Carson's First Birthday

I have been planning this party for weeks and am super excited to tell you all about it.

It was perfect. It was special. It was fun. It was everything I wanted it to be for our one-year-old.

It's official. Our baby is now a toddler. For some reason, saying it helps me cope with the matter.

Although Carson won't remember his 1st birthday, Brian and I feel extremely blessed and thankful that so many of our family and friends shared this special day with us.

As I revealed when I posted the invitation, the party was football themed. I envisioned a tailgate party. A casual, laid-back, fun gathering.

I'm not sure how fun watching my one-year-old stuff his face with cake was, but let's be honest...this day was all about him.

A baller party for my one-year-old.

I gave it my absolute best to turn the inside of our house into a football frenzy. I incorporated football-inspired food, drinks, decor and other little touches, and this is what I came up with.

Lucky for me, I scored big by borrowing several football serving dishes and plates from a friend.

Appetizers served included savory meatballs, artichoke dip, mini pigs in a blanket, tortilla roll-ups, chex mix, deviled football eggs and summer sausage/cheese/crackers. Chive sprigs were used to make the laces on the eggs (thank you Pinterest!).

Drinks included beer, cherry limeade, Bloody Mary's and bottled water. I busted out the mason jars, of course, and they made the perfect glass for the Bloodys.

The cupcakes were homemade and oh-my-delicious (thanks to my cousin who gives Betty Crocker some serious competition). White and chocolate cake with butter cream frosting.

I may or may not have spent almost an entire day baking and frosting these damn things. I may or may not have forgotten the oil in the first batch I made. I may or may not have knocked over the cupcake stand on the day of party ruining several cupcakes.

Despite my challenges, the cupcakes were definitely not a failure. They were decadent. So mysteriously decadent that I've already had two people ask me what the secret to the recipe was.

DETAILS: Frosting made possible by a grass tip and disposable frosting bags (made by Wilton). Plastic football toppers purchased from Amazon. Custom diy paper pennant flags (glued to toothpicks) topped the mini cupcakes. Framed photo of Carson holding an "I'm ONE" sign (made with chalk board spray paint and scrap wood) accompanied the table.

Other football touches were scattered throughout the party and mostly made of paper and craft supplies.

  DETAILS: Welcome sign greeted guests at front door. Paper rolled inside mason jars for utensils. Plush footballs, paper confetti and personal touches for centerpiece on food table

I designed two personalized banners: one for the fireplace that read "Carson is One," and another that included all of of his monthly photos.

 DETAILS: Top banner is paper cut out and attached to twine. Bottom banner was hung using twine and clothespins.

I can't seem to throw a party without a favor, so I made these cute little hot cocoa cones, and attached football-inspired tags. The best part? I have a few leftover that I'm going to gift to Carson's teachers for Christmas.

 DETAILS: Cone bags and twist ties purchased here. Tutorial (and idea) found here.

The infamous smash cake. I didn't want to make my own, and I didn't want to spend a fortune.

So, I purchased this 5-inch bad boy at Price Chopper for $5 and used my own cake embellishments.

 DETAILS: Pennant banner was made using skewer sticks, paper twine and super glue. For the candle, I printed the one on cardstock (in the "varsity" font as all other details), and then hot glued it to the basic "1" candle you can pick up anywhere. 

Remember the hat I made for him to wear? Yeah...he wasn't having it, so the hat wasn't invited to the party. 

Here's how Carson and his smash cake met and how their relationship ended up.