• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Happy Family Blog logo
  • About
    • Newsletter
    • Contact Me
    • Collaborate
    • Resource Page
    • Press
  • Recipes
  • LIfestyle
  • Travel
  • Shop
    • My Favorite Products
    • Make Money Working with Brands
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
    • Newsletter
    • Contact Me
    • Collaborate
    • Resource Page
    • Press
  • Recipes
  • LIfestyle
  • Travel
  • Shop
    • My Favorite Products
    • Make Money Working with Brands
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Parties

    Winter ONEderland Birthday Party

    Jan 13, 2017 · 9 Comments

    44 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet

    I am excited to share my friend, Christen's adorable Winter ONEderland Birthday Party themed party.  Their personal story made this party even sweeter.  They have been married for 17 years.  Infertility and a breast cancer diagnosis lead them to use a gestational carrier (surrogate).  They lost a baby at 8 weeks before Deakin.  When Deakin finally arrived, they had been trying for him and praying for him for a a decade.  He is their miracle baby and they could not be more thankful for him.  When it came time for his first birthday they knew they had to make it amazing!  

    Winter ONEderland Birthday Party Theme

    Deakin's mom started thinking about the theme when he was about 3 months old.  She was inspired by Alice in ONEderland parties.  She wanted to create a more masculine version with the ONEderland theme.  Thanks to Pinterest and a secret page, so people wouldn't think she was crazy.  Deakin's birthday is in September so she wasn't sure the Winter ONEderland theme would work.  She ran with it and decided to make it snow in September in Atlanta!  🙂  Once she had the theme in mind, it evolved.  Thanks to Etsy she found an invitation that she loved.  That provided the colors for the party.  Once she had that, she spent a ton of time on Pinterest.

    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog

    Details

    The party was on Deakin's actual birthday.  It was at their home and they hosted about 60 people there, including kids.  The highlight of the party was the 1st year video Deakin's mom made.  They played it on repeat on the TV in their living room.  It was so special.  They spent hours and hours working on it.

    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog

    Originally they were planned to have a balloon arch at the front door, connected to 2 balloon snowmen.  They moved it into the foyer, in front of the opening to the dining room.  This turned out great because people saw it during the whole party.  Not just when they came in.

    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog

    For other decorations, they hung 75 snowflakes from the foyer and dining room ceiling to create a winter feel.  It took a friend and Deakin's mom over 3 hours and 2 bottles of wine to get that done.  It was a much bigger project than they originally expected.  They also created a paper pom poms and streamer backdrop for the cake and smash cake.

    Beer, soda, melted snowman (aka water), and capri suns for drinks were served.  Theme colored straws, and had personalized cocktail napkins added to the decor.

    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog
    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog
    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog

    The big detail was the SNOW!!!  Deakin's dad and granddad built a 6' x 20' frame to contain the snow.  They covered the exposed wood with quilt batting and attached a white tarp to the bottom.  On the morning of the party, they attached the snow backdrop to the fence and laid out the pit.  Then they got to work mixing the snow.  They had 180 gallons of snow in the pit.  The snow is a powder that you mix with water and it expands.  It's really cool.  They finished it off with 12 "beach ball" penguins.

    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog

    DIY

    Katie, a family friend started helping Deakin's mom with the details of this party about a month and a half in advance.  She worked on it every free moment they had.  Deakin's mom found a photo cutout prop on Etsy and showed it to her.  She said she could make it.  It turned out incredible for the Winter ONEderland Birthday Party.
    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog
    The following were also DIY
    • Cake background
    • Spray painted 75 snowflakes with glitter spray paint
    • Photo banner on mantle
    • Snow pit & background

    Food

    Originally Deakin's mom was going to be super creative with the food, and have things that went with the Winter ONEderland Birthday Party theme.  But she started getting overwhelmed so she decided to call in her caterer friend and have her company do the food.  BEST DECISION EVER.  Once the decorating was done, she was able to enjoy the party and not have to worry about food.  It was such a weight off my shoulders.

     She knew she wanted the menu to have something for everyone - especially kids.  This was, after all, her son's birthday party!  So they created a menu that included candied bacon, buffalo chicken dip, Vidalia onion tarts, chicken tenders, mac n cheese, kale salad, Angus beef slider station with multiple toppings, mini BLTs, homemade potato chips.  It was delicious!  She had cute little food cards that said what each thing was to tie in with the theme.
    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog

    Cake

    The cake was 2 layers - top was chocolate and bottom was vanilla.  It had a standard buttercream frosting.  It was made by a local lady who does incredible work.  Deakin's mom found the cake on Pinterest and sent her a pic.  It had fondant striped, snowmen and penguins.  The smash cake with a vanilla cake decorate like a snowman head.
    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog
    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog
    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog
    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog
    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog

    They set up corn hole in the yard. Deakin's mom used her vinyl cutter to make a snowman for each board.  To made "snowball" bean bags for tossing, perfect for a Winter ONEderland Birthday Party.

    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog
    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog

    Each child had a personalized box to take snow home with them.  They also each took home one of the penguin beach balls.

    ONEderland Winter Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog
    What is your favorite detail for this Winter ONEderland Birthday Party?  It is hard to pick one.   As a Florida girl I think it is the snow!

    Vendors

    • Photographer - Mark McGovern
    • Caterer - C Parks Catering & Events
    • Balloon Décor - Balloonacy
    • Snow - SnoWonder
    • Birthday Boy's Outfit - Handmade by Katie Alyse
    • Invitation - Amanda's Party to Go
    • Cocktail Napkins - Memorable Wedding
    • Highchair Banner - Giggy Gumdrops
    • Waterbottle Labels - Chickabug
    • Food Cards - Chickabug 

    Winter ONEderland Birthday Party by Happy Family Blog

     

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Mark McGovern says

      January 13, 2017 at 7:47 pm

      Thanks for the mention!

      Reply
      • Cristy says

        January 14, 2017 at 1:53 pm

        You did a great job capturing the party!

        Reply
    2. Jeanne says

      January 13, 2017 at 10:40 pm

      What a fun party - the attention to detail is amazing and oh my, the SNOW! Wow!

      Reply
      • Cristy says

        January 14, 2017 at 1:53 pm

        I want to buy the snow too

        Reply
    3. Elly says

      January 17, 2017 at 10:57 am

      Hey nice post. Beautiful decoration. Thanks for the ideas! I have two winter birthday kids

      Reply
      • Cristy says

        January 18, 2017 at 12:35 am

        Thank you for reading and commenting. Such a fun theme!

        Reply
    4. Emma, C. Parks Catering & Events says

      January 23, 2017 at 7:50 pm

      Thanks so much for the shoutout! We had a great time! Love working with a good theme.

      Reply
    5. Anju Daniel Paul says

      December 15, 2017 at 7:38 am

      Since my Winter Onederland party was for a girl I wanted to include a lot of whites, silver, and a touch of pink. Thanks for the ideas!

      Reply
      • Cristy says

        December 15, 2017 at 3:09 pm

        Would love to see what you create. Thank you so much for your comment.

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Join the Party!

    Subscribe for exclusive party inspiration, hosting tips, recipes and family fun ideas.

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Amazon Disclosure

    We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Press
    • Partner

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 Happy Family Blog