First Birthday in the Sky: A First Class Airplane-Themed Celebration

January 22, 2025

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Come Fly with Me!! I’m so excited to share all the details from Aanik’s first birthday party! If you know me, party planning is ranked right up there with homemade pasta, shopping, football, and reality television. And what better reason to throw a party than for your little one’s first birthday?! Sure, they may not remember any of it…but, I always will!

The moment we began to cut Aanik’s cake and Michael Buble’s, Come Fly With Me, began playing through the speakers is one moment that will forever be etched in mind. I vividly recall looking around at all the people who showed up for us from near, but also from so far (thank you!) and feeling overwhelmingly happy.

PICKING THE THEME

Since the day Aanik was born…okay, let’s be real, since the day I found out I was pregnant (!!), I started pinning ideas for birthday themes that I loved. Hey, when you’re Type A and are told a million and one times how quickly the time is going to fly by, you want to be prepared! I narrowed it down to a few ideas – two other close top contenders were a golf-themed “Hole in One” birthday par-tee and a “Chapter One” book-themed party, which you’ll see why next. Ultimately, I kept going back to the airplane theme and I decided to fly with it.

VENUE

When looking for a venue, we wanted something unique and different. We often take the boys to story time at Little Professor and I can distinctly remember walking out one day and telling Jay, this is where we need to have Aanik’s party. We immediately fell in love with everything from the exposed brick and bright natural lighting to the open floor plan and layout. I even went back inside after we left and snapped a few pictures of the space so the visualizing could begin.

They typically do not do birthday parties of this size at the shop, but we pitched them the idea and they agreed to let ours be the first! They were wonderful to work with and it turned out even better than I could have imagined. Almost every guest commented about how unique and different it was. When thinking about party venues, always think outside the box – your favorite coffee shops, bookstores, museums, or ice cream shops are just a few ideas. We even looked at a nursery/garden shop and almost went with that.

IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS

Our focal point was the backdrop and cake table that was visible across the room as soon as you stepped into the venue. Jumbo balloons were scattered throughout, along with a food table that stretched right through the center of the space. We also had a few different areas or “stations” set up throughout, with signs that I made to go along with the airline theme for each one.

“FLIGHT TRAINING” – In-Flight Entertainment, Kids’ Activities and Arts & Crafts Table

For activities, we set up an arts and crafts table in the kids’ section of the bookstore where they could come and go as they pleased. Each seat had a wooden airplane and bookmark to decorate. We included markers, pencils, crayons, stickers, pom poms, and glue sticks for the kids to share, all of which can be found here. We also had a balloon twister that checked off all our boxes – entertaining, interactive, and mess-free – and the kids loved the balloon creations they could play with and keep.

“IN-FLIGHT SNACKS” & “FUELING STATION” – Food and Drinks

This is where we set up all our food and drinks. Our party was from 3:00 – 5:00 pm so we opted for lighter snacks and hor d’oeuvres that our guests could grab and go. For the kids, Once Upon A Farm pouches, That’s It fruit bars, and Annie’s Home Grown cookies and crackers were set out. We also ordered some savory pastries from Hinkel’s Bakery, a stand at the Pepper Place Farmer’s Market that always has the loooongest lines. The owner, Corey, was so helpful to work with and helped us come up with a variety of vegetarian options. We cut them into smaller pieces and this was the perfect light, midday snack. We also had our favorite local ice cream shop, Big Spoon Creamery set up a cart inside the bookstore with ice cream cups and their famous sammies for everyone – this was a hit! I may or may not have requested that the cart match our decor! Personalized cookies and Edgar’s Bakery cakes were also set out. After the party, we had a Live Dosa Chef come to the house and prepare fresh dosa for everyone – another hit but obviously something we could not do at the venue.

“BAGGAGE CLAIM” & “BAGGAGE DROP-OFF” – Party Favors & Gifts

When choosing party favors, I always opt for giving one nicer takeaway rather than throwing lots of small toys into a goodie bag that likely won’t get used and more often than not, ends up costing more in the end. Guests could drop off their gifts at the Baggage Drop-Off area and we had a Baggage Claim area where we displayed our party favors. Each kid received a copy of Joanna Gaine’s book, The World Needs Who You Were Made To Be, and all guests (kids and adults) got a metal airplane bookmark. Personalized cookies by ReaBakes were also out for the taking. I love everything about this book from its sweet message to the fact that it matched both our theme and decor. I also use it here for another end-of-school-year DIY and we had all guests sign Aanik’s copy with sweet messages and wishes that he’ll be able to read one day. I love the idea of using a children’s book that is on theme for any party as a “guestbook” and keepsake.

What You’d Never Know Looking at the Pictures

One week before our party (literally seven days), one of the vendors who was supposed to do our main backdrop cancelled on us. It was very stressful but I reached out to countless companies online, until Drop Prop Party came through, building and painting our entire backdrop in less than a week. Did I mention she is a full-time working mom of two?! She was incredible and it looked so great. Being on the other side, I can now say it was a blessing that the first vendor cancelled, despite all the stress it caused.

If you’ve made it this far, I hope you found all those details to be helpful! You can find more pictures and details on my Pinterest and saved to my Instagram highlights!