Baby Moana Birthday Party

So, a little background. When I was pregnant, I obsessively watched Moana. The very first time I watched it was right after I found out I was pregnant. The scene with baby Moana immediately stood out to me. Those big brown eyes and her adventurous spirit...something told me my little Mila would have those traits as well. I also may or may not have cried during that scene every single time I watched it. I blame it on the hormones.

So when my Mila came into the world with big brown eyes and an adventurous spirit, I knew that she would need to have a baby Moana birthday party. So that's exactly what we did. I started meticulously planning on Pinterest as every mother does, and got more and more excited. We knew we would have to do it at a larger venue due to the large amount of family and friends that would want to celebrate our girl. So I started figuring out exactly what I wanted her party to be like...and I'm very happy with how it turned out.

I added links to many of the items I talked about, so click on the links to find the items!

Birthday Girl's Outfit

One of the most important details to me was her outfit. I wanted her to be baby Moana. I found a super cheap dress on Amazon, but I was a little nervous when I saw some negative reviews. However, knowing that she'd probably only wear it once, I took a leap of faith. It was worth it. The outfit was absolutely adorable. I also got a cute little hibiscus flower to put in her hair just like Moana.

Centerpieces

So after I figured out her outfit, I had to figure out decorations. The venue offered their own centerpieces to us, but I really wanted them to tie-in with the theme. Knowing that their centerpieces wouldn't really do that, I knew I had to make them myself. There were 10 tables for us to decorate though, so I wanted them to be as cheap as possible.

I wanted the centerpieces to be a vase, filled with sand and shells, that also incorporated the number "1". I also wanted there to be a different picture of her on every table from her 1st birthday photo shoot. I ended up finding vases and frames at Dollar Tree. I really didn't care about the quality, so this was the perfect place to buy them. So I bought 10 vases and frames from Dollar Tree, and then went to Michael's to find the sand and shells. That was on the expensive side, but it was worth it. I was planning on re-using the sand and shells for an art project, but unfortunately they were thrown away in the rush of cleaning up!

At Party City, I was able to find the number "1" on a stick. It was pretty perfect because it meant I wouldn't have to make my own. When I put all of these things together, it didn't seem to fit the theme the way I wanted. So I knew I needed to add some more detail. I bought palm leaves which I was obsessed with. The quality was amazing. I found those on Amazon, of course.

And for the cherry on top, I added some Hawaii-themed confetti that I bought at Party City!

This is what each table looked like

Pictures from When We Were 1

Along with the centerpieces, I also wanted to add some small details to the room. I got photos of Mila's dad and I from when we were 1, and placed them next to a picture of Mila. I put some green "hearts of Tafiti" and shells next to them. I made tiny cards on Canva with an image of baby Moana to explain what those photos were of. The photo and card holders were bought on...wait for it...Amazon.

Birthday Book

At that same table was a golden "M" that I thought would be reminiscent of Tamatoa, the golden, shiny snail from the movie.

Next to that was also Dr. Suess' Happy Birthday To You! I also created another paper on Canva that explained the activity that guests were invited to participate in. We put sharpies next to the book for guests to use to write with. They were encouraged to write a birthday message to Mila. I really loved this, as she'll be able to keep this book for the rest of her life, and always know who was there for her very first birthday.

Month Photos

I'm super bummed about it...but the one thing I forgot to get a photo of was the table that displayed all her monthly photos. From the very first month, I would take a picture of Mila on her month blanket. The decorations that circled each respective month either represented the month, or an activity we did during the month.

I took all 12 of those monthly photos, and put them on holders to display on a table.

Now, although I don't have a picture of the display, I do have all the monthly photos. So the display looked a little something like this:

I really liked this display because it gave people the ability to see how she grew over her 1st year.

Other Decorations

Favors: For favors, I got little glass jars and filled them with blue jelly beans and Swedish fish. The point was to look like little fish swimming through water. I also got little bottles of bubbles.

Music: The music was pretty simple since I have a Spotify premium membership. I just made my own playlist using my favorite songs from Moana, and it set the mood!

High Chair: I wanted to decorate her high chair, so I bought a long garland from Michael's with white flowers on it. I just taped it to the chair, and it looked pretty cute.

The picture of the high chair is taken from a video, and was after she was already pulling at the garland the entire party. So I promise it looked better before!

Cake and Other Decorations

I am not as crafty/talented as I wish I was, so we did need some help from professionals. We went through "Mui Sweet Creations" to do the rest. They were able to put together the entire dessert table, a cute teepee area, and a photo wall.

Her Instagram is: @muisweetcreations

Here are some photos of the decorations and desserts they provided:

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Overall, the party was amazing. I was so happy with how the decorations turned out, and she had so much fun. This was such an important birthday, so I'm so happy that her party was as extra as it was.

Thanks to everyone who came, and Happy Birthday, Mila!