I’m wondering if my son’s recent Dr. Seuss first birthday party is Pinterest-worthy. Lux turned one last week Monday, and we decided to throw him his first ever themed celebration. Seeing that we are an expat family who loves to travel it made perfect sense to use the wonderfully magical story from the Dr. Seuss series: Oh The Places You’ll Go!
I’ve always loved the Dr. Seuss books which are both inspirational and educational, but wasn’t sure if I could pull off a party in honor of one of the famous books from the collection. Most of my ideas went to plan, and some fell a little flat due to Taobao’s inconsistent delivery system – which of course resulted in a number of late arrivals! Give yourself plenty of contingency space when planning a themed party, particularly when relying on certain items to be delivered to a deadline.
Unfortunately the helium didn’t arrive on time, and this ruined my hot air balloon photo corner and ribbon display idea! But alas, when life gives you lemons you can either end up with a sour face or sweet lemonade. I pulled in a few favors from creative friends and got DIYing with most of the birthday snacks and other decorations, which worked wonderfully well and still made for an epic first birthday.
Whether or not the details of the party are Pinterest-worthy, I’ll let you decide!
Get creative and come up an original poem for your invitations
I remember receiving vibrant invitations in matching envelopes from school friends for their birthday parties and although this custom is almost obsolete with the onset of the digital age, I still wanted to offer a little nostalgic throwback to the colorful kid’s birthday invitation.
Lux has become a little bit of a local superstar, so I used the image of him that was featured on the recent EP release for Tavey Lean and the Solid Gold Dream Machine and asked trombone-playing, graphic designer extraordinaire (and new freelancer for beijingkids magazine), Dan from the band, to create the themed invitations. You can easily find a poem template for most Dr. Seuss themed invitations, however I decided to get a little more creative and wrote my own!
To partner these beautiful invitations I wanted to feature a display poster for the party, and Dan also came up with this. Don’t be shy and get your friends and family involved in being part of the occasion. As my husband likes to say, “use the great minds around you.”
I also made Orange Martinis that were supposed to be blue! Unfortunately I don’t have any photos, but I say that’s a testament to how quickly they were devoured. Get funky and cool with ideas for the adults that are fun and festive! Using a little food coloring I went wild and dropped a splash of color into almost everything. These were a great addition for the parents who got to unwind while the kids enjoyed the highs (and lows) of sugar.
The cost of a birthday cake can easily rack up, particularly for themed parties, where it’s easy to get lost in the moment and fork out way beyond the odds for your kid’s first birthday. Instead make the occasion more special with a DIY cake treat that either you (or a friend) can attempt.
Oh the cupcakes are here, how long will they last? It’s time to grab one, be quick, be fast!
The cupcakes were supposed to be multicolored, however if the wonderful delivery world of Taobao has taught me anything, it’s how to improvise. Orange is a signature color used throughout the Dr. Seuss book of our choice and so my dear friend and chef, Simone, made these yummy vanilla cupcakes and covered them in plain and orange cream frosting with desiccated coconut. Finish off your display by slicing up colorful fruit, add some butter popcorn to the mix and let people snack away.
We included a ‘follow your dreams” framed photo next to all the colorful treats, which went well with the theme
Adults and kids love candy, so I thought about making a candy display that everyone could snack from and would double up as a great photo opportunity. I made candy pops, by dipping marshmallows into melted chocolate and sprinkles. I did the same with rice crispie cakes, dipped in white chocolate and a little orange food coloring – which turned out a little pink. I found old glass jars and filled them with marshmallows to create DIY display bowls that the lollipops could sit in.
My husband felt cheated and said I should’ve covered the whole rice crispie cake in chocolate!
You can also pick up some wooden letters to spell out the name of your little one (see photo above), and add it to a display of your choice; because of the travel theme, we threw in a globe for good measure. Another good idea that I had planned for but couldn’t execute was to attach helium-filled balloons to a wicker basket (a laundry basket will do) to make a hot air balloon. Create a photo corner and have little ones climb in to go up up up and away and get snapped!
It was difficult to find pretzels that weren’t broken in half, so I picked up some shop-bought dipped pretzels and used them in a candy garden display for Lux’s one-year candle.
I used an old stone candle holder. No need to buy everything from new. You can can also make a candy garden, using crushed chocolate biscuits and green gummies
One surprising element was how flat Lux’s first taste of cupcakes went. He didn’t seem at all impressed with his first hit of sugar, but his gifted coconut blueberry muffins from mom Franziska was a win.
Just not that into it!
Trying cupcakes for the first time was just one of many firsts for Lux on the day, which included one of the sweetest captured moments – Lux leaning in for his first ever kiss!
Firsts on a first birthday celebration
All bow-tied out for his first party (his obsession with remote controls is out of control)
Most of the kids attending were too young to receive sugar-rush-inducing goody-bags, but I made them anyway! Using the theme colors I ordered mini-baskets and filled them with a mixture of soft and candy-encased pastel-colored marshmallows. I wrapped each basket in cellophane and finished with silver ribbon.
I accidentally forgot to give these out at the end of the party. Maybe too many orange Martini’s?
Overall I think it was a great party and I received some lovely feedback from my guests. Planning ahead makes all the difference and I can’t wait for birthday number two!
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Photos: Nicole Bonnah
