REAL PARTIES: “Wild Rumpus” Birthday
categories: birthday party ideas, kids party ideas, real parties
Today’s Real Party feature looks like so much fun! It’s a “Wild Rumpus” Birthday that Kristen Gau created to celebrate the milestone first birthday of her (super adorable!) son Henry.
Inspired by the colors of autumn and the Where the Wild Things Are book & movie, this party is packed with creative ideas! Read on for lots more pics & all the details, as told by Kristen…
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“My husband and I love reading Where the Wild Things Are to our son Henry and are have been a bit overly excited about the movie. Months ago when we learned the movie would be released one week before Henry’s first birthday, we decided a Wild Rumpus would be the perfect party theme!
My first inclination was to do a jungle atmosphere incorporating Max and the Wild Things, but the beautiful autumn colors here in the Midwest and close proximity to Halloween inspired me to give the “jungle” an autumn twist.
I designed the invitations in an orange, yellow and black, then made a pennant banner and door sign to match.
I coordinated the orange color in the printed elements to Paper Source’s papaya envelopes and used a roll of papaya wrapping paper as a table runner for the food table.
I also used my large collection of Paper Source die cut leaves to decorate the “trees“, which were fallen limbs that I spray painted black.
To bring in more elements of the book I found Where The Wild Things Are plush dolls from Crocodile Creek and boxed puzzles for the kiddies at Mudpuppy.
Food:
We had fruit cups and cheese sticks for the little ones and “grown up” kid food for the adults such as mac and cheese, gourmet grilled cheeses and pb&j sandwiches, tomato soup, apple slices and popcorn balls.
For the table I found some cute, colorful first birthday plates at Target and ordered the BEAUTIFUL mini cake and cupcakes from a local shop, The Cakery.
Henry loved his cupcake and got icing all over himself as every one year old should.
Party Favors: Oh Henry Bars, orange fangs, and crowns!
Henry’s Wild Thing onesie and Max costume were handmade by sellers on Etsy and I sewed the crown and bib.
My husband designed and built “Max’s private boat” that fits over the top of Henry’s new red wagon. We plan to pull our little Wild Thing around in the boat for trick or treating.
We had a perfect day for the party and enjoyed celebrating our little man’s first birthday with our family and friends. Even though Henry will likely not remember his first birthday, I wanted to make it special and it will be a memory I will always treasure.”
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Everything turned out SO CUTE, Kristen! Thanks for the party inspiration!
This is the cutest party I’ve ever seen! And I’m not biased at all since I’m doing the same thing for my son’s 4th birthday in December.
Nov 6, 2009 at 10:55 am
Thanks for all the ideas and adorable pictures!What a Perfect Party Kristen! Every detail is amazing. Your son is gorgeous!
Nov 6, 2009 at 11:11 am
The cake was so sweet and perfect. It tugged at my heart thinking about the book and how much my on little boys love hearing about when he sails away….
The OH HENRY bars are such a clever idea!
Beautiful party. Thanks for sharing.SUPER cute!! LOVE the theme!
Nov 6, 2009 at 11:13 amWonderful! I love all of the little touches!
Nov 6, 2009 at 11:36 amThis is so adorable. My son’s class had a Where the Wild Things Are Party last week. We could have used some of these ideas. Well done.
Nov 6, 2009 at 12:33 pmSo cute! Where did you get the plastic utensil holders shown in the photo before the cupcakes?
Nov 6, 2009 at 1:13 pmPlease post where you bought the utensil holders. Great party!
Nov 6, 2009 at 1:25 pmThat is seriously the cutest birthday party I have ever seen. and love the theme! of course.
Nov 6, 2009 at 1:45 pmGorgeous! The details are fantastic. What a happy boy you have.
Nov 6, 2009 at 1:48 pmThanks for all the sweet comments everyone! It was so much fun to have a party for our little guy.
Amber and Darlene, the utensil holders were from Target a couple years ago. They were a lucky find and come in handy at almost any party, unfortunately I’ve searched online and haven’t seen anything like it since.
