Baby G is one and I can’t believe it! The past 365 day flew past so quickly and suddenly my little newborn is not so little anymore.

Read about all of my feelings on this huge milestone here.

Let’s Pawty!

I knew I wanted to throw a fun 1st birthday for Baby G while keeping costs low and the focus on the milestone itself. Baby G has a pink puppy themed nursery and loves her real life dog, Marlo. We decided to have a “pawty” themed celebration to incorporate her love of her four-legged friend. We chose to do food ourselves with the help of friends and family. Decorations and invitations were all done for about $100, making this a super affordable party!

Invite & Decorations

I didn’t want to spend money on paper invitations people were going to toss in the trash so we used Zazzle to edit a digital invite that we could simply text to family and friends.

For decorations I tried to keep it colorful and fun (as well as budget friendly)! I snagged some pink plates from our Dollar Tree and found adorable puppy dessert plates and napkins at Target. I also gathered up some different colors and size of balloons and made my own balloon garland for a fraction of the cost of buying one. Lastly, we created some fun signs for free using Canva and our home printer.

Food

We kept the food simple with a hot dog bar complete with a fun menu with different kinds of dogs, “pawsta salad” with paw shaped noodles, “pupcakes”, and birthday puppy chow. Chips and other snacks were served in cute dog bowls (also from the Dollar Tree).

Activities

I always like when there is something to do at parties besides eat. We had kids bags with some affordable party favors, a basket full of balls for kids to play catch, as well as a fun time capsule activity for friends and family to leave predications and notes for Giada to read when she turns 18!

Final Thoughts

Baby G’s 1st birthday was a huge success! In a world where parties for children can really be over the top, we were so happy we decided to spend time focused on our girl instead of on the perfect catered menu and expensive set up. Baby G will look back on photos of her 1st birthday party and know she was loved and celebrated by family and friends!