Planning your baby’s first birthday is such a mix of emotions. On one hand, it feels like they were just born yesterday, and on the other… how has a whole year already flown by?! That week leading up to my baby’s birthday was EMOTIONAL, let me tell ya.
For his first birthday party, I knew I wanted to do The Big One birthday theme, a surf-inspired first birthday that’s perfect for little boys and honestly so easy to pull together. My baby’s nursery is surfer themed, so this felt like the easiest (and most fun!) party idea.
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If you’re on the hunt for unique first birthday party ideas for boys, The Big One is such a winner. Think surfboards, sandy neutrals, and beachy details. I’ll share everything we did for our party, from invitations to decorations to desserts…all simple, budget-friendly, and so cute.
The Big One Birthday Invitations
Invites are such a fun way to set the theme before the party even starts. I kept it super simple with digital invites ..no printing, no mailing, no stress. Honestly, people are used to getting invites by text these days, and it saved me so much time.
I designed ours in Canva because I wanted to customize the colors and fonts to match the surfer vibe. It was quick, free, and I could tweak every detail just the way I liked it.
Simple Decoration Ideas for “The Big One” Party
Decor really sets the vibe for a Big One birthday, and the best part is you can keep it super simple. I leaned into greens and neutrals (bonus: I reused the tan + green balloons from my baby shower).
DIY Hand-Painted Birthday Banner
When I was brainstorming what I wanted the focal point of our party to be, I really didn’t want to go the wooden arch backdrop with balloons route just cause I knew how much work that was. I was looking for simple and budget-friendly options and came across these super cute painted birthday banners on Pinterest.
I knew that I was crafty enough to make this happen so I did a little research, purchased a projector (game-changer), got all my supplies and got to work!
We used the banner as decoration in our house the morning of his birthday and then again at the party itself, so it got double duty.
My mom always made our birthday mornings super special with a special birthday banenr she would bring out every year and I always looked forward to it. I love carrying on this tradition with my baby’s now by setting up a special “birthday” area for them to wake up to with gifts, balloons, decor, etc!
Want to see exactly how I made ours? Check out my full tutorial here: DIY Hand-Painted Birthday Banner.
DIY Monthly Milestone Picture Board
I had been eyeing the viral wooden arch board from Hobby Lobby and knew it would make the perfect base for a DIY monthly milestone picture board. We had taken monthly photos of our baby all year long, and I wanted a fun way to display them at the party. Plus, I thought it would be sweet to tie it into our Big One birthday surf theme.
Out came my Cricut (aka my handy-dandy bestie for projects like this), and I got creative with surfer-inspired decals: palm trees, surfboards, a VW van, and even the hang loose sign. It tied everything together so perfectly. And the best part? My baby’s nursery is surfer-themed, so this board will double as decor in his room. Total win-win.
I printed his monthly milestone pictures on our Instax printer, and they were perfect for displaying on the board!
P.S. I absolutely love this polaroid printer! It connects via bluetooth to your phone and you are able to print out any photo from your photos album straight to the printer! The quality is so good, and it’s such a fun way to have both the digital copy on your phone and a printed one in your hand. (Highly recommend!)
Everyone loved seeing the progression of all of our baby pictures printed out and this was such a huge hit! I can’t wait to hang it up in my baby’s nursery now!
Surf-Themed Party Details
For the rest of our party decorations, I just got them off of Amazon! They were super budget-friendly and I was actually impressed with the options they had! I got cute “The Big One” plates & napkins, a cute sign to hang along the table, and a couple other random decor items to place around!
I linked everything that we purchased for you here! (You can click on the image below to shop)
First Birthday High Chair Sign
I found this adorable, neutral high chair sign that was the perfect addition!
Bonus: DIY Cozy Coupe Makeover
This might’ve been my favorite part of the whole party. We gave our Little Tikes Cozy Coupe a glow-up and turned it into a surf-style VW bus to match The Big One birthday theme. My husband did most the work here, so I can’t take all the credit.
I shared all the details in my full DIY Cozy Coupe Makeover post if you want to try it!
The Big One Birthday Dessert Ideas
For desserts, I kept it super simple because let’s be real, the week of a first birthday party is already full enough. We did classic cupcakes and dressed them up with the cutest surf-themed cupcake toppers! They made the table look so fun without adding extra work.
I had my mom help with the cupcakes and we went super simple and used this King Arthur Confetti Cake Mix with this Miss Jones Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. These easy cupcakes honestly tasted homemade and were a huge hit!
Simple First Birthday Smash Cake Recipe
Every first birthday needs a smash cake, and I wanted one my baby could actually enjoy without all the sugar. This one is made with bananas, oat flour, and a super easy whipped cream frosting. It’s soft, naturally sweet, and baby-approved!
Smash Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
- 4 eggs
- 192 g oat flour
- 3 bananas (300 g), mashed
- 5 g vanilla extract
- 8 g baking powder
- 5 g cinnamon
- Dash of salt (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease your pans (line with parchment if you can).
- Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another.
- Combine and pour into pans.
- Bake 25–30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
Easy Whipped Cream Frosting
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
- ½ tsp vanilla (optional)
Whip until fluffy like whip cream, then frost the cake. I added strawberries since they’re his favorite, but you can use any fruit or even sprinkles. This cake was a huge hit and made for the cutest smash cake photos, simple ingredients, no added sugar, and baby loved it!
Final Thoughts
Planning a Big One first birthday doesn’t have to be overwhelming. A few simple surf-inspired touches go a long way and make the whole day feel special. Honestly, your baby won’t remember the details but you will. So make it fun, keep it simple, and don’t stress about perfection.
If you’re looking for unique first birthday party ideas for boys, I can’t recommend this theme enough. It’s fun, flexible, and makes for the cutest photos to look back on.
Happy planning, mama!
