First birthdays are a big deal for me. BIG. So when it came to Everett’s first birthday party, I couldn’t wait to start planning…only to find myself one month before scrambling for ideas. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t settle on a date or theme. And then I worried that even if I did throw the perfect party, fall activities might keep everyone from attending. I went back and forth on whether Everett was even going to have a big party more than once or twice. And then one day, it hit me – a Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin Party!
You might not know this about me, but I’m a huge Snoopy fan. There was quite literally a Snoopy stuffed animal in my bassinet before I was even born (fun fact: I still have that exact Snoopy). A Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin Party seemed to be the perfect theme to incorporate both Everett’s birthday and a costume party (and my love for Snoopy). Suddenly, I was very motivated. I only had 2 weeks to plan, but I was motivated.
It all started with the invitation from PrintableDigiDesigns on Etsy:
Finding Great Pumpkin decor and party supplies was tough, but I did my best and created my own here and there.
Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin pictures printed off the internet + picture frames we already had = Almost Free Decor!
There were arts and crafts tables set up on the patio for the kids, complete with pumpkins to decorate and coloring pages for the younger kids. Normally I would have used paint for the pumpkins, but I figured that markers were probably a safer choice since the kids were in their Halloween costumes. I didn’t need a kid going rouge with the paint the weekend before Halloween…
The kids seemed to like the petting zoo.
I can’t even begin to describe how strange it was to have farm animals in my backyard.
And the face painter was a hit.
But as always, the focus was on the cake. This Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin cake was simply amazing! It was above and beyond what I asked for – Elite Cake did a fabulous job! 
Oh, and my husband dressed up like a Teletubbie. For the record, no, he did not lose a bet. For years I’ve been begging him to dress up for Halloween, with very little luck. Apparently, he goes big or goes home. This family picture is priceless.
In the end, this was the party was probably my favorite of all my kids’ first bithday parties. For the party that almost didn’t happen, we had a great turnout, everyone seemed to have lots of fun, and I even got a pretty good picture of Everett and I (in our Halloween costumes, I don’t always dress like a zebra).
What more could a mom ask for?
