Today I’m sharing all of the details from our daughter Jubilee’s seashell themed first birthday celebration. I had a blast coming up with ideas for this party and I think the decorations are my favorite yet! I hope it gives you some inspiration for your next party as well!
My inspiration for this party actually came from her nursery. When I found out I was pregnant, my husband and I decided not to find out what we were having. We did this with our older daughter as well. It is the most fun surprise, and a great motivator during labor! Anyway, since I wasn’t sure if we were having a boy or girl, I went with a gender neutral boho beachy themed nursery. When I started to picture her first birthday, I thought it would be fun to re-use some of the party decor as bedroom decor.
Seashell Themed Plates and Napkins
Once I chose a theme, I headed over to Pinterest to create an inspiration board and got to work sourcing some of the supplies and decorations. The first thing I found were these seashell plates and napkins from Meri Meri. I loved the colors of these plates and chose the rest of the color palette to coordinate.
Seashell Themed First Birthday Invitations
Next, I headed over to Paperless Post to create invitations. Most of the time, I can find invitations from Meri Meri that match the theme I’ve chosen. I found this adorable seashell invitation with a mermaid on it that says “Let’s Shell-ebrate!”
Floral Arrangements for a Seashell Themed First Birthday
Whenever I host a party, I love to add floral arrangements to the tables. It add such a pretty touch and often ties everything together. The last couple of parties I’ve actually used dried flowers, which I can arrange in advance. It’s been so helpful in the days leading up to the party, since I don’t have to purchase, cut and arrange flowers while also preparing the food and other decorations. I scored these adorable mini palm leaves and faux dried flowers in the Dollar Spot at Target!
Food for a Seashell Themed First Birthday
I decided I wanted to have the party in the evening, after Jubilee woke up from her nap. Since I wanted to keep the menu really simple but still wanted to serve a warm, yummy dinner, I decided to make a giant batch of chili and serve it with hot dogs, cheese, and buns. My sister-in-law was gracious enough to make pasta salad for the side, and I chopped some fruit as well. The chili was a perfect meal for a cool evening, and I was able to make it a few days in advance (which, in my opinion, makes it taste even better) and heat it up in the Instant Pot before guests arrived.
Photo Backdrop
I’ve seen these kind of photo backdrops on Etsy for up to $600.00, but I was certain that I could create one myself for much cheaper, and I was right! This backdrop was made with a disposable tablecloth, party streamers and packing tape. The process of making it was very time consuming, but extremely easy! I love the way it turned out, and it was the perfect backdrop for all of our party photos with family and friends!
Painted Seashell
This painted seashell was such a fun addition to the party decor! I projected the image of a seashell onto 1/4″ thick plywood with a projector. My husband cut the shape out using a jig-saw. Then, I painted the entire shell with the color Lambskin by Behr. Once it was dry, I used a pencil and projected the same image onto the shell to sketch the curved lines of the inside of the seashell. After that, I filled in the darker color, Cockleshell by Behr, into the inside of my sketched lines. I LOVE how it turned out, and we have plans on using it as the headboard for Jubilee’s Montessori style floor bed.
Dessert and Drink Table
I love to make a homemade cake for my kid’s parties. I know my cake decorating skills could use some improvement, but the process of baking and decorating their cake feels really special to me. This time, I chose to make a really simple 6″ round carrot cake with homemade cream cheese frosting. This adorable cake topper from Etsy is no longer available, but this one from the same shop is similar and so cute! For the finishing touch, I sprinkled a bit of crushed Nilla wafers on top to look like sand.
In addition to the carrot cake, I used a box cake mix to make confetti cupcakes. I topped them with the same cream cheese frosting and Nilla wafter crumble before topping them with little candy sea shells made out of candy melts. The salted caramel flavor was surprisingly really delicious! The sea shells were super easy to make using a seashell candy mold, and Kyla had a blast decorating the cupcakes!
We kept it simple with the drinks and filled the drink dispensers with lemonade and water. These pink, sparkly cups were so cute, and are also dishwasher safe if you want to reuse them for another party!
Above the table, behind Jubilee’s cake I hung these two birthday banners. They are customizable from Etsy, so they come in a variety of colors and you can have them say anything you want.
Party Favors for a Seashell Themed First Birthday
I was so excited when I found these tiny treasure boxes in the dollar section at Target. I filled them with green paper shreds to look like seaweed, then added chocolate coins, water beads in tiny, corked glass bottles, mini sharks for the boys, and seashell necklaces and bracelets for the girls. Just a small disclaimer — water beads can look very similar to candy, so if you use this idea be sure to tell the parents that water beads are part of the party favor!
Fun Activities for the Kids
I always like to include some fun activities for the kids to keep them busy and entertained at the party. Painting is always a hit, and I found these wooden seashell shapes on clearance at Target. I also picked up a shark, a mermaid, and a couple crab shapes to give the kids some options. I purchased kid sized smocks and these amazing no spill paint cups a while back to reuse for all my kids birthday parties. The kids loved painting and the final product is so cute!
I also found these adorable mermaid bubble wands from Marshall’s.
Balloon Garland
To tie all of the decor together, I created this 16′ balloon garland using balloon arch tape from Amazon. I do this for every birthday party, because it’s relatively inexpensive and so easy to make yourself! I have an electric balloon pump and usually try to use around 150 balloons total. For this arch I used a mixture of sandy white, rosey pink, and green-ish blue balloons.
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Free Party Planning PDF
What’s your favorite part of planning a party? I know it can feel really overwhelming at times, so I’ve created this party planning PDF so that you can jot down your ideas, stay organized, and ENJOY the occasion that you’re planning for! Be sure to download it below, and leave a comment sharing YOUR favorite party planning tips with me!
Thanks for stopping by friends!
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What did you use to project your shell image on the wood? This is adorable. Thank you!
Hi Samantha, I updated the post to include a link to a projector similar to the one that I used. I made sure that the room was dark and then set the projector onto a table. I had to play around with the focus until the image was clear on the wood that I was using. After it looked clear I sketched it out with pencil. I hope that’s helpful! Thank you for your comment!
Your cake topper link isn’t working.
Hi Christina, I’ve updated the post with a new link. Looks like the one that I purchased isn’t sold anymore, but I’ve linked a similar one from the same Etsy shop. You could always reach out to the owner of the shop and see if she would be willing to make a custom cake topper for you. I hope that helps!
Thank you so much!