To party or not to party - that is the question. Well Suzanne decided to party! I thought an elaborate birthday party for a 1-year-old was ridiculous until my relatives started asking if we were planning to do anything and if they could come. Once I had a couple dozen guests I decided I might as well give a fancy party my best shot. I did a LOT of searching on the internet for inspiration and decided a circus/carnival theme was both easy and fun.

I bought a lot of supplies from party stores online and then hit the craft store, dollar store and Target for everything else. I used food and candy as part of the decorations and set up a few games for the kids. I took a lot of shortcuts - "tablecloths" are just yards of fabric, all the food was store-bought and a few lucky finds at a discount store meant I didn't have to draw or buy circus animal graphics - but the result was still totally custom.

Our friends and family have kids from 6 months to 10 years and they all had a good time. All our pictures are amazing - which is really the point at a first birthday - and it's a memory we're going to enjoy forever. I had a lot more fun planning than I expected and actually can't wait to do it again!

Thanks Suzanne! (See plenty more of Evan's party on Suzanne's bebehblog.)