I came up with the wintery rainbow theme for Leyna’s party after falling in love with all the beautiful rainbow parties I’ve seen online the last year. I loved the idea of brightening up a party in the middle of winter with lots of fun colors.
I hired Charlotte from The Paper Cupcake to design the invitations (which featured Leyna’s cake smash pictures that we took on her actual birthday, December 28th) and all the printables for the party. She really helped me set the tone from the beginning.
We had the party at our house, which made for some chaos the morning of and a huge mess to clean up after, but it actually wasn’t that bad having it here.
This front door sign was made with this wooden plaque I ordered from Etsy. I painted it with chalkboard paint and taped ribbon on to the back. Then my sister prettied it up with some chalk markers. Super easy, and now I can just take off the ribbon, wipe off the chalk and repurpose it.
The cupcake stand is one I’ve repurposed since I made it nearly 3 years ago for Kendall’s 1st birthday party. The wreath above the fireplace is our Christmas felt pomp wreath that I added rainbow ribbon to. The picture collage on the fireplace is made from a canvas that’s painted with chalkboard paint. The pictures are stuck on with adhesive photo corners, and we used chalk markers to draw snowflakes on it.
The giant Polaroid photo booth was a huge hit! The kids loved playing with all the funky accessories, and I think even the adults had a good time pretending to bundle up (even though it was nearly 60 outside and I had the AC blasting).
I got my inspiration for this after seeing a pin from this blog, but had no idea how they made the frame. With the help from some reader suggestions, I wound up getting a giant piece of foam insulation from Home Depot for $9, had Scott cut it with a box cutter, and we painted it white. The dimensions were 3.5 feet wide x 4.25 feet long. There is a .2 foot border on each side, a .25 foot border on top, and a .875 foot border on bottom.
Scott hung it from our ceiling with fishing line, a few feet away from the yellow chevron fabric backdrop I got at Hancock Fabrics.
For favors, the kids got Snow Day Survival Kits full of popcorn, hot chocolate, crayons, stickers and notepads. (The babies got packs of Boogie Wipes for those inevitable runny noses.)
We also handed out these beautiful and sooooo delicious rainbow snowflake sugar cookies, courtesy of Cookies By Becky . I don’t know how she got them to look so perfectly frosted and managed to ship them without a single one breaking, but I looked like a regular ol’ Martha Stewart handing them out… until I admitted I had nothing to do with their creation.
The party was 2 hours of total fun, and I’m so happy we had it here… even if it did take a whole day to clean up after it. OH! One more thing. I don’t have a picture of this, but we made the most kick-ass white hot chocolate and let the adults add rum to their cups. Magically delicious, y’all.
1.75 gallons milk
2 bags white chocolate chips
Melt in stock pot on the stove slowly, pour into coffee urn or keep on low on the stove to keep warm.
Optional- top with rum and/or whipped cream.
Serves- a shitton of people
(We have a ton left over, so we froze it in muffin tins and then put the cubes in freezer bags. Now we can pull a few out, pop them in the microwave and enjoy.)
That’s it! Thanks for stopping by to have a look. As much fun as I had doing this party for Leyna, I’m really thinking we might do a birthday outing over a party for Kendall’s 4th in May (OMG MY BABY IS GOING TO BE FOUR).
Becky is going to give a lucky one of you 2 dozen cookies, too! All you have to do is comment telling me your favorite design she has listed in her Etsy shop right now (though you’re not limited to those if you order from her since she does custom designs, too). U.S. shipping addresses only, please. I’ll draw the winner with Random.org in about a week.
The cookie giveaway is closed. Congrats to Emily, commenter #91, as chosen by Random.org!
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129 comments
Bravo! I loved having home parties when my kids were younger. Now all they want are parties outside the house and you know what? I love it even MORE! Great job. Love the colors.
Looks like so much fun! Clever idea for theme too.
I like the multi-colored heart cookies the most. They remind me of heart shaped gobstoppers.
Oh you guys looked like you had such a good time! I love the pictures 🙂
I’m so glad the cookies made it to you safe & sound. They look awesome!
Cute party! Love the chevron background. And Leyna is so cute!!!
I love having parties at my house, but the whole aftermath takes a few days/week to get back together! But it is so worth it.
We just had my son’s 2nd birthday at our house and it was a blast!
