Pink Lemonade and Pinwheels–First Birthday Ideas

Pink lemonade and pinwheels party—whimsical and sweet first birthday party! Highlights include rock candy and rock candy sprinkles, giant spinning pinwheels, the original “favorite things” photo prop, favors that won’t cause a sugar crash, group play ideas, and DIY invitations.

How is it possible that this baby is one?

Pink Lemonade and Pinwheels--First Birthday Ideas

This is the little baby who has surprised us ever since she came into being just one week after our miscarriage. This is the 9 lb 13 oz baby who came into the world (without drugs!) after a “short” 17 hours of labor. This is the baby who we cuddled skin-to-skin as she fought a suspected lung infection during her first week in the NICU. This is the sweet baby who falls asleep easily, confidently explores on her own, laughs at our correction (Lord, help us!), drools constantly, brings out the best in her sister, amazes us with her concentration, flexibility, and curiosity, and reminds us daily that being a parent to a little baby is a beautiful, wonderful thing.

And although our girls’ birthdays are only six weeks apart (and a combined party would have been perfectly acceptable), we thought this first birthday deserved a celebration all its own.  It’s been a spectacular first year of parenting our Baby Z! We made it! And that is cause for celebration.

Okay, enough about us. You’re here for the party. You want birthday ideas! Without further ado, we invite you to our little one’s first birthday party!

Pink Lemonade and Pinwheels–First Birthday Ideas

Like many of you, I love Etsy. The Etsy owners you’ll see mentioned in this post are all incredibly creative, friendly, and down-to-earth. They have helped by contributing materials and party decor. Please visit their shops, like them on facebook, and pin this post so that you can turn to them when you plan a party of your own!

I refuse to admit that my baby really isn’t a baby anymore. To assist with my denial, I centered this party around things that remind me of childhood innocence and pure, simple fun: pinwheels.

Pinwheels

Giant spinning pinwheels as centerpieces.

Pink Lemonade and Pinwheels Birthday Party—whimsical and sweet! Rock candy, giant spinning pinwheels, “favorite things” photo prop, favors that won’t cause a sugar crash, group play ideas, and DIY invitations.

From Frolicking Lark Designs

Pinwheel straws. Pink Lemonade and Pinwheels Birthday Party—whimsical and sweet! Rock candy, giant spinning pinwheels, “favorite things” photo prop, favors that won’t cause a sugar crash, group play ideas, and DIY invitations.

From Frolicking Lark Designs

Pinwheels on cupcakes and the cake.

Pink Lemonade and Pinwheels--birthday ideas from a whimsical and sweet first birthday

From Earth Cookie Creations and Frolicking Lark Designs 

And since it was a little girl’s first birthday party at the end of Indiana’s hot and humid July, pink lemonade seemed like a natural complement to the pinwheels.

Pink Lemonade

The chevron and polka dot favor bags and thank you tags helped to pull the ideas together.

Pink Lemonade and Pinwheels--Birthday Ideas from a Whimsical and Sweet First Birthday PartyFrom DK Delektables

As did the banners and signs.

Pink Lemonade and Pinwheels Birthday Party—whimsical and sweet party theme! Banners from DK Delektables.

From DK Delektables

And the pink and yellow dessert bar.

The rock candy cupcakes sprinkles and rock candy sticks were a total hit. I sought out Kathy from DK Delektables in part because I saw her shop offered rock candy sprinkles. They tasted amazing, and they made cupcake decorating super easy.

Pink Lemonade and Pinwheels Birthday Party—I LOVE the rock candy sprinkles!!

And although sugar isn’t a health food substitute, it was nice to be able to offer the rock candy sticks as an allergy-friendly dessert option. 

Pink lemonade and pinwheels party—whimsical and sweet first birthday party. Highlights include rock candy and rock candy sprinkles, giant spinning pinwheels, the original “favorite things” poster, favors that won’t cause a sugar crash, group play ideas, and DIY invitations. Rock candy from Jazzy Apple Gal.

From Jazzy Apple Gal

The rock candy cupcakes went well with our cake. Pillsbury just came out with a new pink lemonade cake mix and icing set. Perfect!

