Britton's First Birthday Luau

This week was both awesome and exhausting.

Kind of like the entire last year has been. 

As Britton was at the root of both, it was a fitting end to my beautiful daughter's first year of life. 

When Landon and I were in the early stages of planning her birthday party, we threw around a bunch of theme ideas: mermaids, sharks, and fish made the short list. And Harry Potter. Always Harry Potter. 

However, none of those won out--though, I have tabled the Harry Potter party for a few years down the road. 

We ultimately went with the perfect theme for the adventurous baby of two travel-loving parents: a Hawaiian luau. 

It was casual and fun and amazing. We were surrounded by family and friends and lots of good food. 

We didn't have too many planned activities because I didn't know how long Britton would hold out before she got overwhelmed or tired (she ended up grinning until the end of the party!). She flitted around in her luau-themed tutu that I made and was the life of the party. The matching headband last just long enough to take this picture:

The onesie came from

GingezShop

on Etsy--highly recommended!

Landon's brother brought his cornhole boards which ended up being a big hit.

Can you tell that our family loves Clemson?

The only thing I had planned was singing "Happy Birthday" to Britton. She had the best time as everyone sang to her and then

tore

 into the pineapple coconut cupcake that I'd made for her! (Not that I blame her--those things were delicious. I might be biased as I slaved away making them...)

It was one of those evenings where, at the end, your face hurts from smiling too much and your stomach hurts from eating too much delicious stuff. I really couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate Britton's first birthday. 

I started planning

weeks

 ago. The employees at Hobby Lobby practically knew me by my first name by the time I was done gathering party supplies. Pinterest was also a huge help during the process--my Pinterest projects were a huge hit with the party-goers. Pinterest for the win!

The final tally of crafts/ Pinterest-y stuff:

• a Luau-themed tutu

• a pineapple-shaped cheese ball

• a personalized banner

• tissue paper hibiscus flowers

• an umbrella toothpick-covered door wreath

• gift bags

• food labels

We held the party from 3:00-5:00 in the afternoon, which wasn't exactly lunch or dinner time, but I wanted to have plenty of food for our guests to munch on. 

The menu included: 

Beer, water, sweet tea, and punch. The punch was a mixture of pineapple juice, orange juice, and Sprite. 

Hawaiian meatballs (They were a huge hit at the party! Original recipe can be found

here

)

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Hawaiian sandwiches (SO GOOD. Recipe found

here

)

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Flip-flop Nutter Butters

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A carved watermelon shark surrounded by watermelon and pineapple skewers

A cheese ball that I shaped like a pineapple

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Macaroni salad

Goldfish and pretzels

Pineapple coconut cupcakes

Whew! I loved every minute of it, and I hope that Britton will look back on the photos and be proud of everything that Landon, our families, and I did to make her day special.