The Big Day Approaches

I can't believe Avery is going to turn 1 in less than 2 weeks and her birthday party is just 1 week and 1 day away!  Ahhhh!!  We are having the party the week before her birthday because there is a Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Walk here in town on the 19th, so my sister and her husband will be in town for that and we didn't want to make them come over 2 weekends in a row.  Plus my mom is watching one of the neighbors kids the weekends after her birthday.  So the 18th seemed to be the best day for it.  The past few weeks I have been busily getting ready and now I have shifted into high gear.  I am not the super creative type but I am trying to make a couple of the things myself.  Here is my to do list for the party:


- decide on theme, polka dots


- decide on food, we will be serving a small lunch with sandwiches, veggies and a couple other sides plus of course the birthday goodies, cupcakes and ice cream


- decide on cupcake/smashcake recipe, Colorburst Cupcakes made with the colors from the polka dots


- buy some of the polka dot decorations, bought the front door sign, birthday banner, high chair banner, birthday hat and cupcake toppers, I ordered them from Stylish Celebrations on Etsy and LOVE them


- make and send out invitations, my mom made them (they turned out great) and I mailed them a couple weeks ago


- buy tableware, each item is a different color, the big plates are blue, the little plates are red, the silverware is orange, the napkins are green, and the cups are yellow


- buy the birthday cake candle, got a cute one that is a 1 with polka dots on it


- make photo banner, I have started this but haven't finished quite yet, so far I have picked out the pictures, printed them and cut them, cut out the cardstock to go mount them on, and glued the pictures on the cardstock, all I have left is to string them on the ribbon


- make cupcake stand, started this one too but not finished, covered the cardboard cake rectangle with paper and trimmed with ribbon, now I just have to make the pieces that the layers stands on, here are the directions I followed


- make polka dots from the leftover cardstock (these will be used for confetti on the tablecloth and to make the next item on the list), I have started this but not done yet


- make paper chains to hang, working on the polka dots but haven't started otherwise (this one might get nixed if I run out of time)


My goal is to have all the craft/DIY stuff made by the end of this weekend so that next week I can focus on getting the house deep cleaned and the cupcakes and smash cake made.


Things to Do Next Week:
- order the food trays (sandwich lunchmeat and cheese, condiments, and veggies)
- buy the rest of the food
- get balloons
- pick-up flowers
- clean
- make smash cake and cupcakes


I'm sure there are some things that I'm forgetting but it's a pretty good list.  I'm so excited and hope that it all comes together the way I envision!  Gotta go get some work done!