Check it out!
http://lifewithbaby-d.blogspot.com/2012/01/goldfish-under-sea-2nd-birthday.html
I’m glad it went really well. The polaroid frame looks awesome!
I like Becky’s square Valentine’s Day theme cookies.
Love the party – such cute pictures! We did a Winter Wonderland for my little one’s 2nd birthday and I titled the album “Snow Much Fun”! 🙂 Oh, and Becky’s Valentine’s cookies sure would be a great replacement for paper Valentines – more eco-friendly AND delicious! I bet they’ll be a huge hit with kids.
Such a C-U-T-E party! Can not wait to plan my baby girl’s first birthday party (wait, that means she will be one… strike that ). Also love the cookies! My fav are the 21 themed designs (drop the 2 and they would be perfect for a 1st birthday)! As always you are amazing Jill!
Very cute!
I LOVE the square Valentine’s cookies! http://www.etsy.com/listing/90702981/valentines-day-themed-cookies
katielacer at gmail!
I have been over ruled by the cute 3 1/2 yr old next to me who just pointed to the rainbow hearts and said “I love these mommy!”…but to be honest, they are all too too cute! It would be great to see if she could make some tea pot or tea cup cookies for Kate’s 4th birthday in April. OMG…how did they get to be 4?????? Weren’t we JUST pregnant?
First of all, what an ADORABLE party theme! Looks like a blast!
Secondly, I was totally eyeing some sugar cookies as party favors for my daughter’s upcoming 4th birthday party! Becky has talent, yo! I love her Valentine heart cookies, but if I won…my order would be for some custom Hello Kitty cookies!
WOW, looked like everyone had fun. Love the polaroid picture idea!
Such an adorable party! I love the Polaroid frame!
As far as the cookies go, those square valentines cookies are awesome! I love the chocolate dipped strawberry ones too!
This was so cute! It must have been such fun in the midst of Texas weather.
I like the train cookies.
I would LOVe to see some elephants for my daughter’s first birthday!
I love the Polaroid frame!
My favorite cookies have to be the horses! Whenever my husband steps out for a bit and asks if I need anything I always say I need a pony!
Love the pictures and party idea! My favorite design for the cookies are the Valentine’s Day ones, the square ones.
Great party! We’re doing a Candyland Rainbow party in a few months & I’m too excited!
The chocolate covered strawberry cookies are too cute!
Looks like a lot of fun!
I like Becky’s train cookies. My baby’s going to be three in March! Unreal!
I love love love all your amazing ideas and creativity! The rainbow party looks like it was so much fun.
My favorite cookies are the train cookies!!!!
So cute! You’re a regular Martha Stewart but much prettier and a lot nicer 🙂
Love the square “Love” cookies!
Such a colorful party! I haven’t yet been brave enough to do a home party. With both kids b-days 3 days apart it’s just easier to throw one big party somewhere else. But, they are getting older now so that might change.
I love the party idea. I may steal it for my little girl’s first birthday next winter!!!
I would go with the square cookies for valentienes day!! They look amazing!
The party looked awesome! I love the conversation hearts in her Etsy shop!!
You did such a kickass job, Jill! So much fun!
As for the cookies, those square Valentine cookies are adorable.
Looks like the party was great – glad it went well.
The chocolate dipped strawberry cookies are adorable and would make a great Valentine’s Day treat.
What a great party! Looks like you had a blast!
My favorite cookies are the Valentine’s Day cookies. 🙂
I love the polaroid idea, trying to figure out where that would fit in my house…and i love her fall leaf cookies, but I love everything fall, all year long.
I love the train cookies — would be a huge hit with my son!
Love that Polaroid photo booth, too!
What an amazing party! I love the rainbow leggings!
I love Becky’s train cookies. How adorable, all the detail is amazing.
Everything looks fantastic! So great!
I love the Valentine’s Day cookies! I wonder if she could design some girly owl cookies for a First birthday in April!
I like the hearts.
How flipping ADORABLE! I’m pinning and stealing ideas for my little ones first! 😉
I really like the chocolate covered strawberry cookies!
what a great party! I’d love some of the cookies – the valentine heart ones would be perfect for a valentine surprise for my littles! Hope I win 🙂
The train cookies immediately jumped out at me – those would be great for our Thomas-themed 2nd birthday party in March!
Love all the details of Leyna’s snow-party, it looks beautiful and fun at the same time!
What a great party!!!!!! Love the photo booth idea!
