used by a big kid, but she’s been playing with those puzzle letters for months now.
Speaking of custom things, get a good look at Margot’s crown! I wanted a special commemorative birthday crown featuring Margot’s favorite things, but ran out of time to make my own. Luckily, I found a wonderful crafter on Etsy that made a custom felt crown just in time for her party. Margot’s favorite things featured are blueberries, sardines, citrus, and her favorite flower from our front yard. You can see a close up view of the crown here or keep scrolling to see her wearing it at another angle.
The felt crown is so sweet and I look forward to amassing a collection for each birthday showcasing whatever she’s currently loving.
Margot wore her crown while the rest of us wore these colorful party hats (seen below).
Goodness I still swoon when I see these cupcake toppers! I snapped a photo of Margot wearing her crown, then Photoshopped the background out, had it printed on repeat wallet sized at this online printer service, then asked my MIL to cut them out and scotch tape them to toothpicks. I then made cupcakes in colorful liners, but I really don’t think anyone cared about the dessert - just those toppers!
It’s only appropriate to make yourself the “theme” of your birthday party when you’re little, so I really leaned into the opportunity to put her photo on everything.
While friends and family noshed on homemade lavender-honey cupcakes, we gave Margot her own treat. Sure, we could have done the traditional smash cake, but what Margot really wants to sink her (two!) teeth into is a pile of berries. Cake shmake - get the girl some berries!
We whipped up some whipping cream (with some vanilla - no sugar) and plopped it on her highchair tray, then covered it in her favorite berries. Of course, I had to top it with a polka dot number one candle - a nod to her zeroth birthday party.
Eep! Look how cute the other side of her felt crown is!
It’s safe to say she enjoyed her berry pile and her whole party.
Happy (belated!) birthday, Margot!
Catch up:
How our home has changed with a baby
First Birthday Party Sources:
instax camera and instax mini film
online printer service for calendar and cupcake toppers
felt crown (custom featuring Margot’s favorite things)
red check waterproof picnic blanket
highchair (in natural oak color)
umbrellas, dining table, chairs, lighting, and other backyard accessories
Special thanks to my brother-in-law for taking the photos during the party. Thanks, Nathan!
Here’s the music we listened to at her party:
