My little girl is turning one, so what better way to celebrate then with rainbows and unicorns? Let’s face it, you have a very limited number of birthdays that you can pick the theme. For Guin’s first birthday I knew this was my chance to pick a theme devised of my favorite things: Rainbows and Unicorns!

Number 1 thing to remember: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple – makes a rainbow – seriously, start reciting that now because these colors will take over the next few weeks of your life. The other thing to note is that this was a first birthday party so I also planned a smash cake for Guin.

Pre-Party Prep

Preparing for a great party means finding just the right outfit. I found Guin’s outfit at FunMunchkin from Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FunMunchkin

Next, I found the perfect invitation for Guin on Wowwowmeow on Etsy. Here is a link to their shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/wowwowmeow?ref=l2-shopheader-name

I spoke with my favorite photographer, Theresa Young from Clementine and Clove Photography. Theresa attended Guin’s party in order to capture the cake smash in all its glory. If you live in the area I cannot stress her talents enough. Here is her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/clementineandclovetheresayoung/?ref=br_rs

The Décor

I LOVE rainbows. One of the best parts of this theme is that it is very budget friendly because there are no major brand involved, meaning all of the décor I used I obtained at dollar stores in the six main colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

I used construction paper in order to create a ringed curtain as a divider between rooms. This is a project that I did about a month before the party and then stored in a closet. The day of Guin’s party I hung up the chains. This was a very easy project that added a lot of bang to the décor for the party.

I bought tissue paper in the six colors, layered them, and created fluffs that we hung from the ceiling. Once you have the six colors layered, bend in half, hold together with a pipe cleaner, trim the ends into a circle shape, and the fluff the tissue paper to create a large circle.

I found crepe paper in the six colors. We used this paper to create a rainbow across the ceiling by slightly twisting it and pinning it into place.

For a cheap yet affective decoration I blew up balloons in all six colors and placed them throughout the party.

I splurged a little on plates and napkins for the food. There are adorable unicorn plates and napkins that make a party amazing. I combined these with purple and yellow to lower the cost but still get a full effect.

I also made a timeline of the monthly pictures taken of Guin since birth.  I hung this up  by the food so all the guests could see how fast our little one grew!

 

The Food

Keeping with the theme of rainbows and unicorns I attempted to find a variety of sweet treats for party guests to enjoy that are also colorful and pleasing to the eye.

I started with Rainbow Fudge – an easy and simple recipe that totally impressed my party guests, adults and kids alike.

Next, I created Rainbow Jello Cups. Simply find jello in the 6 rainbow colors and layer the cups, allowing the jello to set between each layer. This is a very simple recipe but it is a little time intense due to needing the jello to set between layers.

I made simple rice crispy treats, but instead of a typical crispy I used a fruit crispy cereal instead of the regular rice flavor. I also found themed cookie cutters to shape the crispy treats to add an extra pop.

As a get-out-of jail party food I bought rainbow Goldfish crackers as well. What toddler doesn’t love Goldfish? AND it required zero forethought or preparation.

For the unicorn side of things, I found a unicorn shaped cookie cutter. I made a basic sugar cookie, cut out with unicorn cookie cutter, frosted, and sprinkled with rainbow colored sprinkles.

I found fruit in the six main colors red (strawberries), orange (oranges), yellow (pineapple), green (grapes), blue (blue berries), and purple (grapes). I created a rainbow shape and then made classic fruit dip to take the shape of clouds underneath the rainbow.

For an additional ‘healthy’ snack I made Veggie Pizza, a major family tradition. This recipe does add some extra color for the rainbow theme, but mostly I make it because it’s delicious.

The Activities

This was Guin’s first birthday so of course we had a smash cake! I requested a rainbow cake and found ‘Rarity’ the pony to top her cake (eek the thought of candles with a 1 year old!)  I ordered a cupcake cake for the party shaped like a rainbow.  Tip:  Walmart will do a free smash cake when you order your cake there.

Unicorns and rainbow candy – do I need to say more? Since this was her first party I didn’t plan a ton of activities, I had a 1 year old to keep up with.

The Swag

I found an adorable chest at Michaels that was decorated with rainbows and unicorns. I placed multiple unicorns inside. I created a sign for guests to ‘Adopt a Unicorn’. The kids at the party had a blast picking out their very own unicorn to take home.

The rest of the swag consisted of a candy bar. I shopped around at garage sales collecting the various shaped glass containers. I found a multitude of rainbow candy options and placed them in the glass containers. This doubled as a great decoration and gave party guests an extra sweet treat to take home. I placed rainbow goodie bags by the table and found scoops of each rainbow color at the local party store. Our photographer also used this as background of Guin’s pictures!