Adventure, Travel, or Explorer Themed Baby Birthday Party Idea (First Birthday)

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Planning your baby or toddler’s birthday party can be either something that brings you great joy or leaves you feeling a little overwhelmed.

For our little girl’s first birthday, we wanted to celebrate all of the many adventures she had been on during her first year of life, including the countries she traveled to in those first 12-months.

So we threw a simple, adventure-themed travel first birthday party. For her party, we focused on the countries she had visited, and included elements from each of those countries.

This of course would vary based on the unique adventures of your child, but our daughter had visited France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States and Ireland in her first year of life, so we included elements from all of those countries in the birthday party decorations and food.

I also wanted a unique birthday element for her, so we purchased this custom-made Etsy banner with her name, that we can pull out for every birthday or special occasion, as long as she’ll let us.

All party elements we purchased are linked below.

• Name Banner: The exact Etsy creator we used no longer has listing, but you can search “bunting name banner” on Etsy to find similar options!

• Croissant Shaped Napkins: We ordered ours from Zara Home but they don’t offer them anymore. You could search on Etsy, or at your local party supply store. Also, you could have real croissants (or whatever food you are aiming for).

• Scalloped Party Plates: From Amazon, this set also comes in a green option and a pink option.

• Kid’s Wooden Camera: Just a fun prop, from Amazon. Now that my daughter is older she plays with it!

• “1” Balloon (Or any number balloon): On Amazon, in any color or number you could want!

• Pom Pom Hat: From this creator on Etsy. Just be warned, my 1-year-old hated it and refused to wear it.

• Sheep Cupcake Toppers: From Amazon, came as a 24-pack.

• Gold “1” Candle: Can’t remember exactly where we got this, but there are a lot of number candle options on Amazon, like this cute one.

We brought some food items from the Netherlands to the U.S. for the party (Belgian waffles and stroopwafel), and a cheese platter with cheeses from all the countries she had visited.

Overall, this is a very simple first birthday party idea that could easily be done on a budget. We were traveling to the U.S. from the Netherlands to have the party, so we didn’t go overboard on balloons, banners, etc.

I couldn’t really find inspiration for this sort of themed birthday party when planning it for my daughter, so thought I would share the idea here.

Bon Voyage!

STICK AROUND FOR A WHILE

Love traveling with your baby or toddler? We do too! See some of our top tips and guides for bringing your little one to all of your favorite destinations.