Jack Turn’s 1
Being raised in a Filipino family- family parties are a norm. I look at my first-year birthday party my mother put together and it mirrored a mini wedding. Jack turning one in June in California, meant a summer birthday. I was in between a park, a party hall, and a restaurant. I figured have the party at my childhood home was most memorable, and classic. I think there is something special about my first born having his first5 birthday at the house that brought all my family memories. I knew no matter what the month would bring me terrible heat, so I figured I had to just go with it. At my parents’ house I cou8ld bring in the restaurant, entertainment, and have it inside and outside.
As plans started to come together I thought about what theme to celebrate Jacks birthday as, and concluded that it had to be what he loved and gets most excited about. The one stuffed animal Jack sleeps with and likes to play with is Elmo and characters from the sesame street. So naturally bringing this to life was the perfect theme for his first-year birthday. Then I thought about the kids of the moms that would possibly attend, they would love sesame street, as who doesn’t love Big Bird, or Elmo. As the party started to come together, I thought of the parents and the heat that was going to agonize us all, while we celebrate a one year old.
Therefore, elements of the party were crucial for a fun time! I wanted instead of ordering a ton of food, I needed something for those who attended to choose from, while being delicious. So, a food truck was the right way to go. I wanted fun food for kids and parents. So, hamburgers, veggie burgers. Fries, salad, hot dogs seemed fitting. I couldn’t stop there because I knew some would bring infants, new toddlers, and may not like the food truck choice, so I ordered 30 pizzas from Dominos and created snack platters with veggies and fruits out of Sesame Street characters. Thank goodness for Pinterest.
For the invite process I sent hard invitations out to all, and an electronic version. I come from the old-school era where getting an invitation by hand or in the mail is exciting and a great paper reminder to reference to. The invitations were made from Zazzle. We invited 100 people and about 75 attended. I got all party décor from Party Supply and Etsy. Sesame Street theme was very easy to find. Streamers, balloons, you name it- they have it and I bought it.
Entertainment was fun to plan. I used the Giggle Factory for all. I booked with them balloon tricks to start out the party, and face painting to end. I booked Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster for the middle of the party, and for the cake presentation. Speaking of cake, I used Roobina’s Cake Designer and created a 20lb Elmo Cake. It reminded me of my wedding cake with vanilla and strawberry filling. We didn’t even go through half of the cake. Jack loved it.
We had a bloody Mary and rose bar, I didn’t hire a bartender because I wanted people to feel free to go up and make what they wanted. I did however get a full-blown DJ and DJ table. Music is important to me, and I wanted to be able to change the music by request from kids tunes to adult requests. I also thought it was important for the DJ to announce Jack’s blowing out of the candle so everyone could sing to him. That was probably my favorite moment.
For the setting, I called upon Manny’s Rentals in Arcadia- this guy was awesome! I mean helpful and affordable. This is where I will tell you that Yelp helps with rentals. Manny delivered the bounce house, 20x 20 tent which covered half of my parents’ tennis court, to house all the tables and chairs for guests to sit and eat. Manny delivered all, set the rentals, and picked up for an affordable amount. That bounce house was everything, and perfect for the toddler and school aged kids who attended.
Inside I removed the furniture in my parents living room to create a crawl area for the infants and new moms. I decorated it with big mallor balloons in Jack’s name. I decorated the fire place with a series of pictures of Jack from birth to one years old. I loved this because the framing of this display was all sesame street. I also loved showing everyone the pictures of Jack taken through the months of growth. I also loved giving these copies to his grandma after the party ended. I decorated the gift table with balloons from Wild Child. Wild Child also provided the balloon garland around the exterior of the tennis court. They are spectacular. Their balloon designs are worth their prices. But book in advance for delivery.
On my parents’ pool table in the living room was my favorite part of the party- Jack’s dessert table. It was created by a woman recommended to me by one of my event producers, Posh Parties by Alenoush, Aylin Desserts. This baker is fantastic! She was affordable, and well look what she created for the table. Sesame Street rice crispies, madeleines, pretzel sticks, and more… just fantastic.
For photography, I used none other than Alissa Noelle Photography. Something special is that Alissa has been shooting Jack since the day he came home from the hospital, thus for her to shoot his first birthday meant the world to me.
Lastly, Jack’s birthday was the day before Father’s Day so I figured I would get the Dad’s a present, or the moms who attended a present to give their husbands. Ok, I just wanted to give everyone a special gift for coming so I gifted each who came a gift box from thoughtfully.com – literally the perfect gift sets for all. This brand is the only brand I recommend for thoughtful gifting to others.
Special moments of the party that will never be forgotten are these:
- My sisters all in one place- helping me get Jack prepared to blow out his first ever candle.
- All the mother’s I started mommy and me with came and supported Jack.
- My husband’s mother was there in person to celebrate with her grandson.
- My highschool best friends came with their kids- crazy to see and special to know we have that bond.
- Friends and family drove far and weathered the heat for my son, I am lucky.
- Jack’s response when he first saw Elmo- literally priceless, and unforgettable.
- The moments of breaking down the party and knowing that I have such good people in my life, and I am blessed to have been able to pull this off with the great party vendors that helped.
- The family I created with my husband is more real than ever, and our boy is getting bigger- healthy and beautifully.
Thank you God.
