Peter Rabbit Themed First Birthday Party

Anyone else love decorating and DIY-ing for a party as much as I do? I (admittedly) tend to go a little overboard, especially for my baby’s Peter Rabbit themed first birthday party. But a first birthday is a big milestone. And with all of the health struggles and uncertainty we’ve been through during the past year it seemed like a big reason to celebrate our birthday boy in a big and special way.

Hop on in to see this sweet, sweet Peter Rabbit themed first birthday party for the sweetest baby boy.

As I started to plan my son’s first birthday party it was a no brainer that it would be a Peter Rabbit theme. I’ve talked about my love for Beatrix Potter before and you may remember seeing all of the Peter Rabbit touches in the nursery.

My sons birthday falls during the month of March so the timing worked out perfectly. With Easter fast approaching it seemed like everywhere I looked I found endless amounts of Peter Rabbit inspiration.

It’s no surprise that almost all of the party decorations were DIY craft projects. I had so much fun planning for and creating the perfect party decor and tablescape.

We were living with my parents at the time because we had recently sold our house. It was special to host my son’s first birthday party in my childhood home. For the party we moved the table up against the wall and I covered it with a plain white tablecloth that we already had. I folded under and ironed (bonus: no sewing!) the edges of a light blue gingham fabric to create a table runner and layered that with a ruffled burlap runner. At only a few dollars a yard I prefer to buy fabric for party table cloths and runners instead of buying something new. Most of the time you come out better cost wise and then I have the fabric to use for sewing projects in the future.

Funny backstory about the burlap runners: Mother actually made a bunch of them back in 2012 for our rehearsal dinner. We have since used them for more parties and showers than I can count. Thanks Mother!

I made an easy DIY fabric banner for the backdrop and centered it with baby blue balloons on each side. I found the white picket fence in the garden section at the dollar store.

I already had all of the white platters and serveware. I always opt for white dishes and serveware because I love the ease of being able to mix and match them for parties and entertaining.

Mother found the Peter Rabbit stuffed animal at HomeGoods before John Davis was even born. Up until this point he had been in the nursery but I knew he would make the perfect centerpiece. I simply sat him on top of my white cake stand with Mother’s galvanized watering can that I borrowed from her garden. I added some fresh hydrangeas and tied a bow with blue gingham ribbon. On each side I filled a metal vase with inexpensive baby’s breath from the grocery store.

I found the miniature white stands as well as the decorative carrots in the Target dollar spot (my very favorite!) during Easter. I waited to buy these paper mâché letters until they went on sale and painted them with white craft paint to create the “ONE”.

I ordered plain cupcakes from Publix and DIY’ed these easy Beatrix Potter cupcake toppers. I printed two dozen Peter Rabbit’s onto white cardstock and cut them out by hand one night while I was watching TV. I hot glued them onto lollipop sticks that I found in the baking aisle and knotted a blue ribbon to add the finishing touch.

The food labels were another easy and inexpensive DIY craft project. I found the adorable miniature terracotta pots at the dollar store. I filled them with floral foam and topped them with faux greenery, both also from the dollar store. I designed the actual food labels in Microsoft Word, printed them on white cardstock, and hot glued them onto a wood skewer. I finished them off by knotting the same blue ribbon that I used for the cupcake toppers.

The menu consisted of chicken fingers, fruits and veggies, pimento cheese and crackers, chicken salad sandwiches, turkey roll-ups, chips and “bunny tails,” aka cheese balls. We ordered the chicken fingers, sandwiches and roll-ups from Publix.

I found these adorable scalloped edge Peter Rabbit plates and napkins online and just knew that I had to have them.

Aren’t they adorable? They were the first thing I bought for the party and were really the inspiration for all of the decor.

For drinks we served sweet tea, lemonade and water. We had juice boxes for the little ones. Here you can also see the cute carrot chocolates and carrot napkins that I picked up at HomeGoods in their Easter section.

By far my favorite thing at the whole party was this vintage highchair that was hand-painted by Mother. My Aunt and Uncle own amazing antique booths in Alabama and they picked up this antique highchair. Mother painted it white and then meticulously hand-painted the gorgeous Peter Rabbit design on the back. Isn’t she so talented?! It is so special and I can’t wait to use it for many years to come.

I made the DIY fabric banner to hang on the front of the highchair. Publix gave us the smash cake for free when we ordered the cupcakes and I made the “ONE” topper the same way I made the cupcake toppers. I designed it in Microsoft Word, printed it onto white cardstock, hot glued it onto a thin white ribbon, and then hot glued the ribbon onto two wood skewers to stick into the cake.

I ordered the sweet Peter Rabbit invitations from Etsy and printed them at our local Staples. I used white craft paint to paint a wooden craft frame and topped it with a burlap bow to display the invitation on the mantle.

The two rabbits on either side came from the seasonal Easter decor at Hobby Lobby.

I took a picture of John Davis every month in his rocker wearing only his diaper. I printed the photos, glued them onto blue gingham craft paper, and strung them on a ribbon to create the picture banner for the mantle. It’s so fun to be able to look back and see how much he changed each month.

Now the fun part… time to eat cake for the first time!

He was a little unsure at first but once he got the hang of it he dug right in : )

I know he’s mine, but could he be any cuter?!

I made the bowtie, a matching diaper cover and the hat using the same blue gingham fabric that I used for the table runner.

Obviously he loved the hat.

He even so kindly offer to share some cake with his Mama.

Would you just look at that little belly? I could eat him up.

I can’t go without mentioning one of our cutest guests: our golden retriever Bayleigh.

I guess my family is pretty cute too : )

I gathered inspiration from Pinterest and used chalk and a chalk pen to freehand the welcome sign on the chalk board that greeted guests on the front porch. Like the burlap runners, this chalkboard and easel have been used for more parties and showers than I can even count.

I made the wreath for the front door using blue deco mesh from Hobby Lobby and a metal wreath frame.

I attached a little Peter Rabbit stuffed animal onto the front.

The favors were one of my favorite things to put together! I found the watering cans in the Target Dollar spot. I created the thank you tag in Microsoft Word and tied it on with jute rope. I filled the watering cans with a bunny from the dollar store, a couple of packets of flower seeds and goldfish in a carrot-shaped treat bag. They were a big hit with the kids!

I still can’t believe our baby is already one.

I had so much fun designing and creating the perfect Peter Rabbit themed birthday party for our sweet boy. And I had even more fun celebrating him with our closest friends and family. I think he enjoyed it too because he was wiped out!

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14

Photography by Jessica Reeves Photography