A Vegan First Birthday- Our Tropical Picnic Party

ONE! What a milestone!
I love birthdays, celebrations & traditions.
For me, it's not about a big commercial event or many expensive gifts at all.
It's about gathering with loved ones and creating meaningful traditions.

It's not for everyone.
I know some like-minded parents that have turned their kids birthdays into the most minimal affair. Without gifts. Instead, they are just giving a donation to a chosen charity.
I like that idea. And we will be doing something similar for Christmas.
Other people also find entertaining very stressful and the thought of a party makes their stomachs turn. That's not me.

I do love a good celebration and bringing loved ones together in meaningful ways.
For me, even though there is quite some work in preparations, I really enjoy the process.
So, we really wanted to have a little birthday party for Faye's first.
It's a big milestone for all of us.
We also have less time to catch up with friends and family these days, so it's the perfect occasion to bring everyone together.

We were keeping the guest list relatively small, chose a local park and also made the vegan food ourselves. No big budget needed. I carved the cake out of a watermelon and used Coconut Cream as icing. I then went crazy with fruit, coconut flakes and edible flowers as decoration.
I also baked banana bread muffins, made fruit skewers and platters and we had two delicious salad dishes. Everything was sugarfree and vegan, including mostly raw-vegan treats.

We brought blankets and cushions and were blessed with the most beautiful weather. Most importantly Faye herself really enjoyed the day. Being outdoors playing and running all afternoon, just stopping here and there for some snacks she warmed up to it all pretty quickly and partied all afternoon. It was over too quickly, but so worth it!

Faye got to wear a birthday crown in typical Waldorf tradition on her special day. We also got her a birthday ring, another German / Waldorf tradition that I love.
It's a wooden ring to be used as table decoration. It has holes which can be filled with candles and ornaments. Each year the parents can choose a new ornament to help tell the story of that year.
Ours was decorated with fresh flowers and ornaments. We lit a candle every day of her birthday week and kept the ring out on the table. I love how these are used every year and can be used in so many ways.
We are also telling Faye her birth story every year on her special day.

With the cake, celebrations & decorations I found it to be enough for a first birthday, so Faye didn't receive an additional "gift" as such.

Our family chimed in to get her a Kitchen Helper Tower/ Learning Tower, which was a big item on our wishlist and all friends brought beautiful little things along to the party.
I didn't expect so many gifts at all (it actually didn't even occur to me that people will bring gifts), but when we opened all the presents, I noticed how well they know us. We didn't get anything out of plastic but rather a very thoughtful selection of books, beautiful wooden toys, handmade things. Faye is such a lucky duck.