10 Adorable First Birthday Theme Ideas for Your Little One

Looking for first birthday theme ideas? This post is for you!

Someone wise once told me that the first birthday party is just as much a celebration of the little one as it is for the parents celebrating making it through the first year. Truer words have never been spoken!

For my three daughters’ first birthdays, I might have gone a little over the top. (I kind of like party planning – wink wink). But was it ever fun!

The themes I chose for their first birthdays were princess, pink lemonade stand, and winter one-derland. Each were unique and totally fit each of their personalities.

In this post, I’ll share my top 10 first birthday theme ideas of 2021 to celebrate the big 0-1 – and recommend decorations to style your celebration.
I hope this helps you find a birthday party theme for your soon-to-be one-year-old and makes party planning a little easier – so you can spend more time snuggling the guest of honor!

In this post, I’ll share my top 10 first birthday theme ideas of 2021 to celebrate the big 0-1 – and recommend decorations to style your celebration.

I hope this helps you find a birthday party theme for your soon-to-be one-year-old and makes party planning a little easier so you can spend more time snuggling the guest of honor!

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This post is all about first birthday theme ideas.

Wild One

BALLOON GARLAND: The animal print balloons and accent leaves are so cute.
HIGH CHAIR DECOR: Highlight the guest of honor’s chair with a fringe banner.
WILD ONE BALLOONS: I would place this under the balloon garland to complete the look.
INVITATION: The crown and palm leaves on this invitation inspired several of the other choices for this look.
ANIMAL NAPKINS: Perfect for this wild one birthday theme and I love the scalloped edge detail.
ANIMAL PRINT PLATES: Instead of just one plate design, having four different prints adds a lot of practical decor to your party – form and function!
FAVOR BAGS: I would fill these adorable bags with animal crackers. Note the crown makes an appearance here too.
CAKE TOPPER: Metallic cake toppers are great, but I think for this party a wood topper is just the thing.

Winter One-Derland

BANNER: Setting the silvery, snowy tone for this party, this banner would be perfect over your dessert table or beverage station.
FANS: These are so fun. They are a nod to snowflakes and also get in on the paper fan party decor trend.
NAPKINS: Simple and understated. Not everything needs to have the theme printed on it. Plus you can use extras after the party for other occasions!
INVITATION: I love the wintery greenery and silver accents on this invitation. You can incorporate more winter botanicals into your party decor to tie everything together.
CAKE TOPPER: This coordinates perfectly with the invitation.
CONFETTI: Make it look like it has snowed in your winter one-derland with this pretty white and silver confetti.
HIGH CHAIR DECOR: The white tule on this high chair decor is gorgeous and so wintery. You could also incorporate elements of the tule elsewhere in your party set up – maybe as a table runner or tied around cutlery.
PLATES: As with the napkins, you can choose a plate that doesn’t directly have the theme printed on it but still ties into the overall aesthetic like this silver geometric plate.

What a One-Derful World

CAKE TOPPER: Simple and onederful gold cake topper.
BUNTING: I love that this neutral paper bunting kind of looks like a folded map. Subtle nod to the travel party theme.
GLOBE FAVOR: How darling would these gold globes be at each place setting!? You can fill them with candy to coordinate with the party theme.
INVITATION: This was the jumping off point for this onederful world party theme. The water color design is so fresh and modern.
SUITCASE DECOR: So fun! I would place this suitcase decor on the beverage table and use it to hold wine bottles or other beverages that don’t need to be chilled.
PLATES: The veins in the marble design kind of look like map lines.
NAPKINS: The first birthday is a major milestone celebration after all. So – yay!
BALLOONS: Confetti filled balloons with fringe!? Yes, please! I would display several of these as a backdrop to the dessert or beverage table.

A One-Derful Adventure

PLATES: Timber! Your one-derful adventure party is not complete without some wood elements.
INVITATIONS: This invitation really sets the tone for this first birthday party theme. It’s modern and sweet at the same time.
TEE PEE: Oh. my. goodness! I am obsessed with this tee pee! Place some plaid camping blankets and pillows in it, and your birthday kiddo will have an adorable place to open gifts.
GARLAND: Cute and simple, this camping garland coordinates perfectly with the invitation.
NAPKINS: Like the perfect camping blanket!
STRAWS: Add a touch of rustic to your beverage table with these wood printed straws. I love the mix of different wood tones.
FAVORS: Trees as favors that your first birthday party guests can plant would be such a thoughtful thank you gift, naturally.
CAKE TOPPER: Bring forest elements into your cake display with this cake topper.

