Caleb's first birthday

Let's have a ball at Caleb's first birthday party!!!

Where do you even start to come up with a birthday party theme for a kid who cannot express what kind of party they want? I'm the kind of mom who wants her kids' parties to actually be about them and not about all I can do to make myself look like a super creative and wonderfully perfect mother. I had narrowed the party theme ideas down to two based on what Caleb likes to play with the most... rubber duckies or balls. Both could be super cute, but how to decide? I was torn for months when I realized that if I did a ball theme, then I could just have polka-dots everywhere! Sold! 

Please someone figure out the "joke" (hint: it has to do with the colours)

Party decor: red, blue, green, yellow and orange polka-dots everywhere.  

Jujubes, cheese and crackers with kielbasa, quinoa pizza bites, BBQ chicken bites, honey garlic meatballs, rice krispie balls, goldfish crackers, cheerios, fruit, veggies, and punch.

I found this tutorial on how to make a paper bunting birthday banner. It turned out great! http://crafete.com/2010/11/how-to-make-a-paper-bunting-birthday-banner/

Polka-dot balloons! 

We live in a townhouse complex so I figured it might be nice to decorate the door just to help people find our place.

Polka-dot trail up the staircase

I was very happy with how that turned out and it has yet to be taken down

Polka-dots all over the backyard! There were even some hanging on ribbons in the chain link fence. Can you tell I really rolled with the theme?

Caleb's cake was a rice krispie ball covered with powdered sugar icing.

Guests were inviting to indulge in a rice krispie ball of their own. Tip: simply dye the marshmallows to get great colour out of your treats. I used Wilton gel dye. When rolling the balls, don't compress them too much or they will be rock hard. I had to make an extra batch since they first blue ones were brutal. 

The cutlery was displayed in a container made from duplo. I realized that the colours matched so it worked perfectly. 

My favourite part (although I don't have a good picture of it) is the polka-dots hanging from ribbons on the light fixture. You can just see it at the top of this picture. I cannot believe I don't have a picture of it. 

We had a great time! All the kids went home with a ball and balloon of their very own! We had corn hole for the adults to play with and lots of bubbles for the kids. It turned out better than I had expected. Yes, we will have other parties but they will probably be a let's go play at the park and bring some food along kind of parties. 

What's your favourite party theme? Best food to serve at a party?

Be joy-filled!