Aluna’s First Birthday! - Party Ideas
Aluna turned ONE on June 21st, so crazy! Since we are splitting time between Los Angeles and Texas, we had a party in both places. Instead of hiring someone, I ended up doing everything myself with the help from my friends and family: getting my own bouncy castle, making my own ball pit, and making my own “healthy” smash cake! In L.A., I knew I wanted it to be fun for the kids since I have tons of friends with youngins', and it was such a blast that the parents told me their kiddos were crying when they said they had to leave! Here are some of the fun things for all the kiddos ages 0-4!
Bubble Machine: Such a hit with the kiddos and really brings the FUN! I got this plug in one from Amazon that had two speeds. I had fill it up probably every 45 minutes, so keep that in mind!
Bouncy Castle : A bouncy castle is always a big hit! Take into account how much space you have and the ages of the kids that are going to be on it. They make different sizes and they all have different weight requirements
RENT: Search for a place a place that will rent them. Most will have the traditional “kid colors” for pretty cheap, if you aren’t concerned about colors. If you are looking for a “pastel one”, know that you are going to pay a premium! In L.A., it was minimum $500 to rent!
BUY: I really wanted a “pretty one” and one that we could use again at some point, so I ended up ordering the Play Smol 8x8, which happened to be in stock. These have been made famous by Kim Kardashian sharing her rainbow one. They are always on pre-order, so plan ahead if you want one of these beautiful ones! Otherwise, you can find one from Bounceland on Amazon!
Ball Pit: I think the kiddos played in the ball pit more than they did the bouncy castle! We had a donut theme, so we ended up adding some blow up donuts in them.
RENT: This is the same as the bouncy castle, where you can find then for rentals, with prices varying between traditional colors and pastels.
BUY: We made our own by buying an inflatable kiddie pool and adding our own balls!
Inflatable Pool: Target has really cute inflatable pools by Minnidip, and I got this Sunwashed Marigold one because it matched the inflatable donuts!
Balls for Pit: Amzon typically sells them in 100 or 200 packs, I bought a pack of 1,000 pastel ones and it was the perfect amount for the inflatable pool we bought. The 100/200 packs are more ideal for one child in one of these smaller ball pits.
Decorations: Etsy will be your best friend once you pick out a theme! Ours was “Donut Grow Up” for L.A. and "First Year Around the Sun” in Texas. Balloons and the arches I bought on Amazon
Balloons: I bought this 9 foot one that was huge that you can just set on the ground with a plastic weight you can fill with water, and it was perfect. It took me and my friend about 90 minutes to set it all up, and it was great because it came with the balloon tie accessory, too! Buy a Garland Kit of the colors you want plus an electric balloon pump, and then you’ll be ready to go!
The SMASH CAKE!: So I have yet to see a kid that ACTUALLY smashes their cake! We are also. not giving Aluna any “sweets”, so we decided to make our own that was made with maple syrup and “frosted” with Greek Yogurt that I strained with a cheese cloth and topped with fruit, which is what she ended up eating most. Nic’s mom made the CUTEST “fruit cake”, too!
Smash Cake Recipe: I ended up making all the pieces of cake the night before and “frosted” it an hour before the party and then put it in the fridge. I picked this recipe because I already had all the ingredients in the pantry. The only thing I bought was parchment paper and this 5'“ pan. The recipe said you need 3 of them, but I just made one at a time and set them a side. I didn’t think 3 was necessary because I probably won’t be making more smash cakes anytime soon, I already gave mine away to my good friend who has baby with a 1 year old birthday coming up!
“Fruit Cake”: This isn’t the actual recipe, but it gives you an idea how Nic’s mom used the watermelon as the main part of the cake and then just decorated it from there!
Those were the main things that made the most out of our parties, and now I feel like a kid birthday pro! haha! Don’t sweat the small stuff….the biggest thing to remember is that what’s most important is that you and your kiddo are celebrating together <3