Let’s just start by saying that I LOVE to plan parties. I’m not very good at hosting them (so many people, so much noise, so much mess!), but planning them is my gig! So when it came to Henry’s first birthday party, I started with the basics: his favorite book. He loves to read Little Blue Truck so that seemed like a great theme for his party.

Probably the most fun part of the whole planning process was sketching out the little blue truck on a huge piece of cardboard, painting it, and cutting it out. I got some thin PVC pipe and elbow joints at Lowe’s, cut them approximately 2 feet long (so I had 4 pieces total) and hot-glued 2 to the back of the cut out to prop it up and attached the other 2 via elbow joints at the bottom to keep it standing. (That also means the elbow joint and floor PVC come off for easy storage…since I made this almost 3 months before his party.)

For party favors, I made whoopee pies (or, to go with the theme, “cow pies”) and attached little themed thank you cards that I had made to them.

The party was from 12-2 PM so we needed food, but it was also the Saturday after Thanksgiving so I knew people wouldn’t be starving. (Hello, leftover turkey and mashed potatoes!) So we had pulled pork, salsa & chips, fresh veggies, deviled eggs, and cake. For beverages, we had water, decaf coffee, and hot chocolate. It seemed to be the perfect amount of food. At least, no one told me they went home hungry.