I started thinking and having it at the house seemed like the most logical solution. We would have a large variety of ages there so I figured the pool could entertain the older kids and adults and I could set up activity stations for the younger crowd. Now...a theme. So I started searching Pinterest and fell in love with the little monster theme! I mean, how adorable are these decorations?
I prepped a few days before and set up the day of. Of course it was like 100 degrees and everything I taped up fell down pretty quickly and my balloons were popping left and right (thanks humidity)! It was stressful but I got it done and I think it turned out pretty cute!
Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that I was leaving 2 days after his party to go to Las Vegas for 5 days. It was the first time I had ever been away from Jax and adding that stress on top of the emotions of him turning one and his party, I was a HOT mess...literally! So I forgot to snap pictures during the party and of my play stations for the little kids. We had a kiddie pool filled with plastic balls, a blow up pool with water and toys, a water table, a bounce house, a bubble station, sprinklers, and the little toy roller coaster. The youngin's LOVED all the fun options and it kept them entertained the entire time!
As for what I did capture, here ya go!
Decor: our color scheme was orange (Nemo), blue (dory), and green (squirt).
I ordered die cuts from Etsy to recreate scenes from the movie. I made our very own Nemo tank and it turned out great! I just used some blue plastic table cloth and taped the characters how I wanted them and then taped that to the inside of the tank.
I had bigger ideas for these die cuts and wanted to re-create scenes on each window BUT I ran out of time so I just placed them up on the poles on the deck so people could see them as they passed by. I had more scenes but of course didn't get pics of them.
As you can see, I attempted a "wave wall". I bought plastic tablecloths in rolls from party city and just taped them up in sections on my wall. I used duct tape but it was so hot and humid (we live in the south) that the tape started to peel off and the wall began to fall while we were opening presents. At that point, I didn't care but I would recommend using something else to hold it up if it's humid in your area. It really looked cool in person and made for a great backdrop!
I was super proud of my balloon columns. They are so simple to make and look great! As for the Nemo balloons, I had to order them off EBay and I had them filled the day of with helium from party city because Nemo party decor is NOWHERE to be found. (Thank the Lord for Ebay!) I'm sure once "Finding Dori" comes out, this theme will be popular again but as of now, it's a distant memory.
I made this photo prop board and TOTALLY forgot about it until the end of the party. (Like literally almost everyone had left!) So if you make one, remember to use it! 😉 I got the foam board from Hobby Lobby and cut a square out of the center. Spray painted it blue and used foam pages to cut out the letters. The Nemo and squirt were just printed on card stock and glued on.
Food: since the party was in the afternoon/evening, I didn't do a full spread because I figured snacks at a pool party would be best.
Crab croissants: these were a big hit and simple to make! I purchased croissant rolls and chicken salad from Sam's club and just popped some googley eyes on toothpicks and stuck them in.
These were a BIG hit! I hot glued some googley eyes and fins on "cuties" mandarin oranges and made little nemos for the kids to take home.
Goldfish in a fish bowl served as great snacks for the littles and were named "Nigel's lunch". They also enjoyed the "shark bait" cheese balls.
The Mother-in-law made some awesome "seashell pasta" that everyone really enjoyed. We also had spinach dip and chips labeled "seaweed".
For drinks, I had 2 liters of various sodas and Hugs for the kids (in our Nemo fish tank). I also made some "ocean water" punch. I found the recipe on Pinterest and it was blue punch, 7 up, and pineapple juice!
How stinking adorable is this cookie platter? Thank you so much Sweet Libby Cookies! This was just perfect and so delicious! Perfect size for the kids to grab and eat!
Here is his smash cake! I mean, can it get any cuter??? Thank you Sweetly Southern Cakery for your great creation!
Jax loved the cake but was more interested in eating the little decorations all over it. They were edible but I was afraid he would choke on them so I ended up taking them all off.
We also had matching cupcakes for everyone to enjoy!
Take home treats. Found some chocolate blue candies on clearance at Walmart in the wedding section (score!) so I used them. I was originally going to use blue jelly beans but those suckers are pretty pricey so I used the clearance candy! Mix that with some Swiss fish candy, gummy sharks, and a few goldfish and it made for some cute party treats.
The outfits: this was his cake smash photo outfit but the shirt was perfect to go with his swim trunk on the day of his party.
How cute is the back of his shirt? "I survived my parent's first year" 😉 so true!
I also had these shirts made for me and Brent to wear during the party. Vistaprint had a great sale going so I ordered these. The front was what is pictured on top and the back had Nemo sayings. Mine was "squishy" and Brent's was "shark bait".
Overall, the party was a success! My only complaint was that it was so hot and humid but that's why we had a pool party! Kids and parents all ended up swimming because they needed to cool off! I'm happy to say that I'm actually proud of everything and Jax had a wonderful turnout and a blast! Next year, I may do it a little later in the day because of the heat but then I will have to do a dinner spread...pizza anyone? 😉
P.s. Here are some photos from his cake smash session which was also Nemo themed. I think they turned out great!