My kiddos love the horse cookies!
the square valentines cookies are super cute!
The party looked fantastic! I’m gearing up for my baby’s 1st birthday party in May, and you’re giving me lots of fun ideas!
I love the chocolate covered strawberry cookies! Too cute!
omg I LOVE the autumn themed ones! CANDY CORN!!!
cutest party eva.
[…] I just spotted a brilliant 1st birthday party! Today Jill from Baby Rabies shared all of the gorgeous photos from her daughter’s Wintery Rainbow 1st Birthday Party. I know first-hand that it’s hard to get psyched up for a post-holiday birthday. This party embraces the chills of January but with a cheery twist. Read on for more from this adorable party…See all of the fun images from The Wintery Rainbow 1st Birthday on Baby Rabies […]
I am totally stealing the polaroid photo booth idea! SUPER cute party!
Oh and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fireman themed cookies! Super cute!
I love the Valentine themed cookies, but if I won, I think I would ask for July 4th themed cookies for my son’s first birthday in July.
I love the square valentines cookies
Great party!
It turned out SO cute, Jill. Everything looked perfect!
You did such a great job! Love the Polaroid photo booth idea! Love the mommy and me matching leg warmers!
BTW the chocolate covered strawberry cookies are my fave 🙂
My Faves are the Sunflowers, in the Autumn Themed cookies…so bright and cheery!!
I like the fireman theme cookies the best.
Loved your poloraid idea.
Cute! I guess Saturday was the day for parties- my birthday party was that day too!
My favorite of Becky’s cookies are the roses.
Super cute party! Love Becky’s square Valentine’s theme cookies.
Great pictures of such a colorful and fun-looking party! Thanks for sharing.
My favorite cookies are the large various love cookies for Valentines Day! I love the pretty little swirls dots. I think they look like real valentines!
Looks like such a fun party! Can’t wait to make that hot chocolate recipe – yum!
I really love the fireman cookies.
I love the 21st birthday cookies- so fun! Yours were pretty darn cute too 🙂
I like the chocolate covered strawberries
I love the chocolate covered strawberries cookies. Chocolate covered strawberries and cookies are two of my favorite treats so I thought it was an awesome cookie design!
What a fun 1st birthday! I love everything about it! And yay for a giveaway – my soon-to-be 4 year-old is in love with trains, so I would pick the Train themed cookies 🙂
The Fireman themed cookies would be a huge hit for my two boys! They are adorable.
That Birthday party came out great! It was perfect 🙂 Love the rainbow them! My daughter is also turning one. Her birthday is next week and we are doing a heart theme for Valentine’s Day. Looks like she had such a great day.
I like the train cookies.
I totally pinned this page. Lots of cool decorating ideas and resources. Looks like the party was a blast.
I love the chocolate covered strawberry cookies!
I love the square valentine’s day cookies. I don’t know what it is about the square but I love the shape!!!!!!!
I like the square Valentine’s Day cookies. It would be great to win; my daughter’s first birthday is in less than 2 months! 🙂
I like the fireman cookies, too cute!
I LOVE the 21st birthday ones. My friend’s 21st birthday is coming up and I know she would adore them!
Looks like Leyna’s party was a blast! LOVE the polaroid photo booth.
I love the snowflake cookies Becky did for you. They are beautiful! And I love the conversation hearts cookies from her Etsy shop.
Oh it looks amazing. I really wish we could have come!
Love the pics from Leyna’s party. It looks really fun.
Becky is very talented! Love the rose cookies.
Easy!!! I luvvvv the hearts in a rainbow of colors!
What a sweet party! And the polaroid – genius!
I am having people link up their party idea on my blog, if you want to link up this one, that would be awesome!
http://craftyladylindsay.blogspot.com/2012/01/party-ideas-link-up.html
Happy Birthday to your babe 🙂
Lindsay
You are a party planning master! I love it! I also love the Valentine themed cookies, they are beautiful! What a great party, and sweet 😉 giveaway!
Candy corn cookies! !!!
What a great idea for a birthday party!
The conversation Valentine hearts are sooo cute! I can just hear my girls giggling over them.
Actually, decorating sugar cookies “with perfect frosting” like that is not that hard with royal icing, The detail work takes some practice, but I bet you can do it – and you don’t have to go that elaborate for them to look good, in fact simpler is usually better. This tutorial explains how. http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/06/04/how-to-decorate-cookies-with-royal-icing/
I just like the plain hearts. we may do a rainbow theme one of these years!
