Hannah's 1st birthday party

 

We hosted a small family party to celebrate Hannah's first birthday earlier this month, so of course I wanted to document it here. I should warn you that this post isn't filled with pin-worthy pictures of party decor. Despite my best intentions, our summer has been so busy that we ran out of time - and energy - for party planning (DIY-ing a patio days before the party probably didn't help). The good news is that you can still put on a pretty fun party without fabulous decorations and a perfectly styled food table ;)

 

In fact, the only decoration we had was this garland I made using streamers and gold ribbon (I bought balloons, but forgot to blow any up!).

 

 

I'd planned for it to be twice as long, but I left it to the last minute and ran out of time. It's still hanging - through wind and rain - so it's worth the time investment if you can use it for multiple events (I think). Plus, it doubles as a great photo backdrop.

 

We didn't manage to capture a shot of all three of us smiling, but I thought this one of Adam's brother and his wife (they got married over the weekend - congrats guys!) turned out pretty cute.



 

Since the party tooks place in the afternoon, we served up salads, sandwiches, chips and watermelon. Adam really outdid himself, baking two pies (blueberry-peach and banana cream) AND cupcakes.

 



 

The chickpea and edamame salad (I tweaked the ratios a bit, but you can find the recipe here) is so, so yummy. I also made a garden salad with red cabbage and walnuts, and spicy egg salad on argula (the spice comes from a healthy pinch of paprika). My mom made cucumber, dill and cream cheese sandwiches (not pictured) that are always a big hit at parties, and Adam made a really tasty BBQ sandwich with vegetarian chicken, a vinagrette coleslaw and blue cheese mayo. In addition to water and juice for the kids, we had beer, wine and made-to-order spritzers on offer (I use white wine, ruby red grapefruit juice and club soda).



 

The table and chairs are hand-me-downs from my mom until we figure out something more permanent (I'm thinking something like this), but they were perfect for the party. We scattered some planters filled with brightly-coloured impatiens around the patio to add some cheer. Now I'm really wishing I filled up those balloons, but oh well!

 

The party had several rain interruptions, and when it really started to come down we moved everything inside to open presents. Hannah was completely spoiled by her family - including those who couldn't make it to the party - and yes, the musical bubbles octopus has been a major hit during bathtime ;)

 

 

Luckily the weather cleared up again and we were able to get back outside for a bit.

 

 

We'd set up some of our patio furniture on the side lawn for games and Adam's nephews quickly organized some bocce ball.

Hannah had to take a nap toward the end of her party, so most of the guests had gone home by the time she woke up and could enjoy her first ever cupcake. I had a candle for her, but I thought it might be too much for someone who'd just woken up, so we presented her cupcake rather unceremoniously.

 

Not to worry - she still loved it! Adam captured a pretty funny video of her literally stuffing her face; I think he's looking forward to baking her future treats!

Icing first, obviously :)

 

I wish the weather had cooperated a bit more, but all in all it was a great afternoon. Happy 1st birthday Hannah - I can't believe it's already come and gone!