Ezra’s Ice Cream Shoppe Summer First Birthday Bash

Ezra turned one in late June. We hosted an ice cream summer bash for our little sweetheart. He had such a good time and nearly ate his weight in watermelon.

I wanted the party to have a slight vintage vibe using a cooler cart I picked up as an ice cream cart.

The color palette was white, ivory and mint with some yellow, orange and other colors for extra fun. Signage was designed by Natalie from A Pretty Little Party and it turned out so so beautiful!

Spending the money on the designs was worth it as I did almost nothing besides hanging signage and fun garland from the Oh Happy Day shop. This garland rocked. I expected it to be small, but it was oversized which made for an awesome piece above our “Ice Cream Shoppe” area. :)

We were blessed with a beautiful summer day and the best friends and family we could ask for. Ezra enjoyed every minute and so did his big brother.

I got the majority of our decor from Oh Happy Day shop and Kohls, which provided product for Ezra’s party to show the fun options they offer for summer entertaining. I’ll share more on that shortly.

I’m so excited to finally share Ezra’s Ice Cream Shoppe Summer First Birthday Bash with you! 

Desserts

You know I love a good dessert table, right?

But this time, I kept it extra simple because ice cream and our old fashion ice cream cart were the highlight.

We placed Ezra’s smash cake in the center of the table with store-bought cupcakes on each side.

I ordered ice cream cone shaped cupcake toppers on Amazon for the cupcakes.

We also offered watermelon, you know, to be healthy. :)

The ice cream cart was filled with a variety of fruit pops including Jonny pops, several flavors of ice cream from Haagen Daz and Ben & Jerry’s. While I could’ve easily went all out like this party, I knew that serving individual sized ice creams with a spoon attached would save me so much work.

For more ice cream party ideas, check out the party we hosted a couple of years ago.

Yum!

Smash Cake

 

Whole Foods made this simple and tasty smash cake. We had a minor issue with the first cake I took home and they quickly made it all good for us. Such a great place to get a cake. :)

As with many second children, the smash cake was a family affair.

Bodhi enjoyed it just as much as Ezra and Ezra didn’t mind sharing.

 

 

I swear, just a couple more photos of this. I want to remember it forever. :)

Such fun!

Party Favors

We put Ezra’s party logo on dollar store buckets for party favor containers.

This was a really quick and inexpensive way to customize the buckets because I actually printed them off as photos at Costco for about 7 cents each.

We created a party favor station so each guest could pick which items they wanted from ice cream bubbles and bubble wands, fish squirters, discs and more.

 

To me, party favors are one of those things that I enjoy putting together, but I also know they are just really unnecessary. I struggle with it, but I do enjoy sending the little ones home with something. Tough call, right?

Activities

We put out two baby pools, a slip and slide, a bean bag toss game, our water table, tons of beach balls and let kids play on our playset.

 

 

I also bought a bubble machine that was AMAZING for the party. We’ve since used it for two other fun events. It’s so good! Worth every penny!

We had an ice cream sand box set and and a Melissa and Doug ice cream toy set from Kohls. These were small details that added some fun.

I found a cardboard ice cream truck on Zulily months ago which was fun for kids who felt like getting a bit artsy.

Ezra also loved going in and out of the truck.

Swimming and splashing were definitely a big part of the party. Simple summer fun!

That’s what it’s all about.

Food

We only served desserts, water, juice, beer and wine for this party.

I made that clear on the invitation just so our guests wouldn’t expect more. It was mid-afternoon so I felt like this was more than fine. It sure kept things simple for our family.

Decor

Having a party outside was so nice. It felt like the activities and outdoor environment could serve as the main decorations.

We set up the food and favor area and a space for Ezra to do his smash cake.

We threw beach balls and inflatable ice cream cones everywhere and had bubbles blowing the entire time.

The yard was filled with color and many of our favorite little ones laughing, running and playing so it just felt festive without much effort.

I found these adorable ice cream throw pillows from Kohls to add to our lounging space which is where some of the adults hung out. It as a small touch, but one that I loved.

 

So all in all, some beautiful signage, large garland and small touches made up our decor.

Boys apparel

I got the boys matching ice cream tank tops. Cuteness! I loved Bodhi’s. Ezra’s was pretty glittery which was unexpected but it was fine.

I also grabbed Ezra a pair of cotton ice cream shorts for his smash cake which were pretty fun, but of course, now they are permanently stained with mint frosting.

This party was a joy-filled day. Most of my family came which really just made it wonderful and some really great friends were able to swing it too. Parties are the perfect excuse to get together which is one of the many reasons I LOVE hosting a good party.

For more boy party ideas, check out Bodhi’s Little Man Mustache Bash, Modern Cow Party, Dinosaur Party and Wild Kratts Party.

Disclaimer: I received product from Kohls to use at the party. All opinions are my own. 

Affiliate links included. 

Photos by Melissa Oholendt Photography.