If you have been looking for the perfect one year old birthday party theme for your little boy, this post is for you! This is the ultimate guide to throwing a Wild One’ theme birthday party.

Well. It’s officially Summer. My baby boy Roman turned one on June 21, the Summer Solstice. Which means the days are longer and so much hotter. We had a really fabulous celebration.

Throwing a one year old birthday party is an interesting experience and I thought it would be fun to share all of my advice because I learned so much through all of this. The most important thing for a mom is to truly be in the present moment.

Just a simple search on Pinterest for a one year old birthday party will drive any new mom into an anxious panic. It is a LOT to think about and it can be very expensive. Especially for someone who doesn’t like cheesy kid party decorations.

What I knew that I wanted to do was have a pool party because who wants to be inside on a gorgeous Summer day and what’s better than a pool party? There are so many character themes and I am sure I will cave for these soon but the ‘Wild One’ theme was my favorite. I didn’t want to get too jungle-y or animalistic, I wanted to go with a more Beverly Hills Hotel chic pool party tropical chic vibe, if that is a thing.

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4 Tips For Throwing a SUCCESSFUL BIRTHDAY FOR YOUR KIDS:

KEY #1: FEELING COMFORTABLE IS EVERYTHING

My outfit needed to match the theme of course so I got this palm leaf kimono which I’m telling you was a total hit. Everyone asked where I got it. Thankfully Amazon had me covered because I had no idea what to wear. It was perfect, breezy so I stayed cool yet covered me up so I didn’t feel uncomfortable running around in my swimsuit as I greeted guests. I also put my little boy in a palm leaf swimsuit to match his mama.

It made it easy for me to go in and out of the pool. I also suggest every woman grab this chic sun hat. It’s a wide brim oversized hat and comes in every color. I didn’t need to wear sunglasses because it covered my face so well. I will be wearing it all Summer long for sure.

KEY #2: KEEP THE DECOR SIMPLE & PICK A FOCAL POINT

I wanted the decor to be simple, chic yet really fun. So, I ordered two of these swan floats a la Lisa Vanderpump and named them Hanky and Panky. I got the 32” gold letter balloons to put behind the pool cave for a fun embellishment. I wanted the pool to really be inviting and center of attention. Roman really loves swimming. I always like to have the playlist match the decor and because it was a hotel pool vibe, I threw on Hotel Costes Mix on Spotify.

KEY #3: CREATE EASY SIGNATURE COCKTAILS

After reading Patricia Altschul’s Summer entertaining tips, I knew I wanted to rent a professional Margarita Machine, (if you are in Austin, I highly recommend Steve at River City) one side was a virgin pina colada which I named ‘Summer Solstice’ and the Margarita was called the ‘Roman Holiday’. How cute is that?

HOT TIP: Go to your local favorite restaurant with a really good frozen margarita machine and ask for their recipe. We had ours custom made with local tequila, nothing fake, nothing sugary, it was DELICIOUS.

What they give you to make the margarita mix with is typically filled with sugary things. I wanted them to be fresh, healthy and delicious. Green solo cups with cute neon straws and umbrellas really made them fun. They were a HUGE hit, everyone loved them.

It also makes it easier to be a hostess, you’re not stressing about pouring drinks or what people want. If you make something for everyone and make it easy to access, people feel right at home making their own drink. It really was a focal point of the party and put people at ease. We also had coolers full of gatorades, water and sparkling water so everyone could be properly hydrated.

*(The kids really loved serving themselves virgin pina coladas)*

KEY #4: EASY TO EAT BUFFET STYLE FOOD IS THE WAY TO GO

The food was Franklins BarBQ, which let me tell you was quite the ordeal to get and our cake was from Sweet Treats Bakery. I highly recommend them, they created the cake EXACTLY how I asked them to and they did a fabulous job.

A one year old party is interesting because it’s not really a kid party or a full on adult party so its kind of a limbo party. Ensuring things work for everything requires you to keep things simple, which I loved. I don’t like cheesy kid stuff at all, and I am so not ready for that but the cake and the margarita machine and pool floats were plenty for Romans cousin to have a lot of fun.

MORE CUTE IDEAS FOR A WILD ONE THEME BIRTHDAY FOR BOYS:

01 | Tiger Tails Pretzel Sticks

02 | Monstera Leaf Table Decorations

You will want to have plenty of jungle themed party accessories to place around the event space. I started by stocking up on monstera leaf decor accents.

03 | Wild One Gold Balloon Banner

No party is complete with out a large gold balloon banner. I personally did my sons name but I also love the idea of spelling out ‘wild one’. It makes such a statement and could be a fabulous photo booth background.

03 | Decorate the table with jungle animals

Decorating the table with jungle animals is a must. I love the look of all gold animals to make it really chic. You can also keep the natural animal colors as well, it just depends on what look you are going for.

Get this look:

04 | Make a Monthly Milestone Photo Board

Let everyone see your child as he has grown each month to fully celebrate his first year.

05 | Make a jungle juice beverage stand

Get the look:

06 | Make a Wild One Party Chair

When your baby can’t walk yet or barely walk, you’ll want a high chair so you can get photos of them eating their birthday cake and enjoying it. Style up your high chair with some chic wild jungle decorations.

Get the look:

07 | Lion theme veggies and hummus platter

08 | Straw hats for everyone as party favors

If you’re having an outdoor party, everyone will thank you for a straw hat to keep them protected from the sun. You can decorate them with leaves and/or flowers to make it festive.

09 | Create a Wild One Balloon Wall & Snack Table

Get this look:

10 | Make a ‘please adopt me’ animal rescue

11 | Strawberry & Grape Snake Snacks

It’s a really fun idea to name all of the snacks you have according to the jungle theme. Here is a list to help inspire you:

Here is A JUNGLE THEME SNACK IDEA list:

Banana pies – Banana Moon Pies
Monkey Chow – Banana Chips
Snake Eggs – Green Grapes
Gorilla Poop – Chocolate covered raisins
Giraffe Spots – Rye Chips
Banana Treats – Runts Bananas
Beetle Wings – Lays Potato Chips
Tree Roots – Pretzel Sticks
Elephant Snacks – Peanuts
Zebra Cakes – Zebra Cakes
Jaguar Claws – Bugles
Grubs – Gummy Worms
Animal Crackers – Animal Crackers

Birthday parties for children are so memorable and special. Hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any tips, feel free to add them in the comments below.

To protect privacy of everyone, I won’t post photos of the actual party but a big thank you to my childhood bestie for helping me set everything up. Love you.