Rainbows and Party Hats

Today, we celebrated Maddie's first birthday with family and friends. We had a lovely lunch time party and the birthday girl soaked everything up! She was on her best behaviour and such a doll. 

I decided on a rainbow theme based on some of the amazing things I've seen on Pinterest over the past year. As usual, I went a little overboard, but it's just so much fun that I couldn't resist. Plus, Cate got a real kick out of everything, and she can know recite all the colours of the rainbow in order and has taught all of her daycare buddies how to draw them.

The decision to go with this theme really stemmed from these cupcakes. I did end up re-making them since the batch from last weekend were really inedible. These ones turned out light and fluffy - just perfect!

I wanted to add a few personal touches and so I made a fun banner showcasing pictures of Maddie from each month of her first year.

And of course, there were balloons!!!

I also made a little game board to play "Pin the pot of gold under the rainbow". I traced out where the pot of gold was supposed to go so there would be no question of who won. It was a hit with all the little ones!

Pinterest also had some great ideas for food. The fruit kebobs were a hit. I've never seen so many kids eat so much fruit at a birthday party before!

Single serve veggie cups with dip in the bottom made it easy for guests to wander with their snack.

The Birthday Girl was so excited to get the party started that she was dancing on the table with her Grandma.

The precious trio of BFFs. Cate was impatiently waiting all week for her besties to come over.

First things first, kids need food! We pre-made a ton of grilled cheese and ham sandwiches with yummy cheese like havarti, cheddar, and pizza mozzarella. Lesson learned though - cover them while they sit in the over to stay warm. They were a "little" dry when they came out and needed to be popped into the microwave to soften up again.

Oh yeah, we forgot party hats!

The Birthday Girl ate up her lunch so she could get to the best part...

Cupcakes!

But she was not the only one with this in mind...

In the end, Panda ended up with the bulk on the cupcake.

Maddie did not disappoint. She has icing all over herself - including the back of her head!

Finally, she was spoiled by all her friends and family!

Thanks to everyone who came out today!