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Writer's pictureJessica Young

Alice in ONE-derland Themed Birthday

When it comes to planning your little one's 1st Birthday, you can find yourself going "down the rabbit hole". But this 1st Birthday themed party is a rabbit hole you don't mind going down.



Choosing a theme when there are so many great ideas out there can be overwhelming. Think about what you already have in your attic or left over from previous parties that could help take the burden off of having to come out of pocket for all new supplies. If you are able to rent some supplies, go ahead and do that or borrow what you can. There are some supplies you can invest in because they can have multipurpose use.


“Every adventure requires a first step”. - Cheshire Cat

Invitations


Invitations nowadays can be sent via text message, email, Evite, Facebook etc. We went the text message route but also had a few printed so we could mail to those guests who aren't quite up to date with technology and so we could save a couple and hand out for those who wanted to have as a keepsake. Be sure when planning the time of the party that you take into consideration your little one's nap time schedule. We scheduled ours to where she would just be waking up about 30 minutes after the start time because let's be honest, no one shows up on time. It worked out perfectly.

Here are just a couple of options to choose from:

When deciding on which invitation to go with, picking one that has multiple editable items such as Thank You's, Signs, Labels etc. can really help make the planning and decorations a little less hectic. We also added on ours a link or name of the list that we created on Amazon for our little one's birthday gift ideas. Some would think this is tacky but others enjoyed getting something from the list because it was something we wanted and was less work for them to have to try and find something. Also, I didn't have people asking me what size or what was she into, they just simply went to the list and purchased. Also, it kept track of who bought what for when we did Thank You's.


Decorations


Finding decorations from either Amazon, Etsy, or Wal-Mart is a great place to start, but another even easier place to start is your own home collection. When it comes to teapots and teacups be sure to not use anything of sentimental value in case it gets broken. You can also find decorations at local garage sale, or even your grandmother's attic. The gaudier the better when it comes to this theme. Mismatching fortunately works for this party theme.

These character props on the left were hand made by a vendor from Etsy.com. They are around 2 feet tall and can be used outdoors by attaching skewers to the back and securing with a hot glue gun. Glue the skewers so that the pointy ends are near the bottom so they can pierce the ground should you choose to set them outside (weather permitting).


You want to utilize all rooms that guests will be going into as a chance to be transformed into the "Wonderland" that they can experience. Simple character cutouts and/or party props can be used on your green hedging backdrop, or you can even use double sided tape to randomly place them throughout the house. Another great indoor/outdoor decoration you can incorporate is mushroom lanterns that can be hung from tree limbs or even from chandeliers.

Activities

Nothing like a little game of inflatable ring toss. Flamingos are part of the Wonderland family and are part of the humor in the classic story. This game you can use the inflatable flamingos for a fun game of "Flamingo Ring Toss".


When the weather allows for it, try and have a few activities set up outside for the kids and adults. I mean who doesn't love Corn Hole? Purchase or even borrow Red and Black bags to incorporate the theme with the game. You can even call it "Down the Rabbit Corn Hole".

Another game that adults and kids can both play together is a good ole game of Go Fish. A way to incorporate it into the theme is calling it "Queen of Hearts Go Fish" and by using jumbo playing cards.


For those who want to be more on the creative side by using the activity with an end product as part of your guests' party favor that they are able to take home with them. Set aside a folding table for this fun indoor or outdoor activity. Below are just a few options that your guests can decorate themselves.

Decorate Your Own: Teapot, Wooden Unfinished Frames, Mushroom, or Teacup was definitely a hit.

A few items that you will need to help make this successful are Paint Brushes, Paint Palettes, Acrylic Paint, and acrylic paint pens. Using a light blue tablecloth helps keep paint off the table while staying within theme.

Food

Being from Southern Louisiana (SoLA) we have so many seafood and Cajun food options that you would think maybe wouldn't quite work with this theme but using Teapot and Teacup Place Holders I printed out food labels and used play on words when naming the foods. The cupcakes we actually bought from the store because getting an icing to be deep red or deep blue can be hard when doing at home. I used Black and White Cupcake Wrappers, assorted cupcake toppers, teapot cupcake toppers and white M&M candies to make the cupcakes resemble mushrooms.