Pink lemonade and pinwheels party—whimsical and sweet first birthday party. Highlights include rock candy and rock candy sprinkles, giant spinning pinwheels, the original “favorite things” poster, favors that won’t cause a sugar crash, group play ideas, and DIY invitations.

And Nate and I make our own marshmallow fondant–it’s easier than it sounds! Cake baking is one of shared hobbies–along with scuba diving, going to couple’s counseling, and picnics in the cemetery. You can read all about our favorite date ideas here.

And while the decorations were beautiful, the star of the show was (in my biased opinion) this sweet little girl. Pink lemonade and pinwheels party—whimsical and sweet first birthday party. Highlights include rock candy and rock candy sprinkles, giant spinning pinwheels, the original “favorite things” poster, favors that won’t cause a sugar crash, group play ideas, and DIY invitations. Dress from Kailyn Zoe and Company.

Dress from Kailyn Zoe and Company

Her dress was stunning. I’ve yet to see a more beautiful dress for a little girl. It would be perfect for a holiday or wedding as well.

Need birthday ideas? Check out this whimsical and sweet pink lemonade and pinwheels party. Highlights include rock candy, giant spinning pinwheels, the original “favorite things” poster, sweet favors that won’t cause a sugar crash, and gorgeous dresses from Kailyn Zoe and Company. The “Favorite Things” poster was the perfect photo prop.

Favorite things first birthday poster from moulage collection. Part of Pink Lemonade and Pinwheels party.

From Moulage Collection

And what more could a one-year-old birthday girl want than to be surrounded by friends and family who love her dearly? To thank her party guests for coming, we sent them home with these adorable favors. 

Pink lemonade and pinwheels party—whimsical and sweet first birthday party. Highlights include rock candy and rock candy sprinkles, giant spinning pinwheels, the original “favorite things” poster, favors that won’t cause a sugar crash, group play ideas, and DIY invitations. Favors from Earth Cookie Creations and DK Delektables.

From DK Delektables and Earth Cookie Creations

I wasn’t sure what to include in the favor bags. I couldn’t bring myself to send CANDY home with the babies. But I found these freezer pops at the dollar store! 10 cents each, 100% apple juice, and pink, yellow, and green. They were made for our treat bags! To tie the themes together, I also added bubbles and a pinwheel. Perfect, right?

To see how we invited our little friends and their lovely parents, check out this post: DIY Birthday Invitations. It cost me $2.80 to design and print 30 invites!

Since I’m a fan of sensory play, I wanted to come up with a few simple sensory play activities that would appeal to kids of all ages. A bubble bar was the perfect solution! Read more about it here: Bubble Play for a Birthday Party.

Bubble bar at pink lemonade and pinwheels first birthday party. From Nothing if Not Intentional at Nateandrachael.com

All in all, it was a magical party for mom and dad–and we like to think the birthday girl had a pretty good time as well. 🙂

Our big girl turns THREE in just a few weeks! Pin with us on pinterest, join the conversation on our Nothing if Not Intentional facebook page, or subscribe to email updates so that you don’t miss new posts or details about her vintage airplane party. What can I say, her daddy’s a pilot. The girl loves planes!

Please pin this post so that you and your friends can find our amazing birthday sponsors the next time you need to throw a party!

19 thoughts on “Pink Lemonade and Pinwheels–First Birthday Ideas”

  1. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!!! What an absolutely beautiful birthday! It just exudes fun and joy!! And I agree, that first year flies by. Before you know it they’re off to Kindergarten! 😉

    1. Awww-thanks for reading the whole thing, Jessica! I wrote that to remember who and what we are celebrating–even though I figured most people would skip to the pictures. Your words are much appreciated and very encouraging!!

  2. Hi…I found your post about “pink lemonade and pinwheels” through a series of posts and re-posts on Google +. The phrase fit in nicely with my writing for kids, so I hope you don’t mind that it inspired me to write my daily Rhyme Time using the party you gave her as the inspiration for 4 short verses.
    You can read it here: http://www.tonyfunderburk.com/pink-lemonade-and-pinwheels/

    Keep up the creative work…lots of bright, colorful ideas.
    Tony

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