Amanda Panda’s 1st Birthday Party!

I cannot believe that Amanda is already one! This year has flown by beyond quickly. For Amanda Panda’s big day, we had a princess panda party. Lots of friends and family came to celebrate. The party was supposed to be outside, but due to heavy rain the day before, we scrambled to move everything inside. Fortunately, everything worked out. Here are some of the fun details of her first birthday party.

{Diving face first into her smash cake!}

Dessert. I mention dessert first because, nothing makes a party like some sweet treats. I spent a lot of time baking, creating and decorating the week prior. Can you tell that I have a sweet tooth?! We actually had two dessert tables!

{Panda Cake Pops: Red Velvet & Vanilla – They were all gone!

And yes, that is edible glitter on the pink cake pops!}

{Mini vanilla cupcakes topped with the cutest little panda bears}

{Panda Sugar Cookies – They tasted as good as they looked!}

{Hand dipped Rice Crispy treats with sugar crystals}

{Sugar Cookie Minis – Perfect for little hands}

And of course, the cake! There were actually three layers (including the smash cake). Two layers of moist yellow cake with fresh custard, and a layer with decadent chocolate pudding. I tasted both flavors, and couldn’t figure out which one was my favorite. So delicious… 

{Shimmery pink pearls of fondant rimmed the bottom layer}

Food is so important at any party. You can Pinterest your heart out, but without fantastic food, a party falls flat. Since practically every kids’ birthday party has pizza, I like to serve anything but pizza! But to make things a little more fun, we brought in some food carts to serve up some yummy comfort food. A grilled cheese cart, a cart that grilled sliders and veggie burgers to order, and of course, the ever popular french fry and onion ring cart. We rounded things out with various homemade salads, pasta and fruit. Not to mention lots of drinks… Even some adults drinks were cleverly disguised in pink party cups!

{Freshly cut fruit balanced out all of the desserts!}

{How cool are these bamboo-style straws?!}

{Mini water bottles with girly panda labels}

{French fry and onion ring cart – a party favorite!}

Panda decor galore… There were cute pandas everywhere! I even found walking panda balloons on ribbon leashes that the kids loved playing with.

{Amanda’s panda birthday party hat.}

{I thought this “I am 1” banner embellished with pandas was the cutest thing ever!}

{These Hello Panda treats are actually pretty yummy, and the boxes are cute, too.

They come in strawberry and chocolate flavors.}

{One of the many panda balloon bouquets}

{Panda party favors: Each child received a plush panda, a panda sticker book, panda cookies, and a lollipop… All in a personalized bucket.}

There was plenty for all of the guests to do besides eat. Entertainment was around every corner. We had crafts galore, face painting, glitter tattoos, Flash Tattoos, and fun musical entertainment for the kids – She sang baby & toddler songs, as well as Disney songs, and even contemporary songs (My oldest daughter loved the Taylor Swift songs!). She also had instruments for the kids to play with as she sang and played the guitar.

{Music time!}

{Hailey showing off her face painting}

{Lots of crafts kept the kids busy and happy throughout the party}

{Guests decorated king & princess crowns, and princess wands}

{Making panda faces, complete with glitter glue, of course!}

 {Panda themed pages for the kids to color.

And princess pink Goldfish to snack on… Coloring can make you hungry!}

{The kids loved the Play-Doh station. I was just hoping they wouldn’t smash it into every crevice. Fortunately, it was easy to clean up. Play-Doh is always a fun party activity for kids.}

The best part of the party was that everyone had fun, especially the birthday girl!

{A very happy birthday girl}

{Family picture}

{Amanda loved all of the balloons – and there were LOTS and LOTS of balloons!}

{Having fun with the birthday girl}

{One of my favorite moments happened after the party was over – Just hanging out with the girls}

{Happy First Birthday Amanda!}