a “Magical One” unicorn & butterfly first birthday party (on a Modest budget)
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It was so exciting to celebrate my baby girl turning ONE whole year old – a year that just flew by, as they do. And after surviving almost a full year of 2 under 2, this mama felt like celebrating! I didn’t want to go overboard on decorations & overall expenses, but I still love pretty little details. An easy way to cut costs was to not hire a professional photographer, but in my opinion iPhone photos are just fine! I was also the florist & balloon artist : ) The most beautiful Labor Day weekend sunset made for a perfect backdrop, while the kids ran around the backyard and Rya pushed around her new baby stroller.
here’s a look at how I styled Rya’s birthday party, on a modest budget
decorations
My super handy brother & sister-in-law built this backdrop and helped me assemble the balloons. I loved the colors of this unicorn balloon from MeriMeri, and found the perfect muted pastel balloon kit on Etsy to compliment it! Custom balloons are a little pricy – so I balanced it out with some off-white confetti filled balloons from Dollar General. Honestly, the Dollar General ones didn’t pop as easily and looked great.
I thought about getting Rya a pretty new ivory romper but at the last minute decided to have her wear this hand-me-down purple tutu (I mean, how stinking cute) – and this unicorn headband was an impulse buy at Walmart!
the table
I couldn’t decide between these MeriMeri flying unicorn plates or the butterfly ones (now sold out), so I decided to do both! The unicorns were great for dessert since the usable area is a little small. I also used MeriMeri lavender cups & their gold wooden utensils. I found these iridescent tablecloths at Walmart.
I spent a total of $10 on flowers from Trader Joes (some classic white hydrangeas & lavender dahlias, which lasted almost a month!) The rest are clippings from my backyard – more hydrangeas, Queen Anne’s lace, & Japanese anemone.
food & drink
The only part of the party I hired out were desserts from Shell’s Sweets in Henrietta, NY. She did an amazing job with these cookies and the prettiest pink & gold smash cake! I made these three layer mini-cakes I found on Pinterest and added edible waffer butterflies (soo dainty and pretty). I used this recipe for vanilla cake with buttercream frosting, and added some purple natural food coloring by Supernatural.
It was a pretty small group of less than 20 people so we barbecued burgers for everyone, and served them with sweet potato fries, salad, and watermelon. It was a very easy menu to throw together since I knew I would be doing the party set-up and photos myself. I used a pre-packaged mix for the salad base, and pre-cut watermelon so everything could just be tossed into serving bowls. I was enjoying being in the moment during dinner, so I actually don’t have any pictures of it!
Rya took the daintiest little one-finger bites out of her cake!
I recently discovered Polar Seltzer has a whole line of “Seltzer Jr.” flavors just for kids, with fun names like these “Unicorn Kisses”. It was a no-brainer drink choice for this party! The kids loved the mini sized cans & fruity flavor.
party favors
Party favors would be an easy thing to do without if you’re trying to stick to a modest budget, but I found these adorable unicorn bags (now sold out) at TJ Maxx and couldn’t resist! Here’s some party favors that would be fun to throw in goodie bags – including the budget friendly unicorn rubber duckies I put in mine, along with some lollipops & kinetic sand.
I also love the idea of “Adopt a Unicorn” as a take home treat! These stuffed mini unicorns from Amazon would be perfect, and you can find lots of cute “Adopt a Unicorn” certificates and gift tags on Etsy.
a summer sunset makes the best backdrop
links to shop the look
I’d love to help make your little one’s next birthday feel special ~ visit Style My Party for party styling packages, or send me a message with any questions!
