Onederland First Birthday Party Ideas
A first birthday is so special. It’s a big milestone and it sure comes way too fast. I knew I wanted to do something fun, beautiful and creative for my daughter’s party. After a lot of scrolling through Pinterest I stumbled upon a “Onederland” theme.
The moment I saw it I knew it was exactly what I was looking for!
I grew up watching one of the later versions of Alice in Wonderland and even shared it with my oldest daughter. There are a lot of different directions you could go with this birthday theme which is what I loved most about it.
I dreamed of a beautiful garden tea party surrounded by flowers and vintage tableware. Find out how I brought this vision to life below!
On the other hand, if your little one has a winter birthday you can turn the “Onederland” theme into a “Winter Onederland.”
Here is how to create an Alice in Onederland First Birthday Party.
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Invitations
There are a ton of adorable invitations you can choose from. I decided to make my own and save a little money but I certainly got inspiration from the following invites.
Backdrop
Creating a backdrop is by far the most fun part for me. Typically I create a backdrop for the cake table but since this is for a first birthday I wanted to put the high chair in front of it. Then when it was time for the smash cake my daughter would be in front of a beautiful backdrop.
I decided to create a boxwood wall to create that garden like feel.
There are several different ways to put this together. My husband is really handy so we decided to go the plywood route. We purchased two sheets of this plywood and cut them to size. Then we used 2×4’s to create an easel like stand.
The backdrop could also be leaned against a wall instead of making a stand.
We attached the boxwood to the plywood using this staple gun.
If you do not have the tools to cut the plywood another great option is to use pvc pipe. You can find a great tutorial on this method here.
I searched and searched for the best deal on artificial boxwood and found the best bang for your buck here. Then I dressed up the backdrop with flowers and an beautiful gold sign.
You can find everything used below:
- Artificial Boxwood
- Plywood
- Staple Gun
- Light Pink Roses
- Dark Pink Roses
- White Flowers
- Onederland Sign
- “ONE” Sign
Cake Table
The cake table is another aspect I love to bring to life. When I think of the tea party in the Alice in Wonderland movie I think of a shabby chic mismatched table setting.
So I made a trip to my local thrift store and purchased a few items from several different tea sets.
Initially I was worried how the mismatched pieces would look but it ended up coming together wonderfully. I picked up some spray roses from my local grocery store and found this table runner which tied everything in well.
If you do not live near a local thrift shop or couldn’t find anything there. You can check out this affordable tea set here.
This time around I decided to step out of my comfort zone and make the smash cake and cupcakes myself. I wouldn’t call myself a baker but I am much better at making desserts than any savory meal.
I haven’t made a small smash cake before so I purchased these cake pans and this cake decorating set.
After searching for the best smash cake recipe I finally stumbled upon this one which also included a delicious buttercream recipe.
It was really easy to make and only needed simple ingredients that the majority would already have in their pantry.
To decorate the smash cake I decided to go with the crumb coat look topped with my extra spray roses. This gave it a rustic shabby chic feel and it was really easy too!
I almost forgot about the cake board that the cake sits on. Luckily I had enough time to run to the store and pick one up, however, they only had 10 inch rounds when I looking for an 8 inch.
Regardless it ended up looking just fine. If I would have had more time I would have ordered these.
I also found this candle to top if all off.
For the cupcakes I wanted to find a delicious vanilla recipe that would stay moist since I would be making these the day before the party.
I decided on this recipe which was also really easy to make. They turned out great and tasted even better the next day.
For the frosting I did not want to use a sweet buttercream. Instead I found this recipe for a stabilized whipped frosting.
The whipped cream frosting only used 3 ingredients and it was so good that I actually made it again the next day and have been using it for my coffee.
I also added 3 drops of red food coloring to get the pink color.
To decorate the cupcakes I used the rosette method which seemed to be the easiest with the whipped frosting. This piping tip came in the cake decorating set I mentioned earlier.
You can read about how to do this method here.
Since this is a first birthday I wanted to include a special milestone display that included details from the day my daughter was born and her current milestones a year later.
I made one that would fit in a 8 x 10 picture frame and displayed it on the cake table.
There are so many fun designs you can find below:
Last but not least, the cake table was finished off with the most adorable cookies.
Specialty cookies have become a huge stable for parties nowadays and for good reason.
Furthermore, the Alice in Wonderland “Eat Me” cookie is one of the most memorable parts of the movie.
My husband’s coworker makes specialty cookies on the side so we have been fortunate to order cookies through her.
Pictured above is the classic eat me cookie and mad hatter hat.
The other cookies she made were the rabbit’s pocket watch and a number one with our daughters name and cute little bunny ears.
I also loved how the cookies are individually packaged so it became more of a party favor for guests to take home.
Cake Table:
- Table Runner
- Tea Set
- Cake Pans
- Cake Decorating Set
- Cake Board
- Cupcake Stand
- Cake Stand
- Paper Tea Set
- Artificial Flowers
Food & Drinks
To create the perfect Onederland First Birthday Party you must have delicious food!
When I think about a garden tea party I think tiny sandwiches and desserts (maybe that’s just me).
Therefore, I decided to do a brunch theme and make all of the food miniaturized.
Here is what I served at my daughter’s first birthday:
- Mini Chicken and Waffles
- Mini Egg Muffins
- Donut Holes
- Mini Fruit & Yogurt Parfaits (Put in these cups)
- Bacon
- Mini Cinnamon Rolls
For drinks I served Orange Juice and Water.
We did not have a large sized party so this worked well for us.
Oh and of course you could easily make a mimosa bar too!
For the water, I used bottled water and to tie it into the Alice in Onederland theme I created “drink me” labels.
Again I made these myself but found inspiration from the following labels:
1st Birthday Outfit
Of course you cannot forget what your little one will be wearing on their big day!
My daughter wore this 1st birthday outfit:
It was actually used for my oldest daughter when she was turned one which was four years ago.
Here are a few other options that work great for this theme as well:
Creating a fun and adorable Onederland First Birthday
Party planning and decorating are my passion and I am so happy with how this party turned out. The boxwood backdrop, cake table and delicious food made this party one to remember.
I hope you were able to find inspiration for your little one’s big day.
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