Ryland's Very Hungry Caterpillar 1st Birthday Party

Ryland's first birthday party was this past Saturday, a few days before his actual birthday.  I had so much fun planning his party.  I was going to go with a safari theme but then decided that might be better for a later birthday.  Finally I found his 'very hungry caterpillar' theme online (pinterest and various blogs).  It was perfect for his 1st birthday!  I found some easy arts n crafts for the older kids and plenty of ideas for decor and food.  Not to mention the book is a menu itself with all the foods the caterpillar consumes.  :)  I was very excited with how it turned out and Ry loved the Caterpillar lantern mobile.  If you asked him where the caterpillar was, he'd look up for it, point to it and yell 'ga'!

Get ready to party caterpillar style!


I found a really cute hand made invitation online but decided I didn't have the time for that, so I used evite and uploaded a picture of the caterpillar and added a fun message.

Can you believe a year has passed?

Our little caterpillar is growing up fast!

Crawl on over for the birthday fun

Ryland Carter is turning ONE!

Cake and light refreshments will be served.

Following the party all are welcome to stay and hang out, relax and let the kids play!

For the entry way I had 3 tables set up.  One with a 'make your own caterpillar' station, another with handmade antenna's to wear and gift bags, and the last one for the gifts.  Each gift bag contained a slinky, caterpillar key chain, stickers, butterfly lollipop and crayons.  We made the antennas with brown headbands, black pipe cleaners and little styrofaom balls spray-painted black.

 

goodie bag - my favorite find was the caterpillar key chain

pom poms, laundry pins and glue sticks used to make a caterpillar

When you walked into the living room people were greeted by a coloring station, balloons and beach balls on the floor for the rug rats, and the caterpillar collage that displayed his pictures from newborn to 12 months. 

found the coloring sheet online

the balloons and beach balls were a hit

The collage was super easy to make - I used pipe cleaners and construction paper.

As you worked your way into the kitchen guests encountered the caterpillar cake, food table and caterpillar mobile.  The caterpillar head was the smash cake, and the body was cup-cakes for the guests.  All the foods on the table was inspired by the book.  I even found butterfly lollipops and caterpillar gummies!

1st birthday cake - made with love.

I found these green/white cupcake liners to make it look like legs.

caterpillar sandwich

apple caterpillar

Paper lanterns, construction paper and pipe cleaners were used to create this awesome caterpillar mobile.  Idea came from Pottery Barn

I found Ryland's birthday shirt on etsy. 

The guests started arriving around 3pm.  I had hoped Ry would nap from 1-3pm, but alas he refused, so he was a little cranky for his own party.  "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to" right? 

The birthday boy

everyone likes to color

 

making caterpillars

Ry was not too happy when we brought out the cake

But then he tried the frosting

And he was a happy birthday boy!

and messy

I LOVE FROSTING!

Ryland crashed promptly after eating his cake.  That's OK, he made it through the important stuff and the party continued on.  The kids had a blast playing with the balloons and running around the backyard.  I think we had close to 30 people over for his party, the majority of the kids ranged from 6 months to 6 yrs old.  Later that evening, after everyone left, we opened his gifts.  The little stinker made out like a bandit!  He is one happy little dude. 

A big thank you to everyone who came over to celebrate Ryland's 1st birthday with us!


Very Hungry Caterpillar Shirt - etsy
Caterpillar key chains - Michael's
Stickers, crayons, slinky's - Wal-Mart
Gift bags, plates, napkins - Target
Table cloths, paper lanterns - Party City
Headbands, pipe cleaners, styrofoam balls, pom poms - Hobby Lobby
Awesome plush caterpillar toys (there were 3 of them) - borrowed from my friend Amanda :)