Addysn in ONEderland

It’s finally here! My little baby has officially turned ONE!

I’m still trying to cope with the fact that I have a toddler now, but I wanted to recap her 1st birthday party.

Due to Covid, we didn’t want to have something super big, so instead we had something really intimate at our home.

I’m not even sure how I got stuck on this theme, but maybe it was the play on words.. So the theme was Addysn in ONEderland (like Alice in Wonderland) and I literally ran with it.

For starters, I created her invitation on Canva. Something simple and to the point.

This theme was pretty fun because I was just able to let my imagination soar! Well did I mention that I was planning this party on a budget… so I had to get pretty creative and resourceful.

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Attire:

This is the cutest little “Alice” I ever did see! I found her outfit on Amazon. This wasn’t actually the outfit I wanted for her, but it was the only one that was going to arrive in time without me having to pay extra for shipping. Her bow is from Etsy and her socks are from Stylez by Sistaz. We love her ruffle socks and she custom makes them! They paired so cute with the tiniest Air Force Ones!

As for the rest of us, I knew I wanted to keep the theme going and dress as a few of the characters.

Aeryn was the Mad Hatter. I made her a shirt that says “We’re All Mad Here” and paired it with a black tutu. I had some striped socks for her to wear, but it was pretty hot so we decided not to wear them. I also purchased her a Mad Hatter bow on Etsy to go along with her themed outfit.

Mom and Dad, were of course the King and Queen of Hearts! I also made shirts for Carl and I that I’m obsessed with. I repurposed a crown headband that Aeryn had and added hearts and jewels to it. She also already had a King crown from a previous party, so it was perfect for daddy! It’s also funny how Carl and I are sort of matching.

Now lets enter into ONEderland

It wouldn’t be Alice In Wonderland themed if I didn’t have the different signs! I purchased the arrows from Dollar Tree and Painted them. Then added the words with vinyl.

We got tents from Academy for shade since we knew it would be hot, and my MIL brought a fan which was so great as well. Grabbed some lawn chairs and that was it!

For baby entertainment, we rented the soft play from Paradise Play Rentals. They set everything up so nicely. Addy and the kids loved it! The soft play is only for kids ages 5 and under, which was great for a one year old party. Once the party was over, she got to enjoy it all to herself.

The Sign in and Favors Table.

I absolutely loved this favors set up! The table was from Addy’s bedroom and I made the sign “Thank you for making my birthday ONEderful.” Again the theme here is simple and cute. I also found these little adorable teapots from Kate Aspen as party favors on Amazon. I’ve linked them here.

I also made a cute sign in/ keepsake that I’m also in love with. It turned out really great and I had guests sign with sharpies so we could cherish it forever. It’s currently sitting on a shelf in her room which I purposely painted the color that would match her room. The custom welcome sign is from Birthday Direct as well as a lot of the other cutouts you will see.

Gifts Table:

Another creation that was made is the “Off with her gifts” sign. I added some red roses because if you’ve seen Alice In Wonderland, then it makes sense right! It was very intentional as well as the cutouts from Birthday Direct of the Queen.

The Backdrop:

I had this idea in my head, however I can say when I tried to execute it… it was harder than I thought and I had to pivot. I used a green tablecloth and a houndstooth black and white tablecloth. The hard part was getting it to stick to the brick..so I used Gorilla Tape. It’s literally my favorite and my new go-to! I knew I would need something to go on the top of the backdrop so that the tape didn’t show, so I used these giant deck of cards that I also found on Amazon. I didn’t want to use balloons because it was hot and I didn’t want to risk them all popping before the party even started. Then I grabbed something to add height and created a stand for the mushrooms to sit on. I also found these on Amazon.

Added some mirror cutouts from Oriental Trading and a banner that I made.

The Food Table

Let’s start with the tablecloth backdrop. I knew I wanted a backdrop to go in front of the window of our home, but couldn’t see buying one that matched the theme and then not using it again. So I created a really cute tablecloth backdrop. I will post a blog on how to make this soon, but it’s really easy and just very time consuming. I made an “Addysn is One” banner and it really complemented the backdrop very well.

I got pretty creative and had fun with the food. We ordered the food from Market Street and it was way more than I thought we were getting, which worked perfectly.

Here’s the food and their funny names.

On the Menu:

Chicken Tenders – “DoDo Tenders”
Salad – “Rabbit Food”
Fruit Skewers – “The Queens Picks”
Pinwheels – “Caterpillars”
Veggies – “Rabbit Food”

I also made two different punches

One makes you taller – Mad Hatter Partea Punch”
One makes you smaller – Cheshire Cat Lemonade

It was all about the details for this party. Even the red and white “roses” tree. Used a topiary tree and covered the bottom with a tablecloth and added the roses. Pretty simple. It did light up, but it was pretty bright outside so it wasn’t needed.

Inside ONEderland

This was probably my favorite area. I wanted a tea party style table for the desserts, because I didn’t want to put the cake and desserts outside. I ordered the balloon DIY garland from Amazon and my MIL came the day before and helped me set it up, which I’m so glad she did! We were up til 3am but it was so worth it! The kit I purchased is out of stock, but depending on the color scheme you are wanting to go with, there are so many option to choose from.

I’ve had the green backdrop from previous events but it was perfect to bring out and use again. I created a banner and it really popped the backdrop and went well with the balloons.

The cake

The infamous Alice in Wonderland tea party cake. I knew I wanted that to be the cake and I had a small smash cake made for Addy. The cake was definitely as good as it looked and Addy thoroughly enjoyed her cake!

We also had themed cookies made and they were so perfect! I even made a black and white damask cake stand that looked great on the table. I couldn’t find the one I wanted at the right price, so I created one. Cake and Cookies were made by Sweet Things Bakery!

Here are some of the other decorations on the table.

I wanted to create just a random table full of things tea party related and I loved the black and white runner. The blue ruffled table skirt is from Oriental Trading.

The mug mini cake stands were just a cute added touch to the table. I purchased the mugs and plates from Good Will and glued them together.

Lastly, I wanted to create something for her milestone photos. I saw an idea where they used an easel, however this party was on a budget, so I used Aeryn’s easel. I decorated it and just added rope, some cutouts, and pins.

Every detail in this party was so intentional and it literally came out exactly how I pictured it! This was probably the most stress free party that I have planned thus far!

Happy 1st Birthday Addysn!