Gianna's 1st Birthday

ONE YEAR!!! One year has come and gone and I can not believe it?? When did my little lady grow up? I could not wait to start planning this party... and I didn't! Ask my mom or husband, they have been hearing ideas for MONTHS now!! Everything came out great and our little lady was very happy to be surrounded by family and friends.

When planning a party, keep it simple! I chose the theme: Ladybug and went from there. I found plates and napkins that were adorable and picked out colors that matched to decorate the room. Everything was either pink, black or green! Party tip- keep dinner plates and cups simple and not themed, this way you can use them again and keeps the cost down. Dessert plates were ladybugs and napkins had "Gianna's First Birthday" inscribed, this was an added bonus and super cute for her scrapbook!

I am obsessed with my Cricut and put it to great use for this party. The sign above was a layered look for the letters and ladybugs, HOW CUTE ARE THEY???

I also created Gianna's Growing Garden, filled with monthly pictures to show how much she has grown over the year. Watching her face grow and change was amazing! Again, the Cricut came in handy!!

An easy addition to any party is to make a number out of cardboard and attach pictures. I may have went a little crazy, but how awesome did that turn out???

Since I love Christmas, I decided to have ornaments that said "Gianna is ONE" in a variety of colors attached to a favor bag for each family to take home. Inside was a variety of chocolates in a small gift box with decorative tissue paper. I actually found these sets at Christmas Tree Shop- SCORE!!

Last, but certainly not least, since we had a lot of people I did not want to spend hours cutting and serving cake. I went to Stew Leonard's and had them create a cupcake cake with pictures on it. I did a mixture of chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and everyone could pick their own! It was super simple, affordable and delicious! I highly recommend this idea for any party! If you're creative you could even make your own!

This party was a huge hit for our little ladybug and worth the planning that went into it! I find it easy to keep a list of ideas as you think of them and then dwindle them down as you get closer. I'm tired and ready for bed... goodnight and thanks to everyone for making today super special!! I still can't believe my baby is 1!!