I was so impressed with how my cousin, Jess, threw this inexpensive party for her one-year-old, Emma.
Why didn’t I think of these things when my kids were little? I still remember having Elliot’s 1st birthday party. At the end of the night, he was exhausted by so much excitement and so many people crammed into our house, he put his little head down on his rocking chair and sobbed. He was pooped, and I was exhausted!
Jess’s story goes like this:
Since we have such a large family and Chad is a pastor at our church, we had MANY friends to invite. I knew that I would not enjoy the party if it was at my home and I would have to fuss over extra details, so we made plans to have it at the Fountains downtown. Now the kids could play until their little hearts were content, and there was plenty of room for everyone.
THE CRAFT
As people felt inspired to do so, I asked them to paint a small wooden bead that I would later string as a necklace for Emma.
MY INSPIRATION
My Mom had made a necklace similar to this when I was Emma’s age and Emma loves to play with it, so I figured that she needed one of her own. The craft was a huge success and I actually ended up making two necklaces because there were so many beads!
THE FOOD
I asked a good friend of mine to help bake and frost cupcakes with me. She spoiled me and took on the entire project herself so that I could spend time with family that came to town for that weekend. My mom brought brownies and we had chips and strawberry lemonade.
THE PARTY FAVOR
I also made sugar cookies and baked them on sucker sticks and used them for party favors.
THE COST
I don’t think I spent more than $20 on the entire party!
It was so easy, and we were able to just enjoy Emma being a whole year old and all of the friends and family who have loved and supported her thus far!
(Read what Emma’s grandparents were up to earlier this summer, here.)
Winner to Barney Butter: Livinitfull and Little Home.
Hi, I'm Sandy. Five years ago I stocked up on beautiful glasses from the Dollar Store. As I started writing about dinner parties, I realized that this “icon” portrays a great message. It says that dinner parties are attainable, they are affordable, and that they can be beautiful even when on a budget. 
