a beautiful girl's birthday party


There was never any doubt in my mind
that we would celebrate my beautiful girl's birthday in style.
One whole year on the planet deserves to be celebrated,
and one whole year of bringing up a baby deserves to be acknowledged too.
Our little man had a big first birthday bash
and there was no way I was going to miss the opportunity
to plan an exciting party for our little lady,
and to scream from the rooftops just how proud we are to have her.


We went with a ice cream theme
which was, in a word,
A. MA. ZING!!!
I managed to pick up some great ice cream themed items
and was kindly sent some to review too,
it was just such a fun theme to go with.
I genuinely think it works well as a theme for all ages.
I'd be just as happy with a ice cream party for my 30th next year
as I was hosting one for my daughters 1st.
I mean, who doesn't love ice cream?


We booked a lovely village hall in a neighbouring village
so that we could avoid the craziness of hosting at home.
and it was absolutely the right decision.
Lots of space for babies and toddlers to explore
without ending up with a trashed house.
Plus it was a real blank canvas of a space
which allowed me to get all creative.


I went mad on decorations
with bunting, honeycomb balls, balloons and photos
all making an appearance.
There were cakes a plenty
and the mummy-made birthday cake.
And an ice cream parlour table too
so that people could help themselves to sauces and toppings.
I had a mammoth task getting everything ready
with only an hour before the party guests were due to arrive.
But my little team and I did it . . . just!
And it was a great party.


The ice cream parlour was a resounding success.
Party goers both old and young alike,
really enjoyed being able to help themselves to a tub of ice cream
and then cover it in their choice of toppings.


I made ice cream cone favours
full of marshmallows, chocolate buttons
and little ice cream sweets
for each of the children at the party to take home.
All the children were thrilled to get an 'ice cream' to take away
and they also made a cute little display on a table
with a beautiful doll made especially to commemorate the party.


The birthday girl looked good enough to eat in her frothy tutu
(mummy made of course)
in pastel candy colours to match all the party decorations.
One party outfit wasn't enough for this little lady though,
because she got so covered in ice cream
that we changed her into a flowery frock half way through.
Well, if you can't have two dresses for your own party,
when can you?


There was plenty of cake,
from cupcakes and fairy cakes adorned with special cake toppers
to ice cream cupcakes which I made to match the theme.
The ice cream cupcakes were a big hit with the toddlers
who love licking the icing and pretending they were eating real ice creams.


It wouldn't have been right for this photo mad mama
to not include photos in the party somewhere,
so one wall was covered in a washing line of favourite photos 
showing how our little lady had grown 
from her birth day to her birthday.


And after the roaring success of the finger print guest book at the beautiful boy's party,
I bought a matching canvas
cracked out the paints
and made sure that all the guests left their mark and their name.
So now both my children have a painted record 
of all the special people who came to their first birthdays.


I rather bravely (or stupidly) decided to invent my own cake recipe
and didn't bother to practise making it either.
Fortunately after much stress and near disaster
it came out perfectly.
A layer cake of chocolate, strawberry and banana
with white chocolate frosting.
Yummy!


My husband and I just spent the day feel ridiculously proud
of our little family,
of our lovely children,
and of all the amazing people who are supporting us in raising them.
It's certainly humbling to look around you
and realise just how many people, besides yourself,
love your children to pieces.


The little man had an absolute blast
and would tell anyone who would listen
that it was his sister's birthday,
and that it was her party,
and that she was one.


And the little lady,
the birthday girl herself.
Well she enjoyed lots of ice cream
and especially liked the jazzies on top.
She loved all the attention, noise and excitement.
She loved the flying balloons, the squealing toddlers and Disney music.


And she was also pretty shattered by the end.
In fact she spent the second half of her party 
with her thumb permanently stuck in her mouth from pure tiredness,
but she didn't so much as whimper once.
She just smiled with her eyes at everyone
and watched the proceedings from her favourite position;
someone's arms,
mostly mummy's.




Nearly all the ice cream parlour stuff was kindly sent to us by Style My Party.
The ice cream theme was the backbone of the party
and the ice cream parlour absolutely made it;
I thought it was fantastic.
and it genuinely included everything I needed 
to turn the party into something special.
A huge box of tubs and spoons for people to eat their ice cream from.
All the signage and food labels came in the kit
as well as the stickers and lollipop sticks needed to label the pots of toppings.
Paper bunting, colouring sheets, matching drinks cups.
It was all in there.

The beautiful doll who looked after the party favours,
was kindly made by Stacy at Style My Party
to be a special keepsake of our little lady turning one.
With her signature flower headband
a pastel coloured tutu skirt,
and short golden hair,
I was so completely touched to receive her through the post.

The bunting on top of the cake 
was a free printable from the Style My Party website too
which you can find here.
I really can't speak highly enough of this company.
They really made the party memorable.

The little ice cream trucks were kindly given to us by party supplier, Delights.
These cute little trucks didn't just look pretty,
they also housed patterned ice cream tubs and spoons.
They are really fun and a great, simple way to make a food table look a little special.

And finally,
the majority of the photos in this post were taken by Katie of Katie Ellison Photography.
I cannot thank her enough for coming along and taking these for me
so that I could concentrate on speaking to everyone
and cuddling the birthday girl.
I'm so pleased with these photos
and all the details of the party that she captured.


The listed items were sent to us free of charge to use for the party
but all opinions are my own.

