First birthday inspiration: a teddy bear's picnic

On a sunny afternoon in the Clevedon countryside, the Herewini family celebrated their son Maxwell’s first birthday. His mama, Samantha Herewini, tells us all about the special day.

WHERE WAS THE LOCATION AND WHAT WAS THE THEME?

We chose The Farmhouse in Clevedon for Maxwell’s first birthday party. We kept it simple with a neutral teddy bear theme – super cute, classic and cuddly for our big one-year-old. The idea came about through wanting to incorporate his favourite giant teddy on the day. So I researched a couple of ideas and found some inspiration online to tie it all together.

TELL US ABOUT THE PARTY...

It was such a special day for our boy, surrounded by family and friends at one of our favourite local spots in Clevedon. The Farmhouse is a gorgeous little deli and cafe overlooking the Clevedon countryside. It was the perfect relaxed, family-friendly setting with plenty of outdoor seating and the cutest little white villa where we set up the party.

They offer the most delicious fresh seasonal produce, organic coffee and homemade ice cream – so created an amazing spread for our guests.

The festivities kicked off at 3pm and it turned out to be a stunning sunny day. We kept it super casual and let the kids run wild. There were also local farm animals on site which was such a hit! The only formality was of course singing our little man 'Happy Birthday' and enjoying his first cake smash experience – it had to be done! He ended up just putting his whole face into the cake. It was hilarious – the joy on his face was priceless.

Styling wise, we kept it pretty simple as the venue itself was already beautiful and didn’t need much set up. Our signature element was Maxwell’s giant teddy bear with the incredible balloon display made by Grace from Lunar Balloons. We placed ‘Big Ted’ at the entrance of the villa to welcome everyone in and then inside the villa we had our beautiful food spread and more gorgeous balloon installations by Grace. We added a few teddy bear accents and kept all styling elements within the neutral colour palette to keep it consistent and cute. We also had two incredible teddy cakes and desserts made by Susannah from Cockle Bay Bakeshop.

WERE THERE ANY SPECIAL MOMENTS THAT STOOD OUT?

The whole afternoon was really special but I would have to say my favourite moment was Maxwell’s cake smash – he had the best time! I am also just so grateful that we got to plan a special day for him. I had Maxwell in the level 4 Covid lockdown in 2020 and his first six months of life consisted of numerous lockdowns and isolation; so I knew that when the time came – God willing – I wanted to celebrate his big milestone well. And we did! It was such a special day.

ANY TIPS FOR PLANNING A FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY?

Choose a great theme and stick to it. Keep it simple, and get your family and friends involved to help if you need. It’s such a special time to plan together. Choosing a great venue always helps too with less decoration needed. Enjoy the day and try to take a moment to soak in this incredible milestone – well done! You made it! 

SHOUT-OUT TO THE PARTY PEOPLE
Venue and catering: The Farmhouse Deli, farmhousedeli.co.nz; Balloons by Lunar Balloons, lunarballoons.co.nz; Cakes and desserts by Cockle Bay Bakeshop, @cocklebaybakeshop.