Berry First Birthday

CUTLERY: Bring in a touch of pink to your berry first birthday theme party.
NAPKINS: Scalloped edges tie in with the scalloped edges of the high chair decor.
BALLOONS AND BANNER: Get everything you need in one kit for this strawberry first birthday theme.
PLATES: How darling are these gingham plates! They are a step up from paper plates.
INVITATION: I like the sophisticated design on this berry first birthday invitation.
HIGH CHAIR DECORATIONS: Cute and customizable.
FAVOR BOX: Ack! I couldn’t help but include these. They are SO cute. You could use them for favor boxes, maybe filled with a few goodies and then wrapped in cellophane, tied with a ribbon, and add a thank you tag. Voila!
TABLE RUNNER: I’m a huge fan of these paper table runners. They would be perfect on the center of every table at your little one’s party.

One in a Million

STAR PLATE: Meri Meri plates are one of my favorites for kids birthdays. This gold star plate is perfection for your one in a million party.
NAPKINS: These black and white napkins with touches of gold are both sophisticated and playful.
STRAWS: Adds a punch of fun to your birthday party beverage station.
PAPER FANS: Paper fans can be arranged so many different ways. I like to use them to frame a mirror above a dessert bar.
INVITATION: Simple and modern, this invitation sets the tone for your one in a million birthday party.
CENTERPIECES: I think these gold sprays would make festive centerpieces. You can put them alone in narrow vases or add one to a floral bouquet.
STAR CAKE PICKS: You can use these party picks for your appetizers or as cupcake toppers.
HIGH CHAIR DECOR: So modern and chic for your babe!
STAR DECOR: I would add a few of these stars to the paper fans.

First Bee-Day

PLATES: I thought a flower plate would be a unique twist on what might be expected for plates at a first bee-day party.
INVITATION: The muted colors in the invitation are just so pretty.
NAPKINS: I like the golden natural tone of this scalloped edge Kraft napkin.
BALLOON ARCH: Bee-lieve me – these balloon arches are fairly easy to put together and pack a huge punch in visual design.
TABLE RUNNER: This party scheme needed something green. You can use this soft green table runner as the base for your dessert table.
CAKE TOPPER: You cannot go wrong with anything honeycomb shaped at a first bee-day party.
BEE AND HONEY TAPESTRY: You can hang this banner as the backdrop for your first birthday party feature table. Hang the balloon garland over it, and you have a pretty simple yet majorly impactful design element.
STRAWS: Naturally, you need floral straws at a bee party.
HIVE SHELVES: Your guests will be buzzing about these hive shelfs. I would stack them in a honeycomb shape on the dessert table – or use individually as centerpieces. You can put little floral bud vases or monthly pictures of your queen bee through the year in each.

Rookie Year

NAPKINS: These red and white striped plates are the perfect Americana plate for a baseball themed party.
BALLOONS: For your rookie year party, you cannot go wrong with a red, white, and blue scheme. I love the pops of silver and baseball balloons in this kit.
BANNER: If you took monthly pictures of your little one, you can display them on this banner that provides a spot for a photo of monthly cuteness!
INVITATION: How fun is a ticket invitation for this party theme!?
FAVOR: Serve peanuts and send home cracker jacks as a favor. Done and done!
PLATES: These cute blue and white striped plates go perfectly with the red napkins. Put them with a set of bamboo cutlery, and your place settings are complete.
CAKE TOPPER: I love that this cake topper is customizable to your guest of honor.

One-der the Sea

BANNER: Adding holographic decor to an under the sea party is a way to bring in a watery affect.
INVITATION: The water color graphics on this invitation are so pretty. And purple and teal are a perfect one-der the sea color palette.
PLATES: Marble plates imitate the look of sand and waves. Pretty, no?
FOOD LABEL CA R DS: If your party has a buffet, don’t forget to label the food. You can use these pretty coral place card holders. Tip: Take your party to the next level by writing punny names for food and beverage (i.e. ship wreck salad, scalloped potatoes (and actually serve this!), or salty sea air chips).
LANTERN: For this party, the depths of the ocean theme is almost endless. Lanterns, nets, sea shells. I could go on!
CAKE TOPPER: A cute, sparkly way to celebrate your little mermaid!
NAPKINS: These napkins pull the entire color palette of the party together.

Isn’t She One-Derful

CAKE TOPPER: Fringe! I love this textural material twist on a cake topper.
BANNER: More fringe! You can put them over your dessert table and add a few more of the balloons mentioned below to frame out the space.
PLATE: Bring in another touch of nature into your baby’s first birthday party with these bamboo plates. They’re a nice upgrade and definitely have boho vibes.
PAMPAS GRASS: Can you really throw a boho birthday party without pampas grass? I think not. Plus, you can use it as home decor well after the event.
INVITATION: The darling invitation is both simple and boho chic.
HIGH CHAIR BALLOON: Dramatic. Over the top. And oh-so-adorable.
NAPKINS: Rainbow napkins in an earthy palette are the perfect touch. They are youthful but still within the boho theme.

I hope you found this post to be a helpful resource for first birthday theme ideas.

Please leave a comment below if you’d like more curated birthday or party theme ideas like these – and which ones you’d like to see!

Have fun celebrating your little one!