Let’s face it. Children are literally the light of our life but throwing them a birthday party can quickly leave one fading into a darkness of despair if things don’t go perfectly. Especially if it’s a first birthday party for your only child and you plan on inviting lots of people, consider it triple doomsday if the party doesn’t go off without a hitch. It is what is it. We want perfection. Totally ridiculous? No way! You’ve got this. Whether it’s a Sunshine birthday party or a baby shower, here are excellent ideas to get you started in executing a Sunshine Party.
7 Bright Ideas For A Sunshine Themed Party
1 – INVITATIONS/THANK YOU NOTES
Invitations are like the receptionist at your doctor’s office. First impressions set the tone for how the main event will go. If this is a party for a small child consider timing the party around nap times in order to maximize attendance. Click here for examples of Birthday, Baby Shower and Thank You Notes. Three Kids and a Baby Daddy’s Pinterest Sunshine Party Page also has several “inviting” invitations such as these for you to explore (courtesy of artier.com and meowchie.snydle.com)


2 – DECORATIONS
From the moment your guests get out of their car, you may wish to begin tying your theme together. Whether it’s a color coordinated bow with balloons on the mailbox, a door hanger or a related party theme item on the front lawn, the possibilities are endless. Here are some easy ideas for Sunshine decor.
- High Chair Decoration like this one, purchase one like the one below off Etsy.com or make your own!

- Homemade Sunshine paper crafts placed in mason jars.
- A Burlap Banner that can be reused for any future party. Simply attach die cut sunshines or “Happy Birthday ___” and hang above the food table.
- A creative, cost effective idea I found is to grab large sample paint color paper from Lowe’s or HomeDepot and cut in the shape of triangles to make your own Banner.

- The food table. Here is a wonderful example!

- Door Hanger
Courtesy of Pinterest.com
3 – PAPER PRODUCTS
Either purchase plain yellow paper plates, yellow napkins, yellow cups or get these sunshine themed plates here.
4 – CAKE or CUPCAKES
The cake means more to the parents of a one year old than it does to the child, however, it has to look fabulous, taste awesome and you need a small one for the kiddo to dive into for pictures! If it’s a baby shower, petit fours are a yummy option as well. See below for some ideas.


5 – FOOD
Remember that the timing of when the party is hosted determines how much food you should provide. Meal times tend to be heavier meals and morning or afternoon parties can get by with a few finger foods. They key is selecting food that matches your theme and/or theme colors!
- Examples: Sunshine Sandwiches made with a sunshine cookie cutter (pimento cheese, chicken salad, ham on the inside with the cheese on the outside, etc. Lemonade is the perfect beverage for a sunshine themed party.
- Fruit and vegetables skewers that match your color theme cut out in mini sunshine shapes, as well as chips and dip. Kind of like this but use the small sunburst cutter found in this twelve piece mini cutter set.
6 – ENTERTAINMENT
- Um, your CHILD! Try this “You are my sunshine” shirt and couple it with a yellow tutu or yellow shorts. Silver Lily has another option here. PRECIOUS!
How about a Photo Booth made out of cardboard and painted? Grab some free cardboard from a local auto parts store, purchase some cheap paint and viola! Cuteness overload.

- There are always the stand by entertainment options of games, water play, bouncy houses, etc.
7 – FAVORS
They key with favors is to send a message of thanks to those that made a special effort to celebrate your event with you. Kids especially love goodies as we all know. Find an inexpensive way to show your appreciation.
- Examples: Yellow Party Sunglasses, Bubbles, Individually wrapped cookies, Yellow Lollipops with these sunshine stickers on them and/or sunglasses. If you need inexpensive goody bags, these yellow chevron bags are perfect to hand out at the end of the party with a label on them that says something to the effect of “Thanks for brightening (so and so’s) day.”


These are just a few of my very favorite findings on hosting a Sunshine Themed party. Please feel free to pin any of these ideas and more from the Three Kids and a Baby Daddy’s Pinterest site under “Sunshine Party” and “Like” and “Share” these blog posts so this little site can grow!
As always, designate someone to take lots of quality pictures because you will be way too busy to handle that. We don’t want to miss a second of the fun memories. Happy party planning!
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