I had been dreaming of a forest camping themed party for years when finally I got to do it for my little girl’s first birthday. The party came together naturally since everything was earth tones – mostly greens and browns – and decorations could be taken from things we had on hand already – Christmas decorations, wooden cutting boards and serving platters, and nature itself. Because we only invited family (there were 7 adults and 5 kids total), we were able to focus on quality over quantity.
This is the first party where I have not used any paper plates or disposable napkins and it was surprisingly not a big deal at all! My husband was on dish duty though so I bet he noticed a difference! But really things seemed to flow just fine. We did purchase an extra set of cloth napkins that we will use daily (we go through the dozen we have very quickly) in addition to another set of 12 small white plates. I chose to make these slightly larger purchases once rather than purchasing paper plates, utensils, cups, and napkins every time we have a party.
This is also the first party where I have not gotten any balloons and they were not missed at all. There are so many other beautiful ways to decorate that do not have such a negative impact on the environment.
Handmade items included:
- Fabric bunting made from thrifted fabric in different shades of green with tan bias tape.
- A “ONE” sign for her high chair using strips of the same thrifted fabric and materials from our back yard – branches, moss, and berries.
- A crown made from felt scraps I had on hand.
I have been loving using my sewing machine more lately. It really is a great tool to quickly and inexpensively create decorations.
Other thrifted décor included:
- A fishing basket which held the nature scavenger hunt materials. (I got the clipboards and the magnifying glasses at Dollar Tree.)
- Old-fashioned silver lanterns
- Pine cones
- Birch bark candles
Things I used that I had already included:
- Lots of twine!
- A lit birch tree that my mom bought for me several years ago as a Christmas decoration for my house
- A wooden frame that I had used for my son’s garden themed first birthday party four years ago. Also from that party, I used wooden forks and spoons that we had leftover.
- Our tent that we put up in the back yard for the kids to play in
Things I borrowed:
- Mom brought over many pine cones, fake evergreen branches, a tablecloth, and several serving containers, platters, and scoops.
- My sister-in-law brought over their indoor kid tent for the kids to play in.
Activities:
- Nature scavenger hunt I found on beautyinthemess.com and printed on kraft cardstock
- Stuffed felt bonfire and s’mores made by my mom
- Kid tent and stuffed woodland animals
- Trail mix bar
- Camping/forest books from the library
Vegetarian menu:
We have been eating vegetarian for the past week both for health and environmental reasons. We may eventually ease into eating vegan but for now this is what we can do. We had vegetarian chili with toppings and biscuits, a cheese platter, a veggie platter, a fruit platter, and a pasta salad.
Favors:
- Bundle of bark-covered colored pencils
- An extra scavenger hunt, clipboard, and magnifying glass to take home
Desserts:
My mom is a pastry chef and I’m more than happy to let her do the desserts for all of my kids’ birthday parties! She does an amazing job, as you can see!
As far as the budget goes, I did overspend a little. We are ok with this for a couple of reasons. First of all, the first birthday is a very special one to us. She will only have that first birthday one time, and we wanted it to be meaningful. Also, the amount we spent this time on our third child’s first birthday was a fraction of what we spent on our first child’s first birthday. We are much more money conscious now and things have been put into perspective now that we have three kids! We paid cash for everything, didn’t put anything on a credit card, and still were able to keep working toward our other financial goals. We certainly aren’t perfect, but we are working toward having fun while living within our means.
I am thrilled with how naturally beautiful the party turned out to be and will forever cherish the sweet memories of the cousins making pretend s’mores, searching for treasures with their magnifying glasses in the back yard, and shaking their trail mix containers with excitement. What fun.
