Luca's safari first birthday!

Ok, I'm back! Luca's birthday has come and gone, and I still can't believe he's a year old. We celebrated with friends and family in our home, and I thought I might share the photos! Most of the decorations were DIY, as I had a little free time on my hands! I guess bed rest came at a good time. The Friday before Luca's party I had a doctor's appointment and was given the ok to move around a little bit- and that was SO nice.

 

Luca's entire first year has sort of had a safari theme. His nursery (you can see that here), his Halloween costume (here), and his love of animals inspired me to continue this theme for his birthday party.

 

We used many of the animals from his nursery as decorations for his party- including the giraffe! Guests were greeted by the giraffe at our front door.

 

I had a hard time finding an animal print birthday hat, so I just made one with zebra print wrapping paper, a regular party hat, and a little pom pom on top!

It was so much fun gathering Luca's photos for this collage of his growth. I have to admit it's so hard to even imagine him weighing 5 pounds! I don't think I ever really realized how small he was.

We went with simple finger foods.

 cheetah cheese and crackers, jungle vegetation

I ordered cupcakes for guests (both mini and regular size), and had a cake made for Luca. I also found zebra marshmallows and used simple raffia and zebra streamers to decorate the watering hole.

 

The big hit of the party- the cupcakes made by Renee of The Queens Cups! We chose a variety of flavors, and guests raved about them.

The table was decorated with a few things I already had- baskets and animals from Luca's nursery.

 

Feed the animals!

 

 

Safari sandwiches

Gorilla grapes and baboon butter- peanut butter, smashed banana, and mini chocolate chips served with regular and mini graham crackers (another big hit)!

A lot of my time on the couch the past few weeks was dedicated to making these banners using simple card stock from Michael's (purchased in a packet) and a stencil. It took a bit of time, but it was a relatively easy DIY.

On the way out guests were given a favor bag- girls zebra print, and boys giraffe print!

Girl's version of the favor bag- animal print maraca, animal crackers, and Luca's favorite instrument- a kazoo! There were three different animal prints and each was so cute- you'll probably see many pictures of Luca playing with them- he's a little obsessed with banging and loud noises lately!

Side note- we keep a kazoo at Luca's changing table to distract him. He loves playing it, and loves watching us play. Just a tip if you have a wiggle worm like Luca!

 

We had quite a few kids, so I ordered blank masks and had kids color their own masks with crayons.

 

 

 Luca's big birthday present from us was a play tent with tunnel. Once he got used to the tunnel, he had SO much fun with his cousins and friends following each other in and out of the tent and tunnel.

 

 

It was surprisingly difficult to find a custom t-shirt with the zebra print I wanted. I designed this shirt and had etsy designer Polka Dot Pair create it for me- it was perfect!

 

Luca with his grandmothers! What a treat to have them both here for his celebration!

We grabbed a family shot before Luca dove into his cake!


And the cake... so I chose a zebra print, and it made a black mess all over our teeth and face! I'm glad I only had this cake for Luca and not for the other guests!

"You mean it's ok that I eat this sweet treat? OK!"

 

The birthday boy! What a great celebration of such a wonderful little guy- we love you Luca!

Invitations: Zazzle
Balloons: Birthday Express
Custom birthday shirt: Etsy shop Polka Dot Pair
Cake: Walmart!
Cupcakes: The Queens Cups
Plates/cups/napkins: Party City
Safari tent with tunnel: Pacific Play Tents- amazon
Favors- animal print maraca and kazoo, cupcake picks (used in sandwiches): Birthday Direct