Labels for water bottles are an option or just simple clear cups. These perfectly made cookies can be used as a keepsake or can be eaten. If you decide to forgo the party favors to save money this is a great way to incorporate a food item as a keepsake/party favor.


Dress In Theme

Being in theme is not just for the decorations, but also for the parent/parents and of course birthday boy/girl. We kept it pretty simple for Dad and ended up with wearing a King of Spades T-Shirt and I ended up wearing a Queen of Hearts T-Shirt, along with a black tulle skirt with red hearts, a Queen of Hearts playing card gold plated necklace.


There are so many cute options for outfits when it comes to this theme that it can be hard to pick just one. One thing to consider is a pre-smash cake outfit that you can easily change out of for smash cake time. There are different shades of colors that the Alice in ONEderland theme has such as leaning more towards the red, black, white and blue color scheme which would have you picking different decorations and/or outfits. Then there is the dark or light pink, brown, cream and light blue color scheme that you can go with. Depending on which color scheme you go with there are many different outfits to choose from and these are just a few...


The Cake & Smash Cake

The Alice in Wonderland cake is maybe one of the most iconic cakes. Although looks are very important, having a cake that is both beautiful and delicious, well that just icing on the cake. I wanted the Smash Cake to be the same iconic cake just a smaller size. My cousin was able to make the cake with little to no fondant icing. This cake can even be done by someone with little to no baking experience. There are many amazing designs out there to choose from so there is no one cake fits all but be sure it is worthy of eating. If you want to have a banner for the highchair while your little one tears into their smash cake this highchair banner is what we used but you will need to be sure to secure it with tape. Don't forget to use your gaudy small floral plates for serving cake.

Party Favors

Party Favors are probably my favorite part of throwing a party. I tend to keep something from every event for sentimental reasons. Gifts are my love language so maybe it's my way of showing those who came to celebrate with me that I appreciate them for taking the time to come and celebrate with me. Set aside and area for your party favors or have someone help hand them out so your guests don't leave without them. Using a boy or girl sticker on the bottom of the box will allow you to be sure to handout the right party favor box to the right kid. You can set out this cute sign if you have party favors that you want the guests to be able to grab and go, otherwise set out the sign only when someone is able to monitor who gets what box. Since we had an "adult" party favor we used the sign by the adult party favor so they would know to take them before leaving. The Skeleton Key I found is also a bottle opener which is something the adults can use. I placed on the back of the tags a few character stickers.

When it comes to putting your party favors together it is best to see what you have and spread it all out and decide how many of each item you want in a box, based off of your estimated guest lists and of course adding a few extras just in case a few unexpected guests come. I used a solid white party favor box since I was putting a few items in it and wanted to also use the personalized label I purchased to make it extra special. I calculated how many kids were most likely coming and then separated out the items by boy or girl favors. In the box I added a pair of Cute Socks that were Alice in Wonderland themed. In additional to the socks, I added an inflatable Flamingo Drink Floatie, an assortment of stickers, a bag of tea that had the Chesshire Cat on it and lastly, I added a few charms. Charms add that special touch to the party favor box that you could incorporate into future birthdays as a tradition.

Close up the party favor box and use clear fish line to tie it shut. You may have to tape it shut with thin double-sided tape and use the clear fish line to guarantee it stays closed. Attaching a large key to the fish line for that final touch can really make it next level and bring the theme full circle.


Your Wonderland

Remember this day is not just about your little one, but a big day for you as well. Your little one will only be ONE once so take it all in and be sure you designate someone to taking photos. Even two people taking photos is great, so you are able to be in the moment and are able to be in pictures instead of just behind the camera. Asking someone or a couple of people to help pick up during the party so there isn't so much for you to do when everyone leaves will allow you to enjoy the party and it makes your guests feel more involved. The people who are there are there to show their love and happiness for the past year of having your little one in their life in some way.

Balloons and Accessories (links below)

Table Decorations (links below)

Doorway and House Decorations (links below)

Special Items


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