A beautiful winter one-derland birthday party

The Shaw family certainly celebrated their daughter Sienna's first birthday in style. Samah Shaw shares the gorgeous winter-themed party with us.

WHERE WAS THE LOCATION AND WHAT WAS THE THEME?

We had Sienna’s first birthday party at our home on the North Shore in Auckland on a stunning late autumn day. We have a spacious open-plan lounge and entertainment area, so it’s perfect for all-weather parties. I chose a ‘Winter ONEderland’ theme as Sienna’s birthday is just a few days before winter. I really wanted to incorporate a bit of a swan lake element into the theme too – Sienna has the most gorgeous swan cape and headpiece, I knew instantly I wanted her to wear it for the party! I also had a swan cake in mind that I’d been dying to test out.

TELL US ABOUT THE PARTY...

I’m a huge fan of themed parties and I knew I wanted this theme long before my daughter turned one, so during the pack down of last year’s Christmas decorations I kept all the white items such as snowflakes and pearled garlands aside, ready to support the wintery theme. My husband, Nigel expertly hung these from our high ceiling to transform our lounge into a wonderland. I wanted guests to be engulfed by all things white and feel magically transported to the snow. I invited family and friends to turn up in white. They all know how much I love dress up parties so happily obliged!

Liz from Styled By Florence created some of the stand out features such as the balloon entry, frosted welcome sign, and the feature balloon garland which became a grandstand for all our photos and encircled the food table. The food table featured two grazing board platters by Zoe from The Grazing Club. I find that grazing platters are an excellent way to feed a wide range of guests, as it allows both adults and children to come and go as they please. It also helped reduce a substantial amount of last minute stress on prep! The centerpiece of the table was the swan cake, it was a dream of mine to make this, although at 3am the previous night I was starting to question myself in undertaking this project! A beautiful touch to the food table were the customised, handcrafted cookies by Yelena from Cookoo Sweets.

To entertain the kids we got an assortment of soft play equipment delivered by Deanna from The Good Party Co. We didn’t need anything else to keep the children entertained, and it kept them all in one area which was a bonus. Even our little birthday swan, Sienna, was able to climb the ladders, go down the slides, and rock on the seesaw.

WERE THERE ANY SPECIAL MOMENTS THAT STOOD OUT?

The whole afternoon with family and friends was really special, celebrating our darling on her big milestone. We loved watching Sienna independently climb on the play equipment – she was so proud of herself every time she got to the top and managed to successfully slide down. They grow so fast, it's nice  on birthdays just to stand back and take them in for a moment.

TIPS FOR PLANNING A FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY?

Plan, plan, plan! Well in advance. You can get many supplies at good prices if you have enough time to organise. Choose a colour scheme, this helps immensely as it cuts down all the party décor you need to prepare. Outsource as much as you’re comfortable with, to help your stress levels! Any offers of help should be openly received rather than politely declined, because there’s always a lot to do on the day! A special thank you to Sienna’s half-sister Chelsea who was my right hand gal in getting everything done. If it’s in your budget, I would recommend hiring a photographer to record your special day. I used Jessica from Jessica Halliday photography and she allowed me to relax and enjoy the day with my loved ones. 

For more party inspo follow Samah and her family on Instagram @ohmyshaw_

GET THE LOOK 

Table Flower Child Flower Crown in sage, white and bunny tails, $60, tableflower.co.nz; The Good Party Co Play Equipment, POA, thegoodparty.co.nz; Kmart Light Up Number 1, $5.50, and Foil Letter Balloon, $1, kmart.co.nz; Living and Co Cake Stand in white, $12, and Party Inc Star Lantern in metallic silver, $3.50, thewarehouse.co.nz; The Cake Eating Company Swan Cake, from $170, thecakeeatingco.co.nz; Redcurrent White Village Placecard Holders – set of six, $29.90, themarket.com; AJE Casabianca Braided Asymmetric Puff Sleeve Midi Dress, $570, ajeworld.co.nz.

SHOUT-OUT TO THE PARTY PEOPLE

Play equipment by The Good Party Co, thegoodparty.co.nz, @thegoodparty.co; Balloons & styling by Styled By Florence, @styledbyflorence; Grazing tables & platters by The Grazing Club,  @the_grazing_club; Cookies by Cookoo Sweets, cookoosweets.co.nz, @cookoosweets; Photography by Jessica Halliday Photography @jessicahallidayphotography.