Pinky in Pink
I mentioned in one of my last posts, 9 Month Check Up that Pinky will be turning a year old in less than three months. Today officially marks her 10 Month Birthday, so now she will be a year old in exactly two months!!!
Daddy and I are still debating on whether to have a big shindig on the weekend of her actual birthday in January, and then having a smaller celebration for her Half Birthday in July or vice versa! Mommy and Daddy want to give Pinky the celebration she deserves. So, right now we are leaning more towards the latter, waiting to have a big celebration for Pinky’s Half Birthday and doing a more intimate gathering on her actual birthday.
The benefits of waiting until the Summer are:
- We have more time to save money
- We won’t be celebrating right after the holidays
- We have more time to plan
- We can host it the party outdoors and have more options
Oh…decisions, decisions. In order to not go crazy about the First Birthday debate I decided to start on the FUN stuff…looking for inspiration and conducting research on Pinky’s theme options.
Right now, Pinky is very fond of Elmo and Kai-Lan. These are two very different and fun characters so it is hard to choose one to be Pinky’s co-host
I started by searching for some ideas online. I thought to myself “why reinvent the wheel when there are a lot of great ideas out there to at least get the wheels in my mommy brain turning?” My only criteria for planning Pinky’s First Birthday, and any birthday after that, are classy DIY-friendly projects, nothing cheesy and budget friendly! I love DIY party projects (i.e. favors, decor, invites, etc.) because they’re fun, you get to put your own creative spin on things, you have a sense of accomplishment and sometimes it saves you money. I’ll just need to give myself, and my helpers, ample planning and production time. Anyway, I am a huge fan of inspiration boards and I’m excited to share my findings with you.
Pinky is crazy about Elmo right now, the first inspiration board is for a Sesame Street Birthday Theme Party. I found this one on Kami Buchanan Custom Designs. Although Pinky loves Elmo, I want to refrain from having a strictly “Elmo” Theme. When I think of Sesame Street, I think of fun, bright, primary colors. This inspiration board displays examples of how to feature all of the characters in a fun way. I especially love the different color Jones’ Sodas. and the candy bar. Unfortunately, Pinky won’t be able to enjoy these as much as we will.
I found another Mom Blogger named Staci who hosted a Sesame Street Theme Birthday Party for her kids earlier this year. She was very successful and creative in her design and execution! Staci has a few different posts to highlight each element so feel free to click here to see all of her ideas.
The Second inspiration board is for a Kai-Lan Theme Birthday that I found on TinyPrints.com. Pinky doesn’t watch Ni Hao Kai-Lan as much she watches Sesame Street, but for some reason she loves her character. Remember the band-aid indecent? If not, read about it here. Pinky does have a little Chinese descent from her Daddy’s side, so maybe she can relate to Kai-Lan in that way. After all they both have dark hair and light skin. Bottom line, Pinky goes crazy when she sees her face. My favorite thing on this inspiration board is the cake! It is so cute and it would make an amazing focal point, if it were a three-tier. The invites are also really simple and would a fun DIY project.
Some other fun finds were:
- Sesame Street Alphabet Cricut Cartridge. If you have ever used a Cricut, it can be addicting, but the cartridges can be pretty pricey. This cartridge would be a great investment because it can be used for teaching ABC’s, creating invitations and even making decorations. It’s not as expensive as some of the other one’s available and it follows the Sesame Street Theme!
- Ni Hao, Kai-Lan Party Plan. This website featured everything from Kai-Lan party plates, invitations, decorations, and even game ideas!
- Nick Jr. Crafts for Ni Hao, Kai-Lan. This is a great resource for fun crafts that highlight your child’s favorite Nickelodeon characters.
No matter what we decide to do to celebrate Pinky’s First Birthday I just want her to know that she is loved by many people. In the end, any celebration will provide great photo ops and memories that will last a lifetime, and that’s all we really want.
Happy 10 Months Pinky! Mommy & Daddy Love YOU!