“One in a Melon” Watermelon First Birthday Party Theme
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Invites
For starters, I created this digital invitation using a free account in Canva. I love the way it turned out. It took some time to work it and to get it just right, but it was worth it! You can do so many professional looking designs with the free elements in Canva. If you want to purchase this exact invitation template, find it here.
Food
I hosted this party during the afternoon into dinner time so I had planned on a simple dinner to feed the ~25 guests. A taco bar is a great option for something simple that feeds a crowd. I also provided a few sides to go along with it, like these cute fruit skewers. Grab some wooden skewers (10 or 12 inches) and a number cookie cutter and some fruit and you’re set. They come together easily and are customizable for whatever fruit you like and is in season.
For drinks, I made this kid-friendly watermelon slush which turned out to be an absolute hit with the guests! We even ran out.
I had snacks out for when the guests arrived. There were going to be a lot of kids there, so I opted for some “safe” snack options: pretzels, Chex Mix, animal crackers, and fruit and veggie pouches.
For some extra fun, I put together a “watermelon charcuterie” board with a variety of watermelon goodies I found. I started with my family’s favorite raisins, they are sour (but not that sour!) and come in different flavors. And they have no added sugar! If you haven’t tried them, do yourself a favor and give them a try. They are so delicious, even for grown ups. ;) I also added some Wiley Wallaby watermelon licorice (seriously so yum!), Sour Patch watermelon chews, Haribo watermelon gummies, watermelon flavored Dots candy, dried watermelon slices, and watermelon flavored popcorn that I purchased locally at a gift shop. This was a huge hit with both adults and the kids!
As far as birthday cake, I enjoy making them myself and knew I wanted something watermelon themed. I made two varieties of cupcakes, chocolate and vanilla spinach. Sounds strange, but gives you this great bright green color and tastes great too! I topped both with watermelon frosting and some mini chocolate chips as “watermelon seeds”.
Her smash cake was the vanilla spinach cake with watermelon frosting. The colors were fantastic when she was “smashing” into it!
Decorations
Every birthday party that I host needs balloons! I find it just adds a special birthday feel and the kids just love them. I typically opt for plain balloon colors with one or two large statement balloons with the theme. This is one of my top tips for not overspending and keeping the budget low. You can read more about that here. Don’t forget the electric balloon pump: a true necessity. I went with a large watermelon balloon and a “one” balloon. The rest of the plain balloons I made into a balloon column which turned out to be easier than it looks. Here’s the tutorial I used.
I made a few banners to hang around the house with the tagline “One in a Melon”. All you need is cardstock paper, letter stickers (or just hand write the words), twine, and a hole puncher. Find the tutorial here.
I made a DIY high chair banner with ribbon and then put a paper pennant banner over the top. Here’s my tutorial for making them both.
My Signature Guest Book
Each birthday party I host, I like to purchase a book relevant to the party’s theme. I put out sharpies and ask guests to “sign the guest book”. I make sure the book has enough blank spaces for names and a message. It has been such a fun tradition and memory for the kids to look back on over the years. Read more about my favorite birthday tradition here. Of course for this watermelon themed party, I chose The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli.
Goodie Bags
I put together goodie bags for the kids that attended the party. Here’s what I included: watermelon beach balls, Hint watermelon flavored water, watermelon scented pencils, watermelon flavored drink packets, watermelon temporary tattoos, bubbles, and watermelon flavored Pop Rocks.
Fun Extras
I LOVE parties, hence the name The Birthday Party Mama, so I’ve been known to go a little overboard and “extra” as some may say. I ordered watermelon temporary tattoos for myself and the kiddos which was fun. My daughter wore this adorable watermelon outfit and I ordered a matching shirt for myself! Why not?!
One last extra that I did for this party was balloon boxes spelling O-N-E. I had these boxes leftover from a baby shower and re-purposed them. You assemble the boxes yourself and fill them with balloons. I had leftover from the balloon column. This is definitely not necessary, but just added a “wow” factor to the party. I loved how it turned out!