Where the Wild Things Are Birthday Party: Sources, Links and {hopefully some} Inspiration

My child has finally started napping again and this momma is crying tears of joy! Thirty minute cat-naps were not working for either of us so thankfully he's getting back on track. I hope, I really REALLY hope. So I'm getting in some much needed quiet time and updating the blog with some easy party decorations. I used these at J's birthday party and many have made their way around Pinterest.

The most popular project (according to Pinterest re-pins) was this:

We took a photo of J each month next to a chalk board with his weight, length and fun milestones he reached that month. Here's one from the month J's adoption was finalized. It's my favorite pose and also shows a mom-fail because I forgot to write in his length. I also didn't notice I forgot until the next month. Pretty sure I was sleep deprived back then {and still am}.

I got the idea for this frame from my sweet friend Lindsey, who is so talented. She also loves to share her crafting ideas and posted the frame how-to here. We keep our frame up all year to hang up Christmas or birthday cards, J's "artwork," invitations, etc.

Project #2 was inspired by this hand stamped tree slice from Jones Design Company.

I purchased the tree slices from Michael's {you can also get it here}. Then I cut out quotes from the book in vinyl using my Cricut. You could also use pre-cut stickers from Michael's or Hobby Lobby. I added a pictures from the book and then Mod Podged over it to keep it from peeling off. Simple and cheap!

My sister helped with project #3: Chalkboard designs. I gave her quotes from the book or fun sayings and she used her talent and fancy Kindergarten-teacher-handwriting-skills:

Cutting out pictures from a book was the best and easiest decoration idea {My apologies for cutting up your work, Mr. Sendak}. I was able to embellish Chalkboards, a window pane and the tree slices with pictures. I also cut out characters to hang from twine over our entertainment center.

Here are some other sources for other decorations we used.

1. Wooden chargers for cakes: World Market
2. Plush Where the Wild Things Are dolls: They are made by Crocodile Creek but are difficult to find. I purchased Max from Barnes and Noble in Dallas {it is not sold online}. I purchased two of the wild things from Eggemeyer's General Store in San Angelo, TX. I paid about $15 each but online they are more expensive {Amazon}.
3. Arrow chalkboard sign: from BHLDN
4. Painted rocking chair: a gift from my friend Patty. You can message her through Facebook to order one. She can customize one to fit any decor or party theme.
5. Max costume: Party City
6. First birthday pictures: Krysta Rathbun Photography

This party theme was simple and fun. Enjoy throwing your own Wild Rumpus!

Celebrating our wild thing

J's birthday was 2 months ago and I am just now getting around to blogging about. This is proof that time is literally going by too fast for me. I can't believe my baby is now 14 months old. We are doing all we can to hang onto these sweet moments with our little one and his birthday party was one of the best events so far.



Planning a birthday party is not easy. Planning a party that fell between holidays, while family was in town and when my son and I both had the stomach flu -- that felt impossible. Thankfully there are a few things I learned that helped make party planning a little bit easier.

1. Pick a theme in advance.
I think I had the Where the Wild Things Are theme in mind before J was even born. A few years ago I saw this post from Hostess with the Mostess and loved the party idea. Having a theme early helped with shopping. I was able to purchase items months in advance so I didn't have to stress about getting everything right before the party. It also helped spread out the cost over a few months, instead of one big amount all at once (the hubs really appreciated this).

2. Give yourself some alone time.
Since I had to make a lot of decorations for the party, I knew it couldn't be done with the little man in the house. My husband graciously took him out of the house for "guy time" at Bass Pro Shop. They had fun ogling at hunting and fishing gear while I got hours alone with my sewing machine and hot glue gun. *bliss*

3. Ask for help.
When I started planning, I had this grand idea that I wasn't going to ask our parents for help. They have been a huge source of support this year and I wanted them to just enjoy the party and not lift a finger. Ha! I still laugh at my naive self. If we couldn't get through our first year as parents without them, why in the world did I think we'd get through a first birthday party without them?

I needed help, I asked and of course our family stepped up. Our brothers and sisters spent a LONG night making decorations and setting up for the party.

They also managed to get in a few snuggles with the birthday boy.

And our moms were the biggest help. Craig's mom helped indecisive me pick out cake flavors. She kept J while I ran party errands. Then picked up the cake and delivered it to our house in time for the party. My mom is generous with all things: her time, money and talent and in helping me with this party, she provided all those things. She doesn't even wait for me to ask her for help, she sees a need and just jumps in. We couldn't have pulled a party off without these two ladies.

4. Have an after-party celebration
When the guests have gone, presents are strewn around the living room and your little party animal is tucked in bed, celebrate with your husband. Craig and I popped open a bottle of wine, put our feet up and talked about the day and the last year. Give thanks and celebrate because not only did God give your little one their first year of life, he also gave you all you needed as parents to get through this first year.

We are pretty crazy about this little one.

If you want to host your own wild rumpus, I will post more pictures of the decorations and links to products in another blog post. Hopefully it won't take me another two months to write ;)