36 comments

  1. Loved this. Loved, loved, loved this. I would love to have a little girl one day - I just feel like I would be able to do lovely girly things with her too. The party favours were a genius idea - you clever thing! I love all of the decorations and that doll - how special is she. So glad she had a lovely time and that you got to enjoy it in front of the lens thanks to Katie too. xx

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    1. Embracing the girly was a bit of a learning curve for me, I just had the boy-mama down and wasn't too keen on the idea of girly. But I'm going with it now and loving it, and some how managing to keep pink from exploding all over my house.
      We had such a lovely time and I'm so glad we went to the trouble of throwing her a proper bash. And glad you like the favours, they were a bit of a last minute idea but they turned our great. x

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  2. Wow Lucy, you did such an amazing job at making her first birthday special. Every single detail is perfect.
    Well done with the cake, it looks lovely. And I love the photo bunting. Such a clever idea xx

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    1. Thanks lovely, I just so wanted it all to come together, and I'm so glad it did. She deserves it. x

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  3. Looks like you had a wonderful time! Love the ice cream idea and you made up cake looks fab!

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    1. Thank-you, we did. And I'm glad it all worked out. I do like to fly by the seat of my pants a bit, but it future I think I'll practise special cakes.... or just buy them! x

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  4. oh my days, this all look soo gorgeous! high five on a great party, lady!

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    1. Ahhh, thank-you. I'm really proud of how it all turned out. x

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  5. Looks like a fantastic birthday party! You should take up party planning! Great theme and lots of yummy stuff. Lovely photos too. The one of BG sucking her thumb is beautiful!

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    1. Haha. I used to say I wanted to be a party/wedding planner... maybe one day. x

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  6. Oh wow what a wonderful first birthday party, and gorgeous pictures too! We had a big party for Kitty's first, but just at home, taking a bit of a chance on the September weather that paid off. She had a butterfly theme (no surprises whose idea that was) but I need to get my thinking cap on for Elma, because with an early December birthday I am adament that she is not going to loose her birthday in a shower of tinsel and snowflakes. I might have to pinch a few ideas!

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    1. I think it's nice to have a special first birthday party, and a butterfly theme sounds very fitting from you. December birthdays are a bit trickier, I'll look forward to hearing what you do. x

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  7. It looks like so much fun...like you say I would love this for MY birthday party! So nice to be able to celebrate it properly and make a fuss of your little girl. The last photo of the four of you is my favourite x

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    1. I suspect this won't be the last ice cream parlour that I end up setting up. It really was so fun. x

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  8. Ah it is so nice to relive it again. Definitely a special party for a special little girl. Thanks for inviting us and of course for having me take photos, it was such a lovely theme. x

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    1. Ahhh, thanks lovely, and thank-you so much for coming to be part of it. x

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  9. What an amazing party! You did so well, to find the time to plan it and to manage to get it decorated in time! And you have some gorgeous photos to remember it too. I would be totally happy with an ice-cream party for my birthday next year too! x

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    1. Thanks hun, it wasn't without some stressful moments (the day before and morning of I was a bit scary I think) but it was so fun doing it all. It would definitely be just as good for a grown up party! x

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  10. What a gorgeous little lady and what a fabulous party theme! loved it, such gorgeous colours and I am in LOVE with the ice cream van of tubs and spoons!! My youngest celebrates her 1st birthday in Jan 14' and I cannot wait to have hers! Also FABULOUS idea for the finger print guest canvas! Such a sweet keepsake! xx

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    1. Thank-you. She absolutely deserves a special party. After we did the fingerprint "guest book" at my son's first birthday we've had so many friends borrow the idea, it's so simple and lovely to keep. x

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  11. Gorgeous photos and what a great theme! Loved the one of you smiling at little girl next to the cake. This will be one party to remember when your little ones get older and look back...

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    1. Thanks. It's silly really because I know she won't remember the party, but I'll love showing her and telling her all about it when she's bigger. x

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  12. Oh wow, gorgeous! And I'm s pleased the cake turned out ok, I remember talking to you about it a few weeks back and me telling you I thought you was nuts lol! Beautiful photos x}

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    1. Ahh, thanks. The cake was nearly a bit of a disaster but it worked out perfectly in the end and was delicious. x

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  13. Beautiful photos and a beautiful party :)

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  14. What a great party! Looks you all had a great time....I love it all, particularly the ice cream cone favours...genius idea!!

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    1. Ahhhh, thanks hun. It's all in the little touches, isn't it? And I was really proud of how all my little touches turned out. And did you see the baking? I actually INVENTED my own cake, you're proud of me aren't you? x

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  15. This looks so lovely and a perfect party for your beautiful girl x

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  16. What an awesome party Lucy! Looks magnificent and such fun. Dear Beautiful Boy is growing fast now isn't he? x

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    1. It was great fun. I was so pleased with how it came together. And yes, he's like a proper little boy these days, not so much as a hint of toddler most of the time. x

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  17. It's perfect, I love all the little touches. I Pinterest stalked you and it's exactly as imagined! Katie did a lovely job with the photos. Happy Birthday BG! x

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    1. Ahh, thanks lovely. It's all in the little touches I think, so glad they all worked. I had a lot of Pinterest inspiration to get ideas from. x

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  18. Looks and sounds like you had a fabulous time! Love the sweets in the cupcake cases and the fingerprints and the timeline. So many lovely ideas! x x

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  19. What a perfect day for a perfect pastel princess, it looks like all had so much fun, I love some of the items and your cake sounds delicious xxx

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