Rory's First Birthday - Winnie the Pooh DIY

On Sunday, September 6, we celebrated Rory's first birthday with family. Ever since Rory was born, I have seen him as a tubby little cuddle bug and knew he needed a Winnie the Pooh birthday as his first! I honestly started planning when he was 3 months old and was so happy to see everything come to life!

Decorations

I incorporated natural elements throughout the party by using real wood, terra cotta pots, and hydrangeas throughout.

We built a balloon arch with the pale blue, darker blue, light yellow, and white balloons and hung it over a large vinyl backdrop with the Winnie the Pooh quote "Sometimes, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."

I made these terra cotta "honey pots" with each food name by taking yellow paint and running it around the rim, letting it drip down and dry like honey. I took a sharpie and wrote "HUNNY" on each one, then filled the inside with decor foam and put fake moss on top. Then I wrote the food name on popsicle sticks, glued them together, and stuck them inside! So easy & cute.

The sign in our front yard was so sweet - I had my dad help me make this sign by cutting up some wood we had leftover from building our house (ha!). We used a nail gun to put the pieces in place, crooked of course! I used some brown paint to write Rory's Hundred Acre Wood and painted the back base piece as well. I put some stumps around the sign to make it feel more "woody".

I found this adorable old school Winnie the Pooh Happy Birthday banner on Amazon and hung it on the fireplace, and put this older version of Pooh on the mantle with a Winnie the Pooh ABC's book we already had.

I also made this high chair ribbon garland from ribbon I found at the store. It took a bit of time to tie each one but I love how it turned out!

Food

I had to have Winnie the Pooh themed food, of course! The first things I made were the Tigger Tails & Carrots from Rabbit's Garden.

The Tigger Tails were just pretzel rods dipped in orange-colored white melting chocolate. I drizzled melted milk chocolate on top to make the "stripes."

The Carrots were strawberries dipped in more orange-colored white melting chocolate. I used what was leftover to add more drizzles on top.

I made a veggie tray for people to snack on as well and called it "Veggies from Rabbit's Garden."

I also had some fun drink options - the first was "Piglet's Pink Lemonade" which was just pink lemonade...

However, the adult beverage option was one of my favorite things about the party!

I called them "Mrs. Robin's Apple Cider Mimosas." Mrs. Robin is Christopher Robin's mom (of course) and we all know mama's need a drink every now & then!

These Apple Cider Mimosas had equal parts apple cider & champagne with a few shots of Fireball. So good & perfect for this time of year! I also put a few slices of apple & cinnamon sticks inside to make the drink more appealing & tasty. I had a container of ice with a scoop next to the drink container so that the ice wouldn't water the drink down.

The party was from 12-4, so I also made pulled chicken & pulled pork sliders with slaw & pickles, cornbread muffins, baked beans, and mac & cheese for lunch. Yum!

Cake/Cupcakes

My friend Anastasia from @anastasiasbakery made the most adorable cake & cupcakes for Rory's party!

Rory's smash cake was a honey pot with vanilla cake & peanut butter icing (Rory loves peanut butter, so I knew he would love this!)

We had cupcakes for the rest of us (less messy and already portioned out, ha). There was chocolate with peanut butter frosting & red velvet with cream cheese frosting, all that perfect shade of yellow! I put little bees on each of the cupcakes as well.

It was such a happy day full of sweet memories celebrating our little one-year-old! I know we will cherish these photos of Rory on his first birthday forever! What was the theme of your little ones first birthday?