Sock Monkey inspired 1st Birthday

As a lover of sock monkeys (mainly the colorful ones), I started planning Carson's party oh about the time I knew I was pregnant. Just kidding! I was however inspired by the newborn photo of Carson taken by my friend Kelly Ring shown in my older post. The photos below are the ones I used at the sock monkey party. How cute are they??

               

                          

As the months went on I started planning and found amazing inspiration on Pinterest. The printables I purchased on Etsy were from the creative orchard.

Party decor- Many of the party things such as colorful tablecloths, platters, etc. I recycled from previous parties. On the walls, I used colorful paper plates and attached some buttons to them to create my own larger button look. The colorful monkeys that I already had in my home were used as accents around the house. I ordered the book 10 Little Sock Monkeys from Amazon to have party guests sign. I also created a time capsule (pictured above) for guests in attendance and those who could not attend, to place notes and items for Carson to see and read on his 16th birthday. I am sure I will be more excited about that than he will.

Candy bar with lots of yellow candies and treats.

I purchased a large number 1 from one of my favorite places, Hobby Lobby and then I hot glued on some (or should I say a ton) of colorful buttons

Party guests were asked to have their picture taken photo booth style with sock monkey accessories. It was a lot of fun!

One of my favorite things from the party was when I used Carson's monthly onesie stickers to create a cute timeline to display his photos. It is amazing how fast time flies.

 

Kid activities were bunches of fun bag toss, create your own sock monkey, 

and of course, the bounce house. 

Food- Our menu was typical cookout food with hot dogs, hamburgers, etc. but the snacks were the big hit. My monkey cupcakes turned out great. I am glad I learned how to color frosting with special coloring from the craft store. My mom's famous sugar cookies went fast, but I snagged a photo before the party guests arrived. I used orange m&m's to create the button look on the circle, sugar cookie.

photo by Kelly Ring Photography

Carson's birthday shirt was also purchased on Etsy. I can't wait to one day have a quilt made with all of his birthday shirts and baby clothes.




I am so pleased with how everything came out and can't wait til October for birthday #2.

Michelle :)