Despite current COVID-19 restrictions, we still managed to have a happy little birthday party with those in our bubble. This was my very first time throwing a birthday party of any kind, so I was nervous, but I’m proud of how things turned out!
To prep for the birthday party, first I needed to decide on a theme. I bounced between a few different options, but I settled on throwing a “Wild One” celebration. I found a set of Wild One paper dishes, a golden “1” candle, and a party decorations package. I ordered everything from Amazon and it arrived really fast.
I was able to set up all of the food and decorations during Calvin’s mid-day nap. I blew up the twelve latex balloons and made a make-shift DIY balloon garland using the balloons, a string, and the paper leaves. Then I used Scotch tape to stick the “Wild One” sign and extra leaves to the wall, and tied the banner to an IKEA high chair. We also had the animal mylar balloons filled with helium at the grocery store.
My sister, Isabelle, made Calvin’s smash cake. She used a Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix, homemade frosting, and Great Value fondant. It was perfect. The decoration kit came with a “Wild One” cake topper that I decorated the cake with during gift opening and snacking. I replaced it with the big golden 1 candle for Calvin to blow out before the smash.
I made chocolate cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting and jungle sprinkles for us to eat. (It was actually my very first time making cupcakes!) I also served corn chips with salsa and guacamole, a vegetable tray with ranch dip, and grapes, apples, and strawberries with fruit dip. We also had ice water available. I decorated the cupcakes with jungle critters that came in the decor kit and stacked them on a cupcake tower.
I took a picture of Calvin every month from the day he was born laying on the same hand crocheted mat. I had the pictures printed out and hung them along a line of jute twine using tiny clothes pins.
The party was a blast. Calvin received wonderful gifts from his family, my father-in-law made the sweetest video compilation of highlights from the last year, and the cake smash was humorous to say the least. Calvin had almost no interest in eating his cake. He didn’t even really want to play with it. We ended up flipping it upside down to try and encourage him to dig in, but he mostly just picked it apart to dump the crumbs onto his legs. I, on the other hand, am already so excited to throw his next birthday party.
BARREL OF MERRELL'S 
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