First birthday party themes are my favourite! It’s fun to BEE one is a cute bee themed party for boys or girls to celebrate their bee-day! I loved incorporating the colours yellow, black and green, to remind people of a sunny field of flowers, abuzz with bees.
Food
Food is where you can really bring in your theme. Here I chose picnic foods such as sandwiches, cookies, cupcakes, fruit, donuts and quiche – which are also perfect for little bellies. Yellow iced donuts from the supermarket with chocolate writing icing from the baking section created a fun bee effect. As well, little candy bees made the perfect addition to the cupcakes and birthday cake! Melon cut to resemble flowers was also a fun way to tie together the picnic theme. Never underestimate the power of a fresh sandwich at a party, these were the first to be devoured by guests!
Cake
While there are plenty of elaborate cake designs out there that you can order from a cake maker, I have set myself a goal to make the first 5 birthday cakes for each of my children. There is nothing I love more than looking back at cakes my mum made and I hope my kids will appreciate the same! I’m no cake decorator extraordinaire, so simple and rustic designs are my style – forgiving on any errors! This bee hive used a Dolly Varden cake tin which required a bit of trial and error with cooking times. The cone shape placed on top of a second round cake gave it a bit more height and serving portions. Using butter cream I piped rings around and decorated with a black hive door and some candy bees.
Decor
With the decor, I wanted it to be effective but simple. The party was at 10am so there wasn’t a lot of preparation time, and the wind and rain were against me. A garden scene on a backdrop with a balloon garland helped to frame the food and create an eye catching statement piece. This becomes a great place to do photos! Simple green gingham tablecloth and an artificial grass runner added to the garden effect.
Party accessories
There are some great accessories available to buy these days, just make sure you order with plenty of time to spare – sometimes up to 3 months in advance! A ONE crown, bee headbands, high chair bunting and a special honeycomb themed cake topper all added some cute touches to finish everything off. The onesie was custom made by a friend with a Cricut, check Facebook to find your local personalisation company as there are a lot of mums out there with a side hustle!
Entertainment
With children 0-4yrs of age attending, soft play hire was a huge hit for our guests. We ended up having light showers during the party, but our pool umbrella swung around to provide cover for them! I would strongly recommend this if your budget allows, as all the little ones were kept occupied and parents were able to sit around the outside and relax.
Keepsake and thank yous
For first birthdays I love to have a keepsake book that matches the party theme to look back on. Ask all the guests to write a short message to the birthday child on the inside cover. Willbee the Bumble Bee is a book that will be loved for years to come and suited our theme perfectly. As a thank you gift, instead of a party bag I made personalised chocolates for each family to take home.
Item specific details:
- One cake topper: AliXpress
- Backdrop banner: AliXpress
- Candy bees: Coles baking section
- Bees for milestone photos: AliXpress
- One crown: AliXpress
- Bee headbands: AliXpress
- Cookies: Tamm (Gold Coast)
- Drink dispenser: Maxwell & Williams Aloha Pineapple Drink Dispenser 10.3L
- High chair bunting: AliXpress
- Book: Willbee the Bumble Bee
- Softplay: Jems Jumpers & Soft Play Hire Gold Coast
- Photos: Kirstine Photography
