And what a wonderful 1st birthday it was. For a pandemic birthday, I think we did quite well. Only a handful of our closest family & friends attended and it was cozy, at-home perfection.

I had a few ask why we chose the “bear” theme– well, a dear friend of mine gifted Shay a tiny bear when she was still in my belly and she loved it from the moment she came into this world. One of her first words is also “bear”! Plus its the end of January so if we needed to be out in the cold for whatever reason I would just dawn her bear suit and we’d be fine, lol. So the bear theme just fit and it came together so well.

I cannot post about this event without first mentioning Bonne Fete Box ( @bonnefetebox ). All the amazing little decor details you see scattered throughout our home are care of Soraya. The concept of her company is genius– literally a party in a box. Customized to your theme, # of guests & budget, it is perfect for the busy parent. Not to mention this is a female-owned, Canadian based, small biz and she sourcing everything from local vendors! I mean, it truly doesn’t get any better than that. And the quality of everything was impeccable. I highly recommend!

Of course the absolute high light of the day (for the guests under 6) was the beautiful white bouncy castle that was INSIDE our home! Honestly, such a perfect idea for those that have small children and would prefer them to be indoors or, like us, have a child who’s birthday is in the winter. This was a 7ft x 7ft bouncy castle and it fit with plenty of space in our play room. The lovely ladies at Instaballoons Vancouver ( @instaballoons_vancouver ) delivered, set up, inflated, deflated, packed & picked up all on the day of our event. They were so kind and professional. Huge hit with the kids, kept them busy for hours and gave the parents time to enjoy some well deserved cocktails.

Then the big beautiful balloon garland was done by Monica at Balloon Boss Vancouver ( @balloonboss.vancouver ). Mama to 2 little girls herself, this is her side hustle and she was sweet enough to come by to set it up for me. It was such an amazing addition to our dining room. It definitely made it feel like a party. Also not one balloon popped or lost air for the 2 weeks we had it in our home– so an amazing follower of mine also got to use it for her daughters birthday! So fun! And the 2 bouquets of balloons & large white single balloons with greenery were by Monica’s cousin, Mandy, over at Whats Poppin ( @whats.poppin.co ). We kept these at the front door so guests were greeted with balloons and more were placed by the photo area. They were perfect!

Our little photo area, complete with a gorgeous rattan chair (fit for a Queen or, in our case, birthday girl), rug, pampas grass & backdrop panels, was by the sweet folks at High Five Decor Inc ( @highfivedecor ). They also came by to drop off and set up all their items. Again, another little extra item but made it extra special for an at-home first birthday.

All the beautiful signage you see including the milestone poster template & 12 month photos template are by Tash at Unmeasured Events. I found her on Etsy. I wanted something nice and simple that wouldn’t clash with the decor. I also was hoping to get something I could display long after the birthday so I didn’t want it to be bear themed per say. These templates were perfect– simple yet rustic, easy to use & good quality for large prints. And Tash was so easy to talk to through Etsy messaging. She made all the tweaks I needed to get the template just right for our event.

As for Shay’s cake– this is the 2nd first birthday cake Henna at Cakey Bakey ( @cakey_bakey06 ) has made for us. She made Charlie’s fiesta cake & now this beautiful bear cake. And wait for it– She’s only 15 years old!! Yes, you read that right. So when she made Charlie’s cake she was 13!! And it was delicious then and it was delicious again this year too. I’m so proud of this girl and her following her passion. I can only hope my girls focus their energies on doing well in school, fuelling their creativity & playing sports in their teens. BTW Henna, do you babysit? Lol

Then, last but definitely not least, my sweet friend Crystal from Crystal Sing Photography ( @crystalsingphotography ) captured all these amazing shots of our baby girls big day. Crystal does all our family photo sessions and she ALWAYS does such an amazing job. Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you for spending the day with us and putting your magical touch on our memories of the evening.

And that is about it! For those that asking about the “A Beary Sweet Year” photo sign, the “one” sign, the white cake stands, goodie bags, front door bear and charcuterie graze table, those were all made by me 🙂 I’m not a DIYer by any means but I always feel a sense of gratification when I make something for the girls birthdays. So these few items were my little addition.

I hope I covered everything and you enjoyed this recap. If I’m missing anything please feel free to leave me a comment below and I will get back to you.

Have a beary one-derful day!!

 

 

XX