For Lillian’s first birthday we hosted A Birthday Party in ONE-derland, an Alice in Wonderland themed party, for family and friends. In spite of the extreme heat, we held the party in our backyard under the shade of our 200 year old elm tree. We made sure to have plenty of bottled water and iced tea on hand and set up our baby pool for the little ones to cool off (and several did!). We were thrilled with the turnout and really appreciated that everyone stuck around for awhile to help us celebrate.Ā 
Ā We decorated the yard to look like the Wonderland in Alice’s dream (and called it “ONEderland” in honor of Lillian’s first birthday).Ā When folks arrived to our house, they found a sign on the front door directing them to “Follow the White Rabbit.” We used white sidewalk chalk to make rabbit footprints on the stone path that leads to our backyard. A white ceramic rabbit and a large rabbit banner on the back gate let folks know they were on the right track.
The menu included crescent-wrapped cocktail wieners with mustard smiles were supposed to look like the chesire cat’s grin; teapot-shaped watermelon chunks; tiny, individual teacups filled with carrots and dip; snack mix with white cheddar bunnies and pretzel “holes.”
Much like Alice’s Wonderland, our backyard featured a colorful hodgepodge of decorations.
Ā Each of the children in attendance received a favor box with bubbles and sidewalk chalk. I designed the boxes to look like the Mad Hatter’s hat by purchasing colored Chinese takeout style favor boxes at Michael’s, then glueing squares of paper in the same color to the bottom of each to create a hat brim. A sash of ribbon and a “Take Me” tag complete the look.
Ā Lillian’s Alice tutu dress is something I found on Etsy and its my absolute FAVORITE thing. She loved wearing it too. After we put it on, I let her look in the mirror and she kept saying “pretty, pretty.” She looked absolutely precious, if I do say so ; )
Ā My other favorite thing was the tiny “smash cake” I made. I used ramekins in several sizes for the base and second layer and a cupcake for the top layer. I decorated it with pink buttercream frosting and used tweezers to place round confetti sprinkles to resemble fondant decorations. I don’t think she cared how it looked. She was mainly interested in taste.
