Bouncy Bouncy Fun!

For Zach's first birthday party, I wanted to do something that represented him and things and he enjoys. Since he can't 'talk' and tell me what he wanted to do for his birthday, I decided to think of things that he enjoys. One of his favorite toys is Tigger. When you push his foot, he starts bouncing up and down and singing. This toy has been a favorite of his from very early on, and still brings smiles and laughs to his face. So, we decided on a Tigger-themed birthday party.

Invitations
I found a fun idea for a Tigger-themed invitation online, so I recreated it on my own computer, changed the wording around a bit, printed them out at Fedex Office and mailed them off, with a picture of Zach.

Decorations
I started researching [going on Pinterest] to get some inspiration. I did not want to make the color scheme all orange and black because that just shouted Halloween to me. While browsing through Hobby Lobby one day (can I just say that I LOVE that I live near a Hobby Lobby now!) my sister came across this amazing fabric for a table runner. That fabric became the color scheme and baseboard for the decorations for the party: blue, orange, gray, white.

I wanted the decorations to be special and fun but not too budget busting. [I had all intentions of it to be a cost-effective party but things did not go as planned and were a tad more expensive than planned. Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who supported me and said, "He only turns one, once!]

The mantle focal point I had the idea to use the Tigger quote that everyone knows: "The most wonderful thing about Tigger is that I'm the only one!" Instead, I wanted to personalize it to Zach. So I went to my computer and typed up a poster- "The most wonderful thing about ZACH, is I'm the only one!" I also found another Tigger quote that I thought was so special and true- "Once in a while someone amazing comes along... and here I am!" I went to Fedex Office to have them printed them out larger and they were actually able to turn them into larger posters for me! I also framed a picture of Zach [it was going to be a picture of him with his Tigger, but the day I tried taking the pictures he was having a bad hair day and it was incredibly hard to get a very active baby to stay still for a picture. I decided to just use a cute one of him that I had when we went to the Daffodil Festival.] The mantle display was complete with a stuffed animal Tigger, and a Happy Birthday Zach banner made with orange, blue, and white paper and a cricut.

The backdrop for the tablescape was simply orange, blue and white streamers, twisted down the wall. They were going to be topped off with large bunches of balloons, but they balloons were not sticking to the wall. After many attempts, and it pushing 2:00am, my sister and I called it quits with the balloons. I had made a monthly picture banner of Zach that I had hanging elsewhere. I decided to bring that over to the streamer wall to have it be more attention-grabbing. I think it turned out super-cute as is!

 

Last, but not least, was the ribbon garland for Zach's high chair. I used six different orange and blue ribbons to create the fun garland that was great for his cake smash. 

Food
I probably had the most fun with the food. Thank you for pinterest, because you can find all sorts of fun ideas on there! For the food, I went with more of a Hundred Acre Wood/ Winne the Pooh theme. To start, there were:

Hundred Acre Wood Acorns [Nutter butter bites, kisses and mini chocolate chips]

 

Pooh Bear Beehive Cupcakes (my personal favorite!)
[Chocolate cupcakes in cute liners, yellow frosting piped to with a swirl to look like a beehive and sugar bees- found at Walmart]

Tigger Tails [pretzel rods dipped in orange candy melts, drizzled with chocolate]

Rabbit's Garden & Spinach Dip
[Carrots, cauliflower, bell peppers, broccoli, & cucumbers cutely displayed in terracotta pots with kale as a filler]

Christopher Robin's Turkey Sandwiches [needed a main lunch dish!]

 
Kanga and Roo's Fruit Skewers with Strawberry Fruit Dip
[because all of the food was mainly desserts and I needed more well-rounded meal!]

Piglet's Punch
[I was going to make a pink punch but I couldn't find all the ingredients at the store. I ended up just buying Raspberry Ginger Ale that was the perfect pink color- with fun orange/white paper straws!]

Tigger Cake with a Surprise Center & Cupcake for the Cake Smash

The Party
We were so blessed to have Zach's Nana and Grandpa, lots of cousins and some Aunts and Uncles come to his party! We had a great time, eating, opening presents, socializing and watching him enjoy his cupcake. Zach has so many people who love him and we are so thankful that some (not everyone) could be here to celebrate him turning one! His birthday party was a big success and he has enjoyed playing with all of his new toys!

Happy Birthday Zach!