Aaira’s Winter ONEderland!

My little snowflake is One! Given that she is a January baby & we’re in Minnesota, I couldn’t think of a better theme than Winter ONEderland. We added a lot of unique elements to make this a memorable birthday for our lil one that she can look back to <3 Sharing all the deets here:

Budgeting & Prioritizing

I would say the first step in planning any party should be to draw down your budget. You want to make sure that you are not going ahead with your planning of the venue, decor, guest list etc. before you actually know how much you can spend on them. Another thing that you would want to know is how much you want to spend on each element. Do you want to cut down your guest list and spend more on decor? Or do you not want to compromise on the guest list but step down on the decor etc.? These are some of the questions that you should ask yourself as it will give you more clarity before you get into planning the actual event.

Venue

I would always recommend choosing a venue that suits your aesthetic. We chose the Calhoun Beach club because it’s perfect for a winter wonderland party as it has plenty of natural light with white and gray interior. It makes it easy to bring the theme to life without having to decorate too much. If you’re hosting the birthday party at your home, think of a theme that can be executed well in your space.

Our Venue was The Calhoun Beach Club Events.

Event Planner

Usually, I like planning my own parties and also executing them. However, given that we wanted to host a brunch party (works well with kiddos) and with a one year old, we did not want to be working all morning to get things ready ourselves. Even with an event planner, you would end up working to an extent as you’ll be supervising them etc. but it definitely helps to have someone else execute the plan. It is totally OK to not have an event planner if it doesn’t fit your budget. But if you do have an event planner, I highly recommend visiting the venue with them to ensure that you have a plan for THE DAY. We did this with our event planner and she knew exactly where things had to go the morning of and there wasn’t much for us to supervise.

Make sure you schedule a call or an in person appointment with your event planner and walk them through your vision. Be open to their suggestions as they’re in this business but also make sure that you communicate what you would like to see. You can always send them inspiration pictures or create Pinterest boards that you can share with them, so that you are both on the same page. Our event planner also sent us illustrations which gave us a good idea of how things are going to look. Another important thing is to ensure you both understand the colors as the look is completely different when you’re talking dusty pink vs light pink vs peach. I knew exactly what I needed & our event planner brought it to life.

One thing to clarify here is that this was more of an event decorator than the planner because I was still doing all the coordination with the venue and the vendors myself which is what typically an event planner would do but this was just a decorator job.

Our Event Planner was Elysian Events.

Photographer & Videographer

You obviously want this beautiful day to be captured in the best way possible and hence I recommend choosing a photographer and videographer in advance, so you can work with them to ensure they understand your requirements. I usually look for photographers on Instagram with hashtags such as #MNPhotographer as I always find new talent with this search. It is important for you to choose a photographer whose profile aesthetics speaks to you, for example I wanted light and airy pictures for Aaira’s Winter ONEderland and chose a photographer who was able to bring that to life. My photographer and videographer were different teams but I’d recommend finding a team that covers both, so there is one less vendor for you to talk to. Same as the event planner, share pictures mood boards etc. with them to let them know what you’re expecting from them when they cover the event. Also understand the post processing time & deliverables.

Out Photographer was Natasha Furduy & Videographer was Lollipop Media.

Activities for the Kids

I think the first birthday is usually for the parents as the kiddo does not understand much, however you want to ensure that the kids at the party have a good time. We had kids of different ages and I really had to think of things that will keep all these different age groups engaged. We had three vendors- a face painter, a balloon twister and a Snow queen character with story books & musicals who later turned into Elsa( with story books & musicals) as we had a last-minute cancellation from the Snow Queen Artist. Elsa actually turned out to be the highlight of the party because this artist performed extremely well, kept the kids engaged and sang beautiful songs to really bring the winter wonderland theme to life.

Balloon Twister & Face Painter by Funtime Funktions & Elsa by Princess Party Pals.

Kids absolutely loved all of these & I had also requested the artists to dress up for the theme & it looked wonderful!

Menu

We had a classic Brunch menu with a live Omelet station. We had a variety of Hot and cold dishes, Vegetarian, Non-Vegetarian & Vegan options. Here is what our Menu looked like –

Cake & Favors

I wanted an elegant cake that goes with the theme. Our baker created a beautiful three tiered cake with three different flavors (Chocolate Biscoff, Raspberry & Vanilla) and it looked absolutely stunning with our decor. I also connected our baker and the event planner so they can match the colors and you can see below how they synced so beautifully.

As I mentioned, we had kids of different age groups and it would be difficult to think of a favor that they would like unless I go and customize each one of them. Instead I decided to think of something that all of them would like and created a beautiful treat box. It literally looked like a Winter ONEderland in a box!

The cake & favors were made by Noon Treats.

The Event

Here is the High level event timeline-

7:00am – Event Planner arrived at the Venue ( we had told them to finish the setup by 10am)

9:30am – We arrived at the Venue ( We had access to a bridal suite to change & keep our stuff)

10:30am – Photographer & Videographers arrive ( we had them arrive early, so they can cover the decor details & take Family portraits before the guests arrive)

11:15am – Food Buffet ready

11:30am – Guests & Vendors ( Face Painter, Balloon Twister & Princess character) arrive

12:30pm – Cake cutting

2:30pm – Wrap up

Other details about the event – Make sure you take an extra phone or laptop to connect for the music unless you have a DJ. We also created a winter wonderland & a birthday playlist in advance that played throughout the party. Also ensure that you take the cake out an hour before serving, so its not very cold when served. Some Venues charge for cake cutting service, so keep that in mind. If you have Birthday caps for the event, make sure you give them to the kids before cake cutting 🙂

What to pack

Aaira took a small nap right after the cake cutting & that definitely helped her to enjoy the second half of the party. We took our pack & play with us & that helped us to make sure no one had to hold her while sleeping & she was also more comfortable. Here is what we packed:

Diaper bag with essentials

Change of clothes ( we had an extra white dress as her Birthday dress was long & another comfy change of outfit)

Pack & Play with sheet

Favorite Toys

Treats/Food

Formula/Milk + Bottles

Burp cloths + Bibs

Medications (If any)

Birthday Caps for guest kids & Birthday kid

Any decor items that you’re providing

Phone chargers & cables for audio play

Change of clothes/accessories/footwear for the parents as needed

Baby Monitor (if needed)

Cash to pay vendors (if applicable)

Tripod (if needed)

Product Links

Aaira’s Dress: Little Muffet, India

Birthday Caps for kids, Aaira’s Birthday cap, bow , backup white dress, shoes, snowflake Onesie, my outfit & hair clip- Click Here

I hope this post was helpful! Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram if you have any questions 🙂