First birthday parties are so much fun! And this theme is one of my favorites. We did a first bee day themed birthday party for my friend's daughter and it was so sweet! We used a lot of beehives, honey bears and florals throughout.
One of my favorite party tips is to double food as decor. It adds to the theme and you spend less on decor because the food complements the rest of the party. Plus as your guests leave you can send the leftovers or decorations home with them!
More Birthday Party Ideas
- A Donut Themed Birthday Party
- Race Car Themed Third Birthday Party
- Construction Themed Birthday Party for a Toddler
Bee-Day Food
Bee-themed food was so fun to put together! We had a desserts table and then a charcuterie set up along the bar. Christina made a honeybee themed snack mix including cereal, pretzels and brown and yellow m&m's. She had a cheese and meat board, and then pita chips along with chips, salsa and veggies too. It was a nice mix of sweet and salty treats. Having a few things tied to the theme made the table extra cute. We used these plates, this flatware, and gingham napkins.
For drinks we doubled up with favors and served lemonade in these honey jars for the kids. We added yellow paper straws to the jars but some of the kiddos drank them right out of the bottle. The target dollar spot had these fun drink dispensers that had honeycomb shapes in them that were perfect for the party! We had lemonade and tea in them and set out these glasses for people.
Cake and Desserts
For the party cake we used a Milk Bar cake and added this topper. Milk Bar cakes are so yummy and will ship directly to you!
For the smash cake we used a mini bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. It was the perfect size for the birthday girl to eat up. We picked up some bundtinis there too for the guests to snack on! I added these edible bees and flowers to tie them to them theme a bit more closely. Little customizations are my favorite because they're simple and quick!
I used my sugar cookie and royal icing recipes to make cookies for the party. My favorite was the little beehive! Christina found the sweet wooden tray for them to sit in and we put them next to the bundtini cakes. We also made a donut hole tower (here's a tutorial) for the party after seeing a few on Pinterest. My best tip is to pick up more donut holes than you think you'll need, or to just stack the front really well and put it so guests can only see that part of it. We used almost 4 dozen donut holes to fill around the whole tree and definitely had leftovers. I added in the candied bees and it looked like the cutest little honeycomb hive!
Bee-Day Party Decorations
The decor for this party was the sweetest! We used this design for the welcome sign and invitations. They have cute games too if you're planning those for your event. We went with yellows and a bit of pink for the color scheme and it turned out really sweet. We made the balloon arch using a kit from Lushra- they're our go to when making them on our own! (Cozy10 for 10% off your garland purchase.) Check out this tutorial if you've never built a garland, and this one if you're looking for tips and tricks to hang one! If you're going to make your own balloon garland I highly recommend picking up one of these balloon pumps.
We used a vintage high chair, it's the same one we used at my son's rookie of the year birthday party. This wooden garland tied under it dressed it up a bit too. I love this high chair it just looks and feels more special. The table runner under the desserts gave picnic vibes too!
One of my favorite parts of the first bee day party was the guest book! Christina picked a book that went with the theme and had everyone sign it for her daughter so she would be able to look back at it.
We also used flowers from Trader Joe's and put them in these sweet bud vases. I keep these for various events and they add a nice touch to any party!
Favors and Activities
For favors, we sent kiddos home with the bear cups they were drinking out of. It's a fun way to send a little something home while at the same time not trying to figure out what to do with a stash of cups or jars you'll never use again. 🙂
There was a bounce house in the backyard and the kiddos had so much fun playing after having a few sweet treats. It's nice to be able to send everyone outside so you can start clean up, and it's also nice to spread things out a bit!
Tips for Throwing a Bee-Day Party
- Simple is perfect! Pick a few things you really want to include and focus on those. At one point I was going to bake a beehive cake but that wasn't necessary/a priority and the cakes we ordered were delicious and perfect.
- I have a stash of these 50 cent plates from Target in blue and pink. It's easy to pull them out for any party/event and nice because you can wash and reuse them. I've collected nicer plates from thrift stores in white that we use for more formal events.
- Borrow what you can! I borrowed my mom's high chair and used a lot of serving dishes/pieces I already had.
I hope this helps you plan your own first bee-day party! Let us know of any questions in the comments!
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