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My son, Cruz, recently turned one and therefore a party was in order. And I LOVE a good party, but more so, I love planning a good party.
Choosing a Theme
Naturally, my party planning always starts with deciding on a theme. I typically research on Pinterest and create a board for my likes. Then I think of decor/items I already have, which would fit into said theme. This saves money and I feel better about purchasing party items if I know I will get more than one use out of them.
For Cruz’s big O-N-E, I went with a “Mr. ONE~derful” theme. I threw a fabulous 30th birthday for myself a few years back, where we celebrated the “last days of my Roaring 20’s”. Lots of black, white and gold decor and most of which I still had–score! Also, he is a major flirt and has a movie-start smile (for a baby with 6 teeth). Mr. ONE~derful seemed quite fitting.
While I am quite crafty, I was browsing Amazon Prime and just had to buy the “one” crown and bow tie outfit. I wanted to do a photo shoot in advance, I was short on time and hell, sometimes you just can’t beat the joy of clicking “proceed to checkout” knowing it will arrive in two days. I may have also been drinking wine . . . . so . . . Click HERE to purchase the “one” crown and HERE for the bow tie and suspenders outfit. I was SUPER pleased with both and damn, he is cute!
The Invitation
The invitation for the party is really my jumping off point. I love graphic design and typically design all my party invites myself. Deciding the invite details also helps to solidify the party’s look and feel in my mind. I also print the invites out on card stock using my desktop printer and cut them out with scissors. #cheapskate
Again, to save time and money (and so I only had to plan one party) we also decided to throw in Cruz’s baptism to the celebration. Based on the timing, it seemed most appropriate to host a brunch following church. Alliteration is my JAM, so the birthday and baptism “Bow Tie Brunch” was born!
The Menu
Next, I start planning the menu. This includes cocktails. Some folks might look down on me for having alcohol at a kids party. That’s fine, you do you. However, I think that BECAUSE it’s a kids party, alcohol is a requirement for the adults.
Let’s just say if I am going to have 20 kids ages 6 months to 6 running through my house, tracking in sand from the sandbox I HAD to have and spilling juice on my floor, I damn well better be able to do it with a mimosa in hand.
I try to choose menu items that I can either throw in a crock pot or make in advance of the party. This leaves time on the day of for final prep and just putting things out. If I am cooking on the day of, I opt for quick and easy.
BOW TIE BRUNCH MENU
- Easy Breakfast Strata (breakfast casserole)
- Ham
- Shrimp Cocktail
- French Toast Sticks
- Donuts
- Fruit and cheese board
- Bow tie Cupcakes
- Mimosas
- Bloody Mary’s
- Beer
- Capri Sun and Water (ya know, for the kids)
I have also learned my lesson and have stopped trying to make all the party food myself, from scratch. It’s just too much work. I am also blessed to have both my mom and mother-in-law here in town and they are always willing to help bring or do whatever I might need. SO, party tip #1 — DELEGATE!
My mom makes a FABULOUS breakfast casserole/strata and usually cooks for a small army. She is the gal to call if you need food for a lot of people. My mother-in-law (MIL) makes a killer Bloody Mary (I think it’s because her name is Mary . . .) and an all-around foodie. I am a lucky lady to have these chicks in my party-planning arsenal . . . .
Anyway, my mom is in charge of bringing the strata and I ask my MIL to bring items for a Bloody Mary bar and also, the shrimp cocktail.
Donut Hole Skewers
I wanted to incorporate the black and white theme into the food a bit and with it being brunch, chocolate and powered sugar donut holes were a must! Also, very kid friendly . . . . except for the powdered sugar . . . on my dark, brown couches . . . (face palm). . .
I purchased the donut holes from Safeway (and lucky for me, they were on sale that week for $5). I skewered 4 holes on kabob sticks and viola, those donuts were fancy. I was also able to make these a day or so in advance, and store in an airtight container. #theycallmemartha
French Toast Sticks
Okay, I am now going to reveal to you one of the absolute BEST breakfast/brunch party foods EVER . . . French Toast Sticks.
I know, I know. You’ve probably eaten them before. BUT, I am here to tell you that if you haven’t tried the Great Value brand Cinnamon French Toast Sticks from the frozen section at Walmart–YOU, my friend, have not lived.
Every time I serve these at a party, they are gone in minutes–no matter how many boxes I buy. They are also ridiculously easy to make. Bake at 400 for 4 minutes. And, inexpensive at around $2.75 per box. NOTE: I bought 3 boxes, but I ended up having more people than I thought I would (around 30 to 35), so I really needed 4-5 boxes.
I do put in some effort and like to buy small plastic cups, pour some syrup in the bottom and then put 3-4 sticks in each cup. This makes them easy to serve and easy for the guests to eat. If you wanna get REALLY crazy, sprinkle some powdered sugar on those puppies. You feel me. It will be french toast stick magic.
As you can see from the picture, due to time limitations after church and before the party, french toast stick magic did not occur on this particular day.
Bow Tie Cupcakes
Okay, confession. The one party item I have yet to farm out is cupcakes. I am probably biased, but I dig cake and frosting made from scratch. I usually make a simple white cake and buttercream frosting for my parties, but for the Bow Tie Brunch, I felt chocolate cake was in order.
My cake of choice growing up was a chocolate cake called “Wacky Chocolate Cake.” My mom has used the recipe forever so I pulled it out for this party. It is easy to make and the cake is super moist and rich. I did stick to the standard buttercream frosting, to keep with the black and white theme.
For the Wacky Chocolate Cake recipe and tutorial on how I made these cute little dudes, click here!
My last party bow tie “moment” to share is . . . . wait for it . . . it’s gonna be amazing . . . .
The napkins and silverware.
Yep. You read that right. If you don’t take napkins and silverware seriously, you sir, can just go home.
Alright, usually the napkins and silverware are not the “pies de resistance” for my parties, but this time my friends–they were. Because, they were BOW TIES!!!
Bow Tie Napkin How-To
- Get some paper hand towels
- Black 7/8 ribbon
- Silverware (I used plastic)
- Wine (not required, but it helps)
Cut the ribbon into 6 inch strips. Lay the napkin on top of the ribbon, stack the silverware (knife, fork and then spoon) and tie the ribbon around, just once. You could also use washi tape, but the ribbon was easier for the guests to undo.
Well, kids. I wish I had more photos to share but let’s be honest, the mimosas and emotions go the best of me. That will happen when your baby turns one. He won’t remember it, but I’d say he had an epic time.
