We celebrated Felix's FIRST birthday with our families and a Luau! I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that a whole 365 days went by, it really does go faster with each child. Drew and I went to Hawaii eight years ago with his family (yes, we're due to go again) we had such an amazing time and of course attended a traditional Luau so it was fun to reminisce.
If you know my son, you're aware he is the most easy-going, and happy child you will ever meet. He loves making others smile, and being surrounded by loved ones in general. With that said, we truly couldn't go wrong with any theme, but the vision I had of his little cute self in a grass skirt sealed the deal.
The first thing I bought for the party were pineapple pillows I found at the Target dollar spot (as I mentioned in EV's second birthday post they have awesome stuff for parties). Of course they weren’t a necessity, but the nice gentlemen at the checkout confirmed they were. I created the invitation with Canva, they turned out adorable and it was so simple to use!
On the menu I made this scrumptious Hawaiian pulled pork, Drew grilled chicken spiedies (an upstate NY thing, if you’re in search of a good marinade- look no further). For apps and sides I made a fruit salad, a palm tree vegetable tray and a delish pineapple black bean rice that I served in a hollowed out pineapple (that took a while, but looked super cute).
I baked my go to yellow cake which I also made for EV's first and second birthday, I will have do a post in the near future on the recipe! I always set aside a small amount of batter and pour it into a ramekin dish to bake a smash cake, it’s the perfect size for little ones!
We lucked out gorgeous weather, the kids were in the pool all afternoon while food (and drinks) flowed.
For a first birthday I'm an advocate of having a momentous section, I got pictures printed out ahead of time for a galley wall of his first year (my MIL graciously helped me put it up since I had many other things to prep). I also easily displayed his monthly crib photos above the lei and grass skirt station I created. One of my Instamom friends (not sure if that's a word but I'm going with it) told me to check out the dollar tree for luau decor. Boy was she right, I hit the jackpot on leis, grass skirts, lanterns and other various luau decor.
I did have one hiccup and forgot to put out Felix's 1st birthday party time capsule (I did one for EV as well). So this is a forewarning to those who attended, you will be getting an email on what you want to include on your card for this!
All and all, 1st birthdays are a blast to plan for. For starters, it's impossible to disappoint a one year old when their surrounded by their favorite people, then you when you add in cake and wrapping paper (because let's be real they don't care about the presents at this age) you can't go wrong! We could not have had a more amazing day with our loved ones celebrating and look forward to the lifetime of years ahead celebrating Felix!
