Yesterday, I threw Piper the simplest little first birthday party. I invited our closest friends over for a morning play date, and that was it. My husband would probably say I went above and beyond, but to me, it felt easy and relaxed.
A Simple Birthday Water Play Date
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I love celebrating. I love birthdays. I love events. So it would have been very easy for me to go all out for Piper’s first birthday. I even had ideas for something bigger than what we did for Rowan. But instead, I went the opposite direction.
Life has a funny way of reminding you to slow down. When it came to Piper’s birthday, I realized I needed to take Pinterest out of the plan and focus on the moment.
If we lived close to family, I probably would have hosted a big get-together. Brady and I both come from large families, and I usually invite everyone. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends, and even the dogs. But we live four hours away, and after traveling so much this spring, I just did not have it in me to plan another trip or a big party.
So instead, I invited our closest friends over and planned a simple weekday backyard water play date for our water-loving baby girl.
Play Date Water Gear
I could have easily gone overboard and bought new pools, sprinklers, and water toys. But I did not. I kept things simple and used mostly what we already had.
I bought a small pool that is the perfect depth for babies and some bubble supplies. Everything else was already in our backyard.
Here is what I set up:
A bubble station on our outdoor kids’ table
Our kids’ toy BBQ kitchen
A picnic blanket
A shallow pool
A blow up pool with a slide that we call the dinosaur pool. Rowan got it from my mom when he turned two
Water table
Paint table
An assortment of ride-on toys and outdoor trucks
Food
On the invite, I said I would provide lunch. Nothing fancy, just easy food everyone likes.
For the kids, I put out Uncrustables and applesauce. For the moms, I grabbed the Mediterranean salad from Costco and added chicken. I also set out fruit, hummus, and pita bread.
For drinks, I had iced coffee, Spindrift, and juice boxes. Everything came from Costco, which made prep simple.
Piper’s Cake
As I get older, I have really started to enjoy decorating cakes. I do not go overboard, but I love adding small details that make it feel special.
When Rowan turned one, I made him a small pineapple smash cake, so I knew I wanted to do something similar for Piper.
To make her cake, I used two small ramekins, poured in cake batter, and baked them for the same amount of time as cupcakes. Once they were cool, I trimmed the tops, frosted one cake, stacked the second on top, and frosted the outside. This is how I got the extra height.
I recently bought an icing spatula and scraper, and it made frosting the cake much easier than using a knife. I used my hands to press the sprinkles into the sides of the cake. I loved how it turned out, even though my kitchen ended up covered in sprinkles.
Don’t Worry, Just Invite
No one really cares what your house looks like. In my experience, people just want a place to gather.
I wanted to finish our backyard before Piper’s birthday, but it did not happen. We still had the party, and it was perfect.
Have the party. Invite people over. Let them gather in your home, even if things are not finished.
