Pool Party Themed 1st Birthday

It has been a moment since posting birthday party blog posts. I am now in a new space, and I have a newbie in my life. Another child born in my 40s! I am excited about venturing into motherhood again after 8 years. So how did I choose this theme? My new baby is fond of water. Yes, he’s surprisingly, compared to my other two kids, a water fanatic. He loves everything water, including bath time, the pool, and, surprisingly, also the beach. He even eats the sand. So it was so easy to plan a Pool Party-themed 1st birthday party for my 1-year-old.

If you would like to know more about planning kids’ parties, visit my blog post on How To Plan A Kids’ Birthday Party On A Budget.

Have you also found any tips that you could share? Please feel free to add to my list, or ask your questions or concerns below.

“This theme was easy to do because of my childs love for everything water!”

Pool Theme

Since the Pool Party-themed 1st birthday was a no-brainer for me, I decided to first head to Amazon to see what pool party decor was available. There were so many options to choose from. This is definitely a popular theme for sure.

I also checked on Pinterest and found so many cool ideas. The only problem was that it wasn’t at all budget-friendly. My goal for hosting a party is to stay within my budget and still have enough to make it look like I spent a lot more.

So off to the Dollar Store I went in search of budget-friendly ways to plan a party and to also stay within my budget.

search for ideas

Now that I have already decided on a Pool Party- themed 1st birthday party, I went searching for ideas on Amazon, Dollar Tree, Five Below and Publix for items that I know will help to match my theme.

Budget

Remember, the goal is to stay within budget. Therefore, we want to be able to find cost-effective decor for the party. That would include tablecloth, tableware, favors, food, etc.

My first stop was to see if the Dollar Store had items that I would need for my party. Guess what? They definitely delivered. There was so much summer, pool party decor, that I got away literally in the store. It was summer, and therefore, there were so many pool accessories and decor to choose from. That really helped a lot with staying in budget.

A quick tip is to plan parties around the current season. That way, there will be more items available in stock. Mine was a summer party happening around summertime, and therefore, I got lucky with the decor available in the stores.

I was then able to match my decor with items from Amazon, Publix, Five Below, etc., to match the theme.

Invitations

Canva, as always, is my go-to for party invitations. I created an invite in Canva and sent it electronically to everyone on my invite list. I decided not to print anything as we are now in the digital age, and so that saves a lot too on printing cost for paper invites, which I have done before at previous parties.

Canva is also FREE to use, and you can also get their PRO account for just $12.99 a month, or 119.99 yearly if you want access to more features and if you plan on using it for a long time.

I sent the invites to all my family and friends digitally.

Decor

For decor, I decided to purchase items from the stores I mentioned earlier that really worked well with my theme and brought everything together perfectly.

Balloon display

I opted in to do the balloon display myself as a way to keep within my budget. Balloon displays can get costly really quickly, and most, if done professionally, will cost you from a minimum of $500 and upwards. I decided to learn this craft by watching videos on YouTube. After having done a few parties so far, I think I have a basic idea of how to make my own. I’m not perfect at it and would not be doing this as a business anytime soon. But I must admit it was actually therapeutic putting it all together!

I shopped for balloons on Amazon and found a balloon brand that really matched my theme and colors. I did purchase two packs to make sure I had enough balloons for the event.

I also bought the beige arc cover and the first trip around the sun decal (purchase with caution because the decals kept falling off throughout the party). The circular arc I had was from a previous party and was also purchased on Amazon.

Table Centerpieces

I actually used lemon-shaped serving trays to do the center pieces for the tables. I purchased them at Dollar Tree, which complemented the theme so well.

I also added a cute pineapple and flamingo drink decor, along with photos I printed from his monthly baby growth photos, which I also added to the tables in clear standing picture frames. This definitely added a unique touch to the party. All the pieces were purchased at Dollar Tree, and the photos were printed out at CVS Pharmacy.

Decor labels

The decor labels were done on Canva. As mentioned earlier, I use Canva to DIY my labels and any decor.

Pool Party signs

Pool Party Signs were placed all over the pool cabana and gave such a real authentic pool party feel. These were also purchased at Dollar Tree. I unfortunately didn’t quite get a chance to capture those I hung on the wall, but here is a photo of the exact ones I had around the cabana area.

Table Decor

I purchased a light blue tablecloth for the cake table on Amazon that really tied in with my theme. The one that I used isn’t available to link, but this is an alternative type that I have used in a different color at another party.

I also created these photos to add a touch of personality to the table. I got these printed at CVS Pharmacy and bought the frames at Dollar Tree. The pineapple decor that was added to match the theme was also purchased at Dollar Tree.

Cake

I decided to purchase the cake at Publix, and surprisingly enough, they had a matching themed cake. I changed the colors a bit to add to the theme colors. I really liked how this cake came out.

Party Favors

For the favor bags, I decided to purchase some from Amazon. I found these gorgeous pool- themed favor bags, which were a hit at the party. They matched the decor perfectly. I was able to fit several sealed snacks, a small apple juice, a beach ball (not inflated), and cute sunglasses, as shown in the pictures below. For the older kids, 9 and above, I got larger clear bags similar to this, packed inflatable circular pool floats I purchased from Five Below, and also larger adult sunglasses that fit them better than these small glasses that are for kids up to age 8.

food

For the food, I had pepperoni and cheese pizzas for the kids that I purchased from Costco. For the adults, I had grilled Jamaican jerk chicken legs, fried rice, jollof rice (Ghanian) and Kale mix salad. I tried to incorporate a mixture of cultural foods from both the Caribbean and Ghana, which is our family’s background.

Entertainment

I wanted to have a Pool party with all the pool toys I could think of. I had so many different pool floats and games that added so much fun to the party. It was definitely a hit with all the kids for sure.

I purchased the pool floats and pool games at Five Below. They can also double up as party favors to give away.

I purchased my 1-year-old’s pool float on Amazon. I wanted a bit more sturdy and safe device for his age. It was definitely a good investment.

Overall, everyone had a blast at my 1-year-old POOL – THEMED 1st birthday party. I really enjoyed seeing all the kids play together and have so much fun. My son also had an amazing time and loved every bit of it.

For more party ideas or inspiration on activities for kids, visit the blog post below:

• Mario-Themed Birthday Party On A Budget
• Kids Construction/Engineer themed birthday party
• DIY Mario-Themed Party Decor And Food
• 12 Movement Activities For Kids To Stay Fit
• 10 Fun Screen-free Activities For A 3 To 5-year-old

Did you find the strategies listed in this article helpful? What were some of your favorite tips? How have they worked for you? Leave a comment below, I’d love to know what you think.

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