This past weekend we celebrated our sweetest little man’s first birthday with a wild celebration. That is with a Wild Things Birthday party!
I initially had in mind doing a mustache party, but I didn’t want to have a bunch of black balloons everywhere (and I planned on having a lot of balloons). My next idea was a theme from the book Where the Wild Things Are. There were so many fun Pinterest ideas of it and the jungle aspect of it made for a free range color palette so a Wild Things birthday it was to be!
If I’m being honest, and that’s what I like to do here, we didn’t even own the book! Ha, but there was no need for that to be a hindrance. I went full steam ahead and by mid November 2016, I had the whole party planned out on a Google Doc. Not joking. I was stoked!
Let’s dive right into our Wild Things Birthday and I’ll share my party shopping list at the end!
Here’s the birthday invitation I designed and emailed out to everyone to save a little postage money. It’s so nice to email out your own invites because people will respond much quicker! Then you can also send out a reminder email to your list the week before the party, no harm done! Just be sure to BCC your guests so no one responds to the group. (I’ll be sharing all the prints I designed for this party next week!)
I fell in love with balloon arches way back and was determined to make one happen for this party. It was definitely work, but came out so perfect don’t you think?! I’ll be sharing a full post of how I pulled mine together next week!
Wild Things Menu:
Grapes, bananas, strawberries, pineapple, cheese sticks, goldfish, animal crackers, Sweet Maui Onion chips, baked sliders, crown shaped brownies, chocolate and vanilla Oreo cake, Elysian IPA, Coconut La Croix.
Disclaimer: I’m no cake baker! So I can’t believe these actually turned out the way they did. Keep an eye open for am honesty to dorky post of how these cakes came to be.
It’s been a huge party blessing to have such a long living area downstairs! I pushed the couches, rug, and toys down to the very end and was able to fit two Costco folding tables and a kids table (our ever durable, heavily loved, coffee table) on the other side with room for a walkway kids runway on the side.
For the kiddos I provided everyone with their very own Wild Things tail, some fuzzy craft puffs, and gold crowns.
I managed to get a tail on Reuben and he didn’t mind! The crown though.. This was the only picture I got with it in place just before it was pulled off. ;) xoxo
Reuben’s first cake smash was adorable on every level. This picture with Daddy kills me.
“We’ll eat you up we love you so!”
The party was a grand success and my heart was so full of love getting to celebrate the very thing that has filled it to overflowing this past year. Reuben is hilarious, into everything (we call him destructo), a fierce (like sometimes it hurts) cuddler, a major book worm (like his mama), a fantastic sleeper and eater, and just a general joy to be around and share with others. He definitely is my Wild Thing!
Thanks for joining our celebration! Check out the Party Shopping List below!
Gold Table cloths – Oriental Trading Co.
Tropical Leaves – Amazon
Balloons: Gold, green, silver, white
Box Wreath Garland – Oriental Trading Co.
Crowns – Amazon
Streamers – Oriental Trading Co.
Tails – Oriental Trading Co.
Crown Cookie Cutter – Amazon
Baby Leggings – Amazon
Moccasins – Old Navy
Book – Amazon
Serving ware – Craigslist/Thrift Store
Plants – Ikea
*I received free product from Oriental Trading Company to review in this post. All opinions are my own.*
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Bo says
Love it! Absolutely brilliant job! Would you be able to tell me what fonts you used for your invitation? Thanks!!!
Petite Modern Life says
Sure thing! I used AZ font, lemon biscuit, and honey cream.
Karissa says
I am planning to do this theme for my son’s 1st birthday. I would love to know how you did the vanilla and chocolate oreo cake! It looks adorable and has a birch bark look!
Petite Modern Life says
Hi Karissa! I’m sorry I never got around to posting about the cake! What I did was make a three layer cake using the enhanced box cake recipe that is the most pinned on Pinterest. I think I did Two vanilla layers and one chocolate. I made the cakes a day or two before and froze them. Day of, I thawed out the cakes a few hours, then I used an enhanced boxed (or can?) frosting recipe and smothered it between the layers and all around. My frosting job looked HORRIBLE haha! So I crushed up a box of Oreos and dusted it onto the cake by holding a handful in one open palm and brushing/flicking it onto the cake with my other hand. (I’m sure their is a technical term for this, and maybe that is just “dusting,” so forgive me if I sound completely baking illiterate!)
Chelsey Moen says
How or where did u find the pictures of the characters to use for decoration?
Petite Modern Life says
I think I did a google image search for wild things and then used photoshop to create my designs!
Tori says
How did you create the balloon arch?
Petite Modern Life says
Hi Tori, I wrote about it here!
Bonnie Sullivan says
Hi! Can you share the link again for how you made the balloon arch? I’m not finding it in this post. I’m doing a Wild One theme for my wild boy in a few weeks!
Thanks!
Bonnie
Petite Modern Life says
You bet! https://petitemodernlife.com/2017/02/24/diy-balloon-arch-tips-and-tricks/
Caitlin says
Hi! How did you make the smash cake to be that small? It is the perfect size for a little one!
Petite Modern Life says
Hi Caitlin! I made it in a tin can! for real. like a left over bean can. I baked it for about the time the box calls for cupcakes. Always check a bit earlier. Also, grease the can and coat in flour before adding the batter!
NaKisha hammon says
Where can I find these wooden rustic serving platforms/chests and the wood stump? I know you list Craigslist, but any idea what they are specifically called if I want to just order online? I love the layered look it gives for the table on top of going well with the theme.
Chrissy says
Hey there! Did you ever post the how-to for the birthday cake?
Petite Modern Life says
Hey Chrissy! I’m such a bad blogger and didn’t share the cake!! for the baby cake I baked it in a tin can and the big cake was layers of chocolate and white cakes (totally uneven!) smothered in frosting (a premade mixed with whip cream maybe?) then I crushed Oreos and dusted the whole thing to cover my terrible cake skills! Haha. I’m sure you’ll have better luck!
Rachel says
Hi Karissa! I LOVE your invitation. Do you have a version that could
be edited to share?
Petite Modern Life says
Hi Rachel! I don’t have the original invitation anymore, but I just created this smaller version in Canva (you can create an account and access/edit it for free!) and you can edit it here! All the colors, fonts, and background additions can be changed. Click the marching wild things and click “Filter” to change it to black or slightly other color. Email me at [email protected] if you have any questions! I’m happy to help :)
https://www.canva.com/design/DAEcSaaM0Ww/share/preview?token=9gKZ7DfmFFSbi-oqoz3DVA&role=EDITOR&utm_content=DAEcSaaM0Ww&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton