Beach Themed 1st Birthday Party

My youngest son, Connor, is getting ready for his 4th birthday next month and I started reflecting on his past three birthday celebrations. I honestly can't believe he is almost 4 years old. How quickly the time goes when they are little! 

Of all his parties so far, I really struggled planning his first birthday party. 

I went into complete denial mode. How did I have a one year old already?

I finally decided I would crawl out of my hole and plan a special event that celebrated him. 

As I start planning his next party, I thought i would share a few details from his first birthday and reminisce on this fun celebration. 

Connor is such a special baby. He is curious yet cautious, easy going and loves the water just like his mama. His blue eyes and laid back personality led me to a beach themed first birthday party and I think it was a perfect fit.  

I knew I wanted to keep the party small and low key but as a professional event planner that is sometimes the biggest challenge of them all.

About two weeks before his actual party I kicked into full planning mode and started drawing out my vision and shopping. Drawing you say? Yep. I am 'old school' and love to sketch out my ideas.

I fell in love with the idea of a balloon arch. I had never created one myself but after a quick you tube video it was actually much easier than I anticipated. I ordered a balloon decoration strip and that made getting started really simple. I purchased a variety of balloons in different sizes and colors from party city and used a machine to blow up the balloons. I filled in any holes with glue dots and add these palm leaves for a more tropical look.

We purchased a few blow up pools and filled them with colorful balls and beach balls. Besides these being all over my house for weeks after the party, the kids had so much fun jumping in the ball pits. 

I had a vision of three cakes for this party and loved how they turned out. I ordered them from a local bakery and they were delicious. One cake had his birthday candle, one had a small banner flag that I made from construction paper, and the largest one I ordered a cake topper in gold glitter. I found these cute surf board prints and a favorite quote of mine on Etsy and displayed them on the cake table.  I ordered his happy birthday banner and the banner that we put on his high chair off Etsy too. 

In addition to the cakes, I ordered these adorable cookies in the shape of surf boards and board shorts. They were almost too cute to eat. 

I found this cute surf banner and hung it on my fireplace mantel along with photos of Connor when he was born. For the kids table, I kept it really simple with colorful plates, birthday hats and a few palm leaves.  


The day turned out really special and even though I was sad my tiny baby wasn't so tiny anymore, I loved celebrating him with our friends and family. If you are throwing a special birthday celebration and need an extra hand or help with decorations, please reach out to one of our experience specialists. We love celebrating with you and helping you make moments that matter

Thank you for sharing in this sweet celebration and looking back on such a special day with me. If you need a free birthday banner we have one in our shop for you to download. Keep celebrating friends! 

Thoughtfully, Chelsey Arnal