I love planning birthday parties. I love the little details, and celebrating their little personalities and who they are at this moment in time. I love to pick a theme based on their interests at the moment. Of course, I really love first birthdays because I usually get freedom to pick the theme myself! (Not that I don’t love Pokémon or Paw Patrol parties!!!)
I didn’t think I could love a party theme more than the Peanuts Gang themed 1st birthday I did for Stafford, but this sister bear party might just top it! I chose a sister bear theme because that’s what I call her…sister bear. When you have three big brothers, sister bear just fits.
There’s a lot of really cute bear themed birthday party inspiration on Pinterest, but I didn’t find too much specifically for a girl. So I took some of my favorite ideas and gave them a girly twist.
I chose pink, peach and gold as my colors and designed a little bear image to use for cupcake toppers and printables. I added in balloons, a book, her bear and pictures for decor. You can’t do a first birthday without lots of pictures of all the milestones!
For lunch we served soup, salad and sandwiches for the adults and bear pizzas for the kids. It was a fun activity to make the bear pizzas with my nieces. The kids also got their choice of beverage served in these fun bear bottles.
These little bear cookies really stole the show. They were super easy…check this site out for directions.
For the smash cake and cupcakes I used this chocolate cake recipe. Cake isn’t my top dessert choice, but this cake was actually delicious, almost a cross between a cake and a brownie. I baked the smash cake in 4” silicone pans and attempted a naked cake look.
Ainsley didn’t seem to mind that it wasn’t coated in icing. She gave us a laugh when she picked it up, but she played way more than she ate.
Ainsley’s bear ears were a total diy. I wrapped a headband with felt and the sewed felt and fake fur together to make ears. I made the party hat with card stock and tulle. I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out! And she even kept it on for a good chunk of the party!
It was so fun to celebrate our sister bear and to be honest I’m sad it’s over! It was a lot of fun to put together!
Photo credits go to www.erikalandesphotography.com
