A Southern Peach Party for Isla's 1st Birthday
Our darling Isla, we love her so much. From the moment she entered our world to the 365+ days we have been blessed to spend with her since—she has filled our hearts with so much joy. How lucky we were to celebrate our sweet peach with a peachy 1st birthday celebration last weekend.
As an ode to our new home state of South Carolina, we threw a peachy party with a southern twist. Looking back through all of the photos of her party fills my heart with gratitude. Gratitude for our sweet little girl. Gratitude for making it through the newborn and baby phase. And gratitude for the family and new friends that joined us to celebrate our girl.
Remember the inspiration board for her party that I shared a few weeks ago? Well, the whole thing came together perfectly. Peachy décor, tasty food, and great company—what more could a party girl ask for!
As promised, here is the lowdown on her party details.
The Smash Cake Backdrop
One of the most popular questions I had in response to this instagram post was related to the backdrop I made for the dessert table. I was inspired by the Rifle Paper Co. Peach print and the magical Linen & Cake store I have been stalking on Instagram.
The backdrop was so simple to create and made such a fun background for Isla’s smash cake. The leaves are made out of cardstock that I roughly brushed with olive paint on to give them some dimension.
For the 3-D effect, I folded the leaves down the middle. I mixed in two sizes of leaves and glued some of them together into clusters. The peaches on the wall are made out of paper mache—you could also easily buy styrofoam balls or pre-made paper mache balls and paint them too.
One Banner (I used this free printable and changed the font color in Photoshop)
I cut Isla’s name out of a piece of matting board from Hobby Lobby. I freehanded her name and used a Xacto knife to cut it out.
The Table Settings
My friend Belena, from Geese & Ganders, helped me figure out the fun paper products for the party. Belena’s shop is filled with dreamy party pieces and she has such a great eye for pulling together colors and themes. Brody still talks about his Phoenix Zoo Party she helped me with.
Striped Plates / Polka Dot Plates / Rainbow Napkins / Checked Napkins
We decided to mix and match different prints and patterns in orange and mint. One of my favorite tricks I have learned from Belena is layering—for Isla’s party we layered mint colored striped plates with orange polka dot plates and fun orange napkins.
Since we were having a peach party, I filled mint green berry baskets with the juiciest South Carolina peaches to decorate. We set them out on the tables and around the house.
The Birthday Party Food
Isla’s party was at 2 pm, which fell smack dab between lunch and dinner. We kept the food simple—a selection of chicken salads, a spread of crackers and croissants, and a fruit tray.
We also kept the dessert simple and ordered cupcakes from the grocery store with peach frosting. We cut little leaves out of cardstock and poked them into the cupcakes to keep the peach vibe going.
I am drawn to simple, minimalistic looks and Isla’s smash cake was just that. I had the baker at Publix make a cake with no piping or decorations then we added a faux peach to the top. It was perfect. And Isla would have probably ate the entire cake if I had let her—someone has her momma’s sweet tooth.
How to Make a Piñata
The piñata was a last minute decision to make and I am so glad we did. Brody and I had fun putting it together and Brody had even more fun trying to break it open at the party—heck, I think Brody has more fun than everyone combined at the party! Oh to be a toddler!
If you have never made a piñata before, they are so easy to make. I still remember making a big smiley face one for my 13th birthday party.
For the base, I used a punch ball from the dollar store. I inflated it as large as I could.
To create the paper mache paste, I used a 1:1 mixture of flour and water. We cut a ton of 1-inch strips of newspaper and dipped them in the mixture piece by piece covering the punch ball. Let the newspaper harden over 24-48 hours then pop the punch ball.
I ordered peach crepe paper and cut large strips then fringed them. I wrapped the strips around the paper mache sphere and gluing them on with a bottle of glue to created the peach. I used another sheet of green cardstock to create a big leaf for the top of the peach.
To hang, we poked two holes in the top and placed a zip tie through it (thanks to the momma on Instagram with that suggestion!).
It was fun to watch the little ones try to break it open with a plastic baseball bat.
The 1st Birthday Party Activities
Most of our sweet little guests were 3 years old and under. Since we had her party at our house, it was nice to have our playroom for the little ones to play.
Another big hit was a big piece of butcher paper I taped onto the floor in our empty living room. I put out a bunch of stickers, markers, glue, pom-poms, googly-eyes etc for the little ones to craft with. This was such an easy activity and it would be fun to do whether or not you are having a party.
We also filled the play pool with balls for a mini ball pit—another easy activity to set-up for toddlers.
A peachy keen celebration, indeed! I am forever a believer in birthday celebrations—big or small. Our peach bash in commemoration of Isla’s first year with us was the best reminder of the happiness our sweet girl has brought into our lives.
