3 Tips for a Homemade Birthday Party

We’ve all been there. You’re on a budget. The theme you’re looking for isn’t available. You want to put a personal touch on your little’s birthday party. Whatever your reason, today I want to share with you some practical things I’ve learned as it relates to throwing birthday parties for littles. These three tips make for a party that won’t disappoint! I’ll be using Henley’s first birthday party as reference. Let’s get this party started, shall we?

1. Keep Traditions Alive

Do you have family birthday traditions? I know for us, one tradition is that I bake our littles’ birthday cake each year. Even when we are out of town I try to find a way to keep this tradition and it has been really special for us so far. Maybe yours is breakfast in bed or birthday pancakes. Whatever your tradition, those simple touches create special memories and are worth the extra effort. For Henley’s first birthday, in keeping with our Winnie the Pooh theme, I made a “honey pot” smash cake and simple chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles for our guests.

2. Simplify Decorations

When it comes to decorations, consider the space you will be having your party and go from there. Aim to have at least one birthday banner that will be in eyesight of your party goers. In order to keep your theme alive in the decoration department, think of two colors that most represent your theme and stick with those. You don’t need the theme’s logo or picture on every decoration item. Select a couple things that will clearly communicate your theme and you’re set. For Henley’s birthday I used a light yellow and baby blue to stick with our old fashioned Winnie the Pooh theme. Only his smash cake and Evite had a clear indication of Winnie the Pooh and we were satisfied with that.

I made three pennant banners that together read “Happy Birthday Henley” and a small pennant banner for his high chair. These banners are super simple and add just enough decoration so that there’s no question a party’s going on.

Remember when making your decorations that you don’t need to be super crafty. I love the quote “What is done with love is done well” because it’s so true.  As much as I love Pinterest, I think it can cause us to shy away from doing anything homemade with fear we won’t measure up to the “professionals”. Have no fear mamas. Your little will love anything you make for them and party goers appreciate a made-with-love touch.

For Henley’s first birthday, the only items we purchased for decorations were a dozen balloons. These are something you can’t really make on your own and we felt like it would be a fun addition to the party.

3. Use What You Have

When party time rolls around, shop your home and see what you already have. Construction paper? Glue? String? You’ve got banners in the making! Maybe you have some “Happy Birthday” signs in your closet somewhere and just forgot about them. What trays do you already own to hold cupcakes or party snacks?

My all time favorite party decoration? Pictures. You can’t put a more personal touch on a party then using pictures of the past. Whether you display them in their frame or make a photo banner, you really can’t go wrong. Decorations are for celebrating and what celebrates the birthday boy or girl more than photos of them?! One great bonus about photos is you probably already have them lying around your house. Free decorations? Yes please! For this party I made a simple picture banner of Henley’s first year (shown above) to display above his high chair as well as displayed my favorite newborn picture of him in a frame on the cupcake table. The best part about the banner is we now have it above his crib in his room. It’s neat to be able to use a party decoration in other ways!

This was simplest yet best party we’ve thrown one of our littles yet. Maybe it’s because we’ve started to realize what to focus on and what not to focus on. But overall it’s a special memory we will always have and I’m pretty sure Henley had a great time :)

So there you have it! My three tips for a homemade birthday party. Stay tuned next week as I share exactly how to make these birthday banners!

Do you do “homemade birthday parties” with your family? What’s your favorite birthday tradition? I’d love to read them in the comments! Have a great weekend!

Xo,

Chrissy