Oh Jill!!! It is gorgeous! Love all the details! I have to admit, I am so glad that our themes, though the same, are totally different. I’ll be a dork and send you the link once I get the pics back from our party on Saturday.
I LOOOOVE those valentine’s themed cookies!! Adorable!
I love the party! It looks so fun! You did a great job!
And I love the autumn themed sugar cookies – the candy corn cookies are awesome!
I like the chocolate strawberry cookies!
The chocolate dipped strawberries are too clever!
Love the 21st birthday platter. Specifically the cupcake shaped ones. Too cute!
You had me at matching mother-daughter rainbow legwarmers!!! Seriously, though, I love it all! What a cheerful theme!
My little one is also a December baby, and we opted to go the birthday outing route this year. It was a lot of fun, and based on our schedule and situation around the holidays, I don’t regret doing that at all. We had a really memorable day, and it was kind of special having a day for just the three of us. Whatever you decide for Kendall’s fourth, I am sure you’ll all have a good time. 🙂
Dang, look at those horses! And the fireman cookies! No, no, I want the chocolate covered strawberry cookies =)
I love the conversation hearts!
Big fan of the choc covered strawberries!
I love the fireman cookies and the Valentine’s Day cookies. So cute! I wish I could making my icing on sugar cookies look that perfect!
Oh and I LOVE your white hot chocolate recipe. Sounds delish. What I love even more about that is that it serves “a shitton of people”. LMAO
Oh and I guess I should add that I love ANY of the Valentine’s Day cookies….the square ones are creative though!
I love the heart shaped conversation heart cookies.
Leyna’s party looks like it was so much fun! Your pictures are gorgeous. 🙂
I like the flowers in the autumn cookies set.
And I’m so impressed that you had time to take pictures while hosting. Good job, girl. They turned out great.
There are so many fun designs on her site – past and present. I am liking the “chocolate” covered strawberry cookies right now!
Love the firetruck cookies!
Jill – love the party details! great job!
I need a good Etsy cookie person as I am sad to say I’ve had very bad luck with past orders from someone else.
I really like the 21st Bday ones…do you think I could get that in a 60th bday instead. I’ve got a blow-out party to plan for my MIL next month!
I’d love to have her make owl themed ones for my daughter’s birthday, but from her listings, I like the 21st Birthday themed ones! Mainly because there is an alcoholic drink AND a cupcake!
Super cute birthday! How did you hang the fabric so it didn’t wrinkle?
It looks like the party turned out awesome! You did a great job.
I really like the train cookies Becky has listed in her shop, and I’m sure my boys would, too.
Such a cute birthday party! I really like the train cookies.
I love the 21st birthday cookies, I would use them for my good friends bachelorette party!
The Valentine’s cookies are adorable! My son is having a pirate themed birthday party for his fourth next month. I’d love to see what she could create for that!
[…] from The Paper Cupcake to design the invites and printables for me. She did such a great job with Leyna’s party, I knew she’d come through again, and she certainly […]
[…] did this when she turned one. We celebrated when she was 1 year and 1 month old because her birthday is December […]
[…] an infant alive. There are grownups and grownup drinks and grownup conversation. Kendall and Leyna both had awesome 1st birthdays, and I wasn’t about to miss out on that this time […]
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I guess finding useful, reliable information on the internet isn’t hopeless after all.
That’s the smart thinking we could all benefit from.
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This info is the cat’s pajamas!
Shoot, so that’s that one supposes.
im amazed by the lack of comments on the blog, I would of come to this festival, but im going to new york a bit later than that :(.soo annoyed. Maybe one day see you live, one day.
hola Berta,Acabo de descubrir que tienes un blog, me encanta la idea, la marca poète es tan tan bonita que me pasaré por aquàhabitualmente Permiteme que te diga que ibas espectacular!!no hay nada demás ni de menos!!Me das una idea para una futura boda que tendré!!un beso !
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De la matière ça il y en a! C’est vrai que les parfums signés par Bertrand Duchaufour sont loin d’être pâlots, squelettiques et transparents comme le sont ceux d’autres créateurs…
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I experimented with looking at your site with my ipod touch and the design doesnt seem to be right. Might wanna check it out on WAP as well as it seems most smartphone layouts are not really working with your website.
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