Camp Pierce: Piercey Turns One!!
Natalie Langston
BY:
Welcome to Camp Pierce! As I’m sure some of you saw, December wasn’t only about Christmas for me, but was also so much about baby P and his first birthday! I CAN’T believe how quickly his first year flew by. It feels like just yesterday I was bringing him home for the first time, and now I find myself reflecting on the profound impact he’s had on mine and Gary’s lives. It’s hard to even imagine how my life was without him in it, and I can’t believe how lucky I’ve been to spend this year alongside my happy, calm, sweet baby boy. In just one year he’s developed a sense of humour, an infectiously positive attitude, a love of exploration, and not to mention a taste for rap music LOL! Life has been so hectic lately and I made sure to really be present for this huge milestone in our family’s life and spend his birthday party soaking it all in! I can’t believe, with the help of some wonderful and amazing people we actually pulled off the most adorable campfire themed first birthday for baby Pierce!!!
Theme
With Pierce’s birthday being at the beginning of December, I wanted to pick a theme that could tie into our Christmas décor which was elevated while still being rustic and cozy. Pierce had been rocking lumberjack-esque plaids all fall which he looks adorable in… and that’s when I thought of Camp Pierce! With Pierce being our little baby bear it just all felt so perfect and tied everything I was imaging together. My vision was to have it centered around a campfire and bring in elements of plaid, wood, and greenery which would tie back to our Christmas tree!
Pierce’s handmade birthday hat was so cute I still can’t get over it and I will definitely order more that’s for sure!! I loved it so much that we had an identical little hat made to top off baby bear’s head on the cake! You can order it on Etsy from Kristen of La La Lola Shop. Pierce’s plaid shirt and ripped black jeans are both from Lagoon Baby. Mom and dad were also in plaid (unintentional rhyme!), and our party guests followed suit in plaids of their own helping everything come together!
Décor
Whenever I decorate for events, I love supporting local businesses and shops. I teamed up with Valley Weddings to bring my décor ideas to life and Shyla was my right-hand woman through it all. Together we created the winter wonderland forest in our living room where we set up our little campsite – perfect for enjoying s’mores! The Pierce-sized white tent and fire set up came from Yuriko from Vintage Origami who is based out of Kelowna. She is so lovely to work with and I would absolutely recommend contacting her if you’re looking for something unique for your event! The plaid teepee came from Michelle at Teepees 4 Tots which is another local business based out of Langley, BC! I need one of these teepees from Michelle for Pierce’s playroom they are SO freakin’ cute!!!
No party is complete without… BALLOONS! Kelly from Little Rose Party Company made our white balloon garland which gave off snowy vibes for our winter wonderland and added a personal touch with the P for Pierce.
Pierce’s highchair set up was the perfect spot to capture his smash cake moment and served as the focal point of so many pictures which I will treasure forever. The ‘Camp Pierce’ sign was AMAZING! Carly of Cann Foster Creations totally impressed me with this custom piece which also included the sweetest keepsake and a very important message I will definitely need to read more than once. We put both signs that are so well made and such high quality in Pierce’s nursery after the party and whenever I see them they remind me to slow down and treasure my time with baby Pierce. I will literally treasure these FOREVER. Thank you Carly they are priceless!!!
The entire office set up was from Maple Ridge Florist and some of the trees as well. She also did the floral arrangements and all the ferns you see throughout. It was incredible that she had all the perfect elements to bring our theme to life. She had SO many little details like the wood snowshoes and the white palette that was amazing for a photo wall.
I ordered the rest of the finishing touches from independent Etsy shops which all turned out so great! The lumberjack welcome sign (so fun) came from Etsy, our invitations, the white wooden ONE block, and an adorable bunting flag to dress up Pierce’s new Stokke high chair.
Sweets
One of my favourite parts of watching this party unfold was seeing my crazy cake vision come to life! I threw every idea I had at Cassie from Cakes n Sweets, and she somehow tied it all into a perfect, edible package. I wanted to have the cake topper scene go a little something like this: three bears (mama, papa and baby!) all gathered around a campsite to match our décor, with little baby bear wearing his special birthday hat to match the one I bought on Etsy. I wanted the cake to echo the design elements of the party so everything looked cohesive which made for such a showstopper thanks to Cassie!!!
