I can’t believe my little guy is one. It seems like just yesterday we brought him home and we didn’t know quite what to do with him or ourselves. I just remember looking at my son and thinking that he was a dream, and questioning if I was really a mom now.

Owen has grown into one amazing toddler, who is full of personality and love. He has an infectious smile that makes his big blue eyes sparkle and brings so much joy to our family. I love him more than he will ever know and I wanted his first birthday party to be really special.

I have been in love with the fox trend and Owen has been styling this winter with his fox gear. So, I knew I wanted him to have a Mr. Foxy Fox birthday bash. We had an amazing celebration and these are a few of my party must-haves that I would do again in a heartbeat for our next child.

5 Must-Haves For First Birthday Parties 

1. The Smashin’ Of The Cake
This is my favorite part of any first birthday party. It is so much fun seeing the birthday party girl or boy dig into their first birthday cake. My mom and I made a confetti cake with cream cheese frosting that was delicious. I decorated the cake with two paper birch straws, a fox cupcake topper, and a pennant banner that said “one”. I loved how the cake turned out and it was super easy.

2. Monthly Milestone Pictures
If you took monthly pictures of your son or daughter, you have to feature these at your party. My husband and I had so much fun looking back at the pictures and reminiscing about how much Owen has changed throughout the year. All of our party guests also enjoyed looking at the pictures. I featured Owen’s pictures by ordering a blank Mr. Foxy Fox garland banner, and cutting 4×6 pictures to 3×5 and gluing the pictures on to the garland banner circles.

3. High Chair Décor
The birthday girl or boy deserves to feel extra special on their big day. Decorating his or hers chair with a high chair banner, balloons, and birthday hat is the perfect way to accomplish this. High chair decorations are also great photo ops with the birthday boy or girl.

4. Themed Treats For Your Guests
I went with a s’more theme to match the fox party. I found some amazing s’more recipes on Pinterest, and decided to tackle making peanut butter s’more cups and s’more bars. The s’more bars were super easy to make, but the s’more cups took a little longer and were a little more work. Make sure to allow plenty of time to make the food for the party, this took way longer than I imagined. Another tip is to decorate your treats with Mr. Foxy Fox cupcake picks, blank address labels, circle labels or tags. This is a super easy way to add some décor to your party.

5. Signs Galore
I ordered the Mr. Foxy Fox table decorating kit and was able to use it for so many decorating items besides just centerpieces. I used the confetti to make food signs and a birthday wish sign (each of the guests left a birthday wish for Owen to read when he turns 18). I used the 2 scalloped circle centerpieces on our food tables and the accordion-folded centerpiece on the main dining table. The table decorating kits are multifunctional and an amazing deal for how much you can decorate using them.

One last tip…enjoy the day and don’t get stressed out. Your little one only turns one once. Enjoy every minute of their first birthday party. Happy Planning.

Psst…Want to see more of Owen’s first birthday pictures? Check out our Google+ album.