Minimalist Kid Birthday Party

My youngest turns one today, so we had her birthday party this past Saturday.
My oldest's birthday parties were always very extravagant, very over the top. She would receive so many presents. We are always appreciative of what people have to offer, but her and I did share a room for nine years, and it was alway cluttered with stuff! When we finally moved out and would later rummage through the stuff we left at my parents' house to discover there were quite a few things that went unused. It's not that we didn't appreciate the gift or the giver, there was just so much that it was unintentionally overlooked for years.

It may sound selfish, but I worked so hard to get rid of so much that I didn't want that overwhelming feeling that comes after a birthday party to return again. I also knew that my baby wouldn't remember this party and I wondered how many presents she would end up playing with in the end.

My husband and I decided to have a no gift party. We instead mentioned on the invitation that instead of bringing a present, they should gift her with her presence. We also asked if people liked, they could write a letter to her that she will open on her 18th birthday. We send digital invitations and thank yous after. We printed a copy of each to keep.

We ordered pizza from Costco, Dion's salad, and cut up fruit with a bowl of whipped coconut cream on the side for dipping. Instead of a cake, we got a cupcake for the baby to dig into. We also got a few balloons to put on tables so save spots since we had it at a park.

The party went really well! Everyone had a great time! Our baby received so many letters!

This is also bittersweet because my grandma won't be here for much longer. She wrote the baby a letter and it'll be so amazing for her to read it later on, knowing how much my grandma loved her.

The cutest letters came from our friends' kiddos. They put so much thought and effort into their letters, adding illustrations too. I'm really, really glad we did this!

Some people brought brooks and the baby received two outfits 😊 My nina bought her a case of diapers.

It was a simple party and we budgeted $300 to spend, but only spent close to $200, which means we can put the remainder towards our baby step #2. I'm so glad we did this because those letters are going to mean a lot to her when she grows up 😊

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