Happy First Birthday, Little Mochi!

Posted on July 14, 2008 in Fun-tivities, Little Mochi by little mochi

Little Mochi had his first birthday two weeks ago!  We had a big party last Saturday (July 6) – the turn out was good and the guests seemed to have enjoyed themselves. 

For those of you looking for birthday party ideas for your kid’s first birthday – themes, food, decorations, etc – here is what we did for Little Mochi.

Time of the party:

First of all, the time of the party seem to be the most important.  You have to schedule the party around his nap time.  Little Mochi usually naps around noon time and then again around 4 or 5 pm.  So I scheduled the party from 1 pm – 5 pm.  You don’t want him looking cranky in his pictures or camcorder because he’s tired.

Theme of the party:

We picked a Hawaiian theme.  We wanted something fun, laid back, and comfortable for our guests.  We could have done a western theme but I didn’t think having him wear a Western outfit would have been comfortable for him, especially in July when the weather is hot.  Having Little Mochi wear a Hawaiian shirt is not only comfortable for him, but is also easy to put on and take off.

Attire and decorations:

Most of our guests came in their Hawaiian shirts and grass skirts.  We had Hawaiian music playing in the background.  The music was nice because the tunes are relaxing and laid back. We purchased a box of 50 plastic lei’s for $10 from Party City and had one of my cousins lei’d the guests as they arrived.  Although they were just cheap plastic lei’s, it surprised the guests.  And besides, it help create the “Hawaiian” atmosphere.

We also purchased a big blow up coconut tree that holds the drinks at the bottom.  We just filled the bottom with ice and put the drinks on top.  It also makes a nice decoration and adds to the whole Hawaiian theme.

We also purchased some plastic Hibiscus and taped them all over the room.  That didn’t do much since our clubhouse (where we had the party) was so big and I had only 50 flowers. 

The only thing that I didn’t do was get a tiki bar because I decided not to serve any alcohol (too many kids – bad influence).

Food and Drinks:

We almost catered from L&L’s Hawaiian BBQ but decided to serve ribs instead.  The ribs were purchased from Costco.  To make it easier on the guests, we cut up the ribs before we served them so you can grab one, two or three ribs instead of grabbing the entire rack of ribs.  Also, that way, it won’t be the only thing the guests eat (those ribs get expensive!).

My mom made Pineapple, Bacon and Ham fried rice.  I think I would have asked her to use Spam instead of the Bacon and Ham since everyone seems to associate Spam with Hawaii, but Spam gets expensive.  Who would have noticed the difference anyway?

I also had lasgna.  That went quick.  At first, I thought I should have made another plate of lasgna, but towards the end of the party, there was still a lot of left over food.

There was a lot of desserts.  My mother in law made a Chinese green bean dessert.  My mom made carrot cake.  We didn’t buy a birthday cake (thought the carrot cake was enough).  And I had fruit for the guests. 

We also had chips and salsa and egg rolls as snacks.

As for drinks, I made sure we had Hawaiian Fruit Punch!  Lots of it.  Root beer is always a favorite in our family.  As I mentioned before, I didn’t serve any alcohol because there was going to be a lot of young kids at the party.  I didn’t think it was appropriate.

Presents:

Little Mochi got a lot of presents.  We opened them after the guests left because I didn’t want the kids to feel bad.  I didn’t wrap “gifts” (party favors) for them so thought it was best to just open the presents later instead.

Party Favors:

I bought bubble blowers for the kids to keep them busy.  It’s also inexpensive.   But for the adults, I purchased a small box of Hawaiian cookies and a small bag of chocolate covered coffee beans for them to take home.

What I regret:

I didn’t take enough pictures or videos.

We didn’t play any games.  I really wanted to do the limbo, but the day passed by so quickly that I didn’t realize how late it was.  Everyone was either too tired or already running around.

I couldn’t get Little Mochi to take his nap any earlier than 12:30 so I didn’t make it to the clubhouse until nearly 2 pm!

I didn’t bring my cell phone with me so one friend got lost and couldn’t get a hold of me.  It took her 2 hours to finally find us.  And my cousinn tried to call to get directions, but couldn’t get a hold of me.  They ended up not showing up.  Their baby is only 2 weeks older than Little Mochi so it would have been great to see them interact.

What I’m thankful for:

My mom for helping me make the food and carrot cake.

My mother in law for bringing the dessert.

My husband and two brothers for entertaining the guests at the poker table.  Especially my husband since he made them happy since he lost all his money to them!!!!  :-)

My sister for helping out before the party because I was recovering from food poisioning (I almost had to cancel the party because I almost rushed myself to ER early, really early that morning).

All my cousins that stayed behind to help clean up.

My father in law for taking the 5 video clips that I otherwise would not have taken because I barely took any pictures to begin with.

And most importantly, all the guests for showing up in their Hawaiian gear!



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