We also did a secondary cake just for Pierce, so I had Cassie make up a pint-sized, dairy-free Smash Cake for him to enjoy! While he’s usually no stranger to playing with his food (we’ve been doing the LED weaning process which you can read all about here), he was all of a sudden so shy and didn’t want to make a mess! Maybe my hyper-clean tendencies have already started to transfer over…hmmm… He did finally dig in and absolutely LOVED it! The little cake topper banner on this cake was ordered from the The Hand Craft Banner through Etsy.
You all know I love a beautiful cookie, so I couldn’t help but have some unique cookies made up by Nicole from Butter and Botanicals. She really took our theme and ran with it! From personalized cookies for Pierce and his friends to lumberjack inspired cookies and even a snow globe shaped cookie with Pierce’s name on it which had a bear inside and actual snow you could shake!? What!? I could have never even imagined that would be possible!!! She was so creative and talented and her cookies (obviously) got rave reviews from all the guests. Oh and I can’t forgot the s’mores cake pops. my god I’m pretty sure I must have polished off a handful of those myself!!!
We also had a s’mores bar to tie back to our camp theme, complete with a hot chocolate station which we labeled with these cute little place cards from Etsy. Cassie from Cakes n Sweets even surprised us with the most DELICIOUS s’mores cupcakes in mini and medium sizes!! And this party would not be complete with my Mom’s very popular and quite possibly the BEST mulled wine I’ve ever had!!
For party favours we had Jars by Jodi assemble ingredient jars for our guests to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies at home which were so delicious. She also came up with the s’mores jars which I have one left of and will make this weekend to show you guys on my stories!! The little sign above the favours station was ordered from Etsy and made by Crafty Witches Decor and I’ll be sure to re-use this one at parties to come. Julee has the BEST rustic signs and they are so unique and customized!!
Entertainment
We had Ryan McAllister play live guitar who was INCREDIBLE. He played some really beautiful and chill campfire songs which brought a soft focus to the whole afternoon. He’s local from Abbotsford and I’ve been a fan of his for so long. An ultra-talented guy that really made our day special and even played our fave: Harvest Moon! I could have cried! The moment Ryan started Pierce was just SO enthralled with him and couldn’t take his eyes off him. I knew he was going to be a big hit with Pierce since he has LOVED music since day 1 but I didn’t think he was going to be SO captivated by him. I feel like we need to put him in guitar lessons stat haha. Or Ryan, what are you doing Monday?
Party Planning Tips
For those of you looking to plan your little one’s party, I’ve compiled some easy tips to follow along which will make your life a whole lot easier!
- Plan in advance! I like to start my planning 4-6 weeks ahead of time which gives me breathing room to sort all the details without feeling rushed.
- When setting a date, do a quick parent survey of your little one’s best friends to make sure they will be able to attend before finalizing it in your calendar.
- In week 5 of planning, try to finalize your location. Then you can really start to envision the space and plan for decor entertainment!
- I always try to send out my custom invitations 3-4 weeks prior to a party. This gives guests lots of time to plan and mark their calendars accordingly! It will also give you a better idea of what attendance to expect earlier on so that you can properly plan for food and beverage.
- Don’t forget to be present! I’m constantly reminding myself to let it all go once the party is in full force and just focus on socializing with my guests and enjoying the moment. As long as your birthday boy/girl had a smile on their face and your guests had a good time, you can consider your job well done!
I’m so happy Pierce had such a successful and fun first birthday. Definitely more of a production than I ever had as a kid haha! But it was all worth it and the first year is done. That sure went fast… I don’t think his 2nd birthday will be anything like this but who knows haha. Hopefully he’s able to look back on photos of this day and see how much love he was surrounded by. I’m so glad I’ve finally been able to share everything that went into the making of this very special day for our little baby boy.
Next up the Super Bowl and the Oscars! I think we will just take it easy this year and watch with a few friends as opposed to throwing a big party like in past years. I’ve shared a couple blogs for the Super Bowl you can find here and here and I’ll be sure to share those Oscar blogs for some easy ideas on how to celebrate and throw your own parties! What is everyone else doing for this weekend’s Superbowl!?
n xx
Photography by Better Sweet Photography
Thank you to everyone that helped make Pierce’s First Birthday a success!! I’ve listed and linked all the vendors involved in Pierce’s special day sponsored or not below to help inspire you with my go-to’s for any party or special event!!
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