Joel's 1st birthday!! (Wild Things Theme)

Today we celebrated our littlest man turning 1 with family and friends!  He officially became of age last week, but today was the big shebang.  Earlier this year, I actually WON a birthday party package from a fun local playground place-- they sell swing sets and trampolines and allow open play throughout the year along with birthday celebrations. (Think huge warehouse of swing sets.)  The party package included the time there, and then we could bring in table decor and whatever food we wanted. And Hallelujah!! --that meant that I didn't have to scrub our house down for people to come over. Ha!

Here's the down and dirty on his party-- it really was a super fun theme!  Maybe you'll want to throw a wild things party too.

The invitation purchased from Etsy's Katie Did Designs here.

Joel's super fun "Wild 1" birthday shirt purchased from Etsy here at Shop The Southern Bow.

Him and his "Nana!"

I crocheted Joel's crown (see invite picture, he wouldn't keep it on at the party) and I also made the tissue paper garlands using this YouTube tutorial.  The really cute 8x10 themed pictures came from a link over here on this site and after I downloaded them, I had them printed by Costco.

Crowns in place of party hats

We had a copy of the "Where the Wild Things Are" book out for folks to sign and write a sweet message to Joel on his birthday.  It will be a keepsake that we'll have for years to come. He is SO loved!

I love the way his cake and cookie treats came out! I was in a rush to get them done after vacation.  I found great cookie cutters from Sweet Savanna on Etsy. (His birth announcement we had on display was made last year and ordered from Vintage Sweet Design on Etsy.)

Kiddo has no idea how spoiled he is!  Parties are SO fun for little ones because they are completely oblivious to all that is going on.  He wondered around the warehouse checking out all of the playground equipment.  The trampolines and the basketballs were his favorite.  He got to open presents which consisted mostly of him grabbing tissue paper and running away and then he made a complete and total MESS of his smash cake.  He liked playing with it, smashing it, and throwing it on the ground better than he liked eating it. 

This kid sure is loved!  We are so blessed to have such supportive families nearby to come to our kid's parties.   Another year of fun memories up ahead for this "wild 1!"  Happy birthday Joel!