Nov 6, 2009 at 3:16 pmI would love to have exact party for my son!!
Nov 6, 2009 at 3:54 pmThis is such an adorable party. Love your attention to all the details!
Nov 6, 2009 at 4:14 pm‘Where the Wild Things Are” was one of my very favorite books….I LOVE this party idea. It is truly brilliant.
Nov 6, 2009 at 9:27 pmA wild rumpus indeed! Love the onesie–etsy artists are the best and make party planning so easy! Kristen, the event is so creative. But do tell where I can find that print above your mantle. Digging that just as much as those yummy cupcakes.
Nov 6, 2009 at 11:36 pmThis is truly adorable. Thank you for sharing it!
Nov 7, 2009 at 4:40 amSuch a cute idea
Nov 7, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Henry’s just adorable!Shanon – I purchased the art for the print from iStock photo, then modified the color to match my decor and had it printed on photo quality paper. http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-3500697-magic-tree-birdie.php
Nov 8, 2009 at 12:14 amOMG! Everything is just perfect! Wonderful party!
Nov 8, 2009 at 3:16 amGreat job!
Nov 9, 2009 at 7:29 amThis party is absolutely adorable. I especially love the paper leaves and party favors.
Nov 9, 2009 at 7:56 amOMG! What an excellent idea! This would also work great for teachers who are teaching the book!!
AMAZING!
Nov 9, 2009 at 9:13 amThis is absolutely brilliant! I believe that I will be using some of your ideas at my son’s 1st bday as well! Kudos to you and your imaginative mind!
Nov 9, 2009 at 12:21 pmBeautiful! Love the table cloth…where did you find it?? And those super cite crowns??
Nov 10, 2009 at 7:43 amThe table cloth is from Crate & Barrel and the crowns are by Beistle.
Nov 10, 2009 at 8:03 amsupercute!
Nov 10, 2009 at 9:13 amLove it! so sweet. My favorite is the birthday plate, did you make it yourself or etsy it? what a lovely idea, especially if you do a new plate for each birthday- so sweet.
Nov 11, 2009 at 7:16 amWhat a cute party!!! Do you party plan for a living??? If not, you definitely should!!! Very creative ideas
Nov 11, 2009 at 7:23 amit’s absolutely adorable!! the details are amazing!!
Nov 11, 2009 at 3:16 pmI LOVE this! Thanks for sharing!
Nov 11, 2009 at 5:34 pmGreat theme and what a sweetie! Well carried out, i love the ‘oh henry’s’ very cute!
http://www.amodernproposal.com
Nov 13, 2009 at 3:37 pmwhat etsy seller did you get the onesie from?
Nov 17, 2009 at 9:30 amStacey, the birthday plate was from a local paint your own pottery studio. They have blank pottery that you paint with your own designs. I love your idea of doing a plate for each birthday! Carrie, the onesie is from I Candy Designs – http://www.etsy.com/shop/Icandydesigns
Nov 18, 2009 at 8:51 pmadorable party… where did you get the utensil holder… pls post, thanks!
Nov 18, 2009 at 10:37 pmThanks MC – the utensil holders are from Target a while back (see comments above) but I’ve not seen them available for quite some time.
Nov 20, 2009 at 9:04 pmthis is so cute! great ideas… do u mind if i use some of ur pics for reference?
Jan 27, 2010 at 2:04 amDoes your target still sell those paper plates and napkins? I LOVE them and they are perfect for my son’s 1st birthday party, but I cant find them at my target or online.
Jan 30, 2010 at 5:48 pmWhere did you get your birthday banner on your mantle?
Apr 28, 2010 at 12:34 pmThank you for all the wonderful ideas! We are throwing our son his 1st birthday next month and your log really helped me to get wonderful ideas for the celebration. It is almost fall and feels like it last few days here in NY so the Autumn feel will fit perfectly! Thanks again! Keep cherishing all the momets of motherhood. Your son is beautiful and the pic is very adorale of you and him. Enjoy the rest of summer.
Jul 31, 2010 at 8:27 am
