First Birthday Party on a Budget
First birthdays are a big deal, right?! Especially when it’s for your first little one. My amazing sis got to celebrate her son’s first birthday a little while ago, and asked if I would help throw him a first birthday party on a budget. Well, of course I said yes!!! Because I’m addicted to diy birthday decorations and couldn’t resist the opportunity to plan a party! A Grizzly Bear party non the less!!
First we had to pick a theme. And in order to understand why she picked a Grizzly Bear birthday theme, I’m gonna have to drop some cuteness on you….
My nephew growls! Not like a little gurgle, or cough, or hum, or buzz. He GROWLS!!!! Usually whenever he is excited or nervous or just feels like expressing himself. He literally will growl at you like a BEAR! It’s adorable, and made a Grizzly Bear them an obvious choice.
DIY Grizzly Bear Birthday Decorations
When planning a first birthday party on a budget it’s all about diy birthday decorations! I would suggest starting from big to small. The larger items tend to be the biggest cost, or the most time consuming projects. So if you can decide on and get started on those, you’ll be off to a good start.
Mountain Backdrop
Once we had decided on the Grizzly Bear Birthday theme, I asked myself “what comes to mind when I think of Grizzly Bears?” The answer was mountains and forests. So, since bringing an actual bear to the party or having it the wilderness itself weren’t options, the next biggest thing I could come up with for my diy birthday decorations were MOUNTAINS!
I know what you’re thinking, “mountains don’t sound like an EASY diy birthday decoration!” And you’re right, but these are! No joke guys, they are only a giant cardboard box with peaks cut across the top and spray painted. But, how cool did they turn out?!
We had a large appliance box folded up in our basement (because I’m weird like that and can’t throw out anything!) that I was saving for just such an occasion. If you don’t have your own box stash (because who, other than me, does?!) try stopping in at a local home improvement or home goods store. Most places that sell appliances, unbox the floor models or assemble customer purchases and just throw out those beautiful boxes!
Do It Yourself:
To make your mountains, cut off the bottom and top of your box. You don’t want any floppy peaks, so any crease that runs horizontally needs to be removed. Then cut along one vertical crease so your box lays flat in one long piece. Next, trace the peaks for your mountains in varying heights, and cut with a utility knife.
Pro Tip: Don’t kneel on your box while cutting to avoid impressions in the cardboard. Also, make sure to save the smaller triangles you cut out.
After that, all you need to do is spray paint your box grey, wait for it to dry, and frost the peaks with white spray paint. I put the large mountain range behind the table, and used the small triangle scraps on the table to create dimension with my mountians.
Tablecloth
Following the grey scale of the mountains, I went hunting for a tablecloth. And wouldn’t you know, I happened upon this grey plaid SHEET at the thrift store! Yep, that’s a bed sheet. Since it only cost me $1 and my other budget friendly option was a plastic throw away tablecloth, I was pretty excited about my discovery!
If you haven’t discovered the joys of thrifting yet and are considering it, check out my post on How to Thrift Like a Pro! It’s a great option, especially for a first birthday party on a budget.
Table Accents
The key to any decor project, even party decor, is balance. So don’t go too heavy on the bigger items and balance them out with smaller accents. For this Grizzly Bear party, I accented the table with small evergreen trees and chalkboards!
These adorable little trees came out of my Christmas village box, believe it or not. And they worked so well with the theme!
I also did some lettering art on chalkboards. You can get super creative with this or keep it simple. Another great option would be to use the chalkboard to display the menu.
If you don’t have chalkboard available, you can make up some cardstock banners like I did as well. The brown banner was a 8.5×11 sheet that I cut a triangle out of the bottom and used a whole punch on the top corners. I ran a piece of hemp string through it and tied the ends together. Then I looped it around the cake plate. Super easy!! The black banner is just a black 8.5×11 sheet cut into thirds the long way and the corners of one edge cut into a point. Punch holes in the top again and string through some string, ta-dah!
I did my own lettering on the cardstock banners but you could easily print them out! For diy birthday decorations, it doesn’t get easier than paper.
Other accents that would be a great addition to this Grizzly Bear birthday theme would be, well bears! If you have any stuffed teddy bears laying around, pull them out! You could also use some firewood or logs laying around outside (after you clean them up some).
High Chair
If you’re planning on doing a smash cake for your little’s first, the high chair is essential! My sis already had a high chair with a let’s say “rustic” look, so it was perfect! (If you think a smash cake is too expensive for your first birthday party on a budget endeavor, keep reading!)
Since this was a Grizzly Bear birthday party, I had to include bears somewhere! An easy way to do that is balloons. We used helium filled black party balloons (I know Grizzly Bears are brown, but finding brown balloons is no easy task!), then cut out two brown circles for each balloon. One we cut in half and taped on for the ears. The other we used a sharpie marker and drew a triangle with three lines for the mouth.
And I already mentioned the paper banner, so I wont bore you with more explanation on that!
Grizzly Bear Birthday Menu
Let’s be honest, most guests care more about the menu than the decorations. But, I’m a whole package kinda person (plus my sis was willing to do all the food! ha!)
You can go on to Pinterest and search some super cute options, but our goal was to keep things simple and use as much as we already had available…
Camper in a Sleeping Bag
…and thus, the camper in a sleeping bag was born!!!! Now these are a little bigger than normal hotdogs (they were what we had) so we have VERY LARGE CAMPERS in teeny tiny sleeping bags. But they were a hit with everyone at the party!
Woodland Snacks
I’m all about the first birthday party on a budget concept, so this one is totally up to your discretion. Because it was a party and we were in the celebrating mood, we (my sis) decided to fill up the kids (my two boys) with sugar!
She got some gummy bears (because bears), teddy graham bears (because bears), and pretzel rod birch trees (because bears climb trees). They were so cute, I didn’t even mind the sugar high aftermath later (which honestly wasn’t all that bad).
“Bear Bread” (Cake+Cookies)
And then, we (my sis) decided we (my boys) needed more sugar! Okay that’s not entirely true, I convinced her to do a smash cake. And it was SO WORTH IT (keep reading for adorable cake face baby pictures)!!!
And, unbeknownst to me, it turns out I have an extraordinary baker for a sister! She found recipes on Pinterest for the sugar cookies and the icing, and made these adorable cookies!
They look super fancy, but she assures me they’re not. She cut the cookie dough into triangles and circles. Then topped them with the icing and added chocolate chips for bear ears. ADORABLE!!
In case you were wondering. Yes, he was definitely growling during some of these pictures!!! 😀
I’m such a fan of first birthday parties. They’re a great way to celebrate both our little ones and also that we were able to survive the first year! If you’re about to celebrate your little one’s first birthday and looking for some diy birthday decorations, these Grizzly Bear birthday decorations were so fun and a great option for a first birthday party on a budget.
He was definitely a fan!
Were you? If you’re wanting to throw a birthday party for a little one and aren’t sold on this Grizzly Bear party theme, check out my other post on Party Planning 101 to get started!
Do you have any questions or wanna chat about party planning? Leave a comment below. I would love to get to know each of you more!
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