Hallee’s strawberries ‘n’ cream 1st birthday party

A few weeks ago I mentioned that my baby turned one and today I thought it would be fun to show you how cute her strawberry-themed birthday party turned out.

My original idea for this theme stemmed from the fact that the tennis championship, Wimbledon, famous for its strawberries and cream, falls just a few weeks after Hallee’s birthday. We like to watch tennis, and especially Wimbledon, and Miss Hallee also just so happens to love strawberries.

It ended up being a sweet and simple party theme that came together wonderfully.

Photo by alexanderpavone

My parents were gracious enough to let us have the party in their fabulous backyard, which meant I didn’t have to plan any activities. I just got the pool toys out and put the ladder golf out on the lawn. Done!

Decor

Everyone knows the highlight of a first birthday party is watching the guest of honor eat her dessert. For our party, the second highlight was the pool (and lovely weather). So decorating was minimal. Just a few touches of strawberries and Hallee-esque cuteness.

The ceramic basket that I’m dreaming about was a perfect addition to my table with a few strawberries– thankfully I was able to borrow one from a friend.

I found the strawberry tablecloths (and a few plates and a salad bowl, too) in Target’s outdoor/summer department. I love that they are not only party decorations but will be used often in our home, too.

Above the food table, I hung a photo bunting (an idea I saw originally on SouleMama)– twenty-four photos of Hallee’s first year, hanging on baker’s twine by tiny clothespins (via Michaels). Above it hung my handmade paper name bunting. I simply stenciled the letters with Gigi’s paint onto triangles of scrapbook paper and hung it again on baking twine with mini clothespins. Easy-peasy!

Drinks

I was inspired by this pin to de-label some frappuccino bottles and pair them with striped paper straws. Kids got to use the fun straws, but in colored plastic Ikea cups.

The bottles have the look of an old-fashioned milk bottle and it was a fun way to drink our water, pink lemonade and vanilla frappuccinos (I poured out the individual bottles into cute bottles/jars for serving).

I left washi tape and felt markers in a strawberry basket for labeling. How fun is washi tape?! After the party, it peeled off the cups and bottles easily.

Food

Believe it or not, I didn’t get any photos of our strawberries and cream (!!) but it was a delicious dessert, and so much easier than baking cake or cupcakes.

We did a morning party, 10:00-12:30 p.m., so we just had a light lunch of cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches, along with PB&Js for the kids, spinach-strawberry salad, and popcorn. Easy to grab snack baskets of popcorn and goldfish were set out in strawberry baskets– all the ones I’ve been saving from my CSA. Now that the party’s over, I’ll send them back to my farm to be reused.

Since I had plenty of whipped cream and was going for simple, Hallee’s “cake” consisted of a pink donut with a dollup of whipped cream on top. I think it’s safe to say she enjoyed it, and the rest of us were thoroughly entertained as well.

Happy Birthday, Hallee-Girl! We had such a fun day celebrating you.

Do you like to plan parties? What fun themes have you used or come across?