Finley's Birthday Party

Finley's first birthday party was a great success.  It was so fun to see so many little ones playing, crawling, running and chowing down.  I wasn't sold on doing an actual theme for the party, but we had gone with this cute Minted invite... so I thought it would be perfect to refer to it for inspiration. 


My mom flew in the Wednesday before the party, so I had a helper for all of my first time adventures-- icing sugar cookies and using fondant!  Here are a few pics from the party.

We went with a woodland vibe-- with pinecones and natural elements and moose, snail, fox, bear, squirrel and porcupine sugar cookies.  I had so many more wood accents, but everything started to look a bit cluttered... so they were scrapped.  For favors, we put sugar cookies in gingham and striped bags sealed with coordinating circle stickers and also gave gingham alphabet placemats from Pottery Barn Kids.  They seemed to be a hit.

The food theme was mini... sliders, mini pigs-in-a-blanket, mini mac-n-cheese and cupcakes. (I also made tapenade, but it wasn't mini.) We had several different slider toppings and sauces, which made the options seem endless.  Instead of plates for the main food, we used lined burger baskets.  It was so much easier for the kids.  Plates are more spill-prone.  We did offer some small plates if people preferred them.  I also wrapped the bamboo silverware in coordinating napkin and baker's twine picnic-style.  The older kids thought they were really fun.  The weather was amazing, so we ate on our deck... which made clean up a breeze.

Sources and recipes to come.  Also, stay tuned for a fabulous giveaway!  (Here's a hint... it might be from the company that made my necklace in the pic above.)