***Updating this page and my first baby is now FIVE (and two more sweet girls have come after her). It is said all the time, but I cannot believe how fast time flies! This party was my first kids party ever and is near and dear to my heart. Hope you continue to find inspiration here for your own PAR-TEE!***

I cannot believe that it has already been a year since God blessed us with our beautiful baby girl, Greta. She has grown so much in just one year; I see why people say to cherish all the time you can with your child while they’re little, because before you know it, they’ll be all grown up! It seems like it was just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital…

Disclaimer: If you purchase something from some of the link provided, I may earn a small commission. 

It was a fun-filled weekend for Greta. In addition to all our family from town who attended the party, we had 6 house guests in from out of town (my mom, sister, brother in law, and their children) who showered her with lots of love and attention all weekend long!

We live right by a golf course, and because Greta loves riding around in the golf cart with us (and watching dad play),  I decided MONTHS prior to her birthday that it would be fun to have a golf themed, “hole in one par-tee.” I also love pink and green everything for girls, and thought this would be a good opportunity to use that color scheme to have an adorable party.

Since I decided the theme so far in advance, I had plenty of time to get inspiration off Pinterest and plan ahead what I was going to do. I ordered a few things from Etsy, like the invitations, her party hat and a “happy birthday” golf banner (that I did not personalize so we can re-use it in the future). I also kept my eye out for cute additions, like the cupcake cup liners that I found at Home Goods (similar on Amazon here and in multiple colors).

Despite wanting cute confections for the party, I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on sweets for a one year old, so I decided to figure out how to make it all myself (I love a good excuse to learn a new skill too)!

After researching and reading several how-to’s on how to make royal icing sugar cookies, buying the right Wilton frosting equipment, and having a few practice runs with cookie making, I felt confident I could get it all done myself.

Originally I was going to make a regular cake to smash for the occasion and cupcakes for all the guests, but my friend, Chrissy, had a mold for a giant cupcake and suggested that I give that a try. I’m so glad I took her up on her suggestion. It turned out so cute and was the perfect size for a smash cake!

To make sure I wasn’t pressed for time in getting everything done, I started making all the sweets at the beginning of the week. I actually made the sugar cookies the week prior and put them in the freezer (I read that they can keep up to a month or so in the freezer), so I only had to add the royal icing to them to cross that task off my list. Then I made the cupcakes (tutorial here), and giant cupcake, and packaged them very well and put them in the fridge so they would stay fresh. I had all the cakes and everything done before Thursday when my family came into town. FIND THE WILTON GRASS TIP HERE FOR THE CUPCAKES.

Here is the link for the golf ball cupcakes tutorial that I adapted for the giant cupcake.

The day before the party everyone helped me prepare the rest of the food (Will smoked the butt overnight). They also helped me assemble a backdrop for photo-ops for guests, and so Greta would have a nice back drop for when she tried cake for the FIRST TIME EVER.

GET your golf par-tee invitations here:

I ended up forgetting to put her high chair in front of the backdrop when we sang to her, but we moved her around for some photos afterward.

To tell the truth, the buttercream frosting on the smash cake was so hard (I really wanted to make sure it crusted really well :), it was hard for Greta to get into the cake so we had to help! She was also just starting to be on the mend from a couple days of a high fever, so she wasn’t 100% into smashing the cake either. Despite not feeling her best, her eyes did light up on that first taste of her chocolate cake!

After eating and having cake, she got to open her presents. Every gift was so thoughtful; Greta’s loved ones really know her well. Thank you everyone for making her first birthday so special!

On The Menu:

1. Pimento Cheese and Crackers
2. Smoked Pork Butt
3. Cole Slaw
4. Baked Beans
5. Mexican Street Corn Casserole
6. Chocolate Cake and Cupcakes
7. Sugar Cookies with Lemon Royal Icing
8. Chocolate and Fresh Strawberries
9. Pink Lemonade with Thyme
10. Cucumber Lemon Water
11. Wine

Find your golf par-tee essentials here: 

Snag all other party essentials here:

Do you prefer baking for parties or buying stuff from the store? Comment and let us know what you think!

Also, follow me on Instagram @ShipsHQ so you can see what is going on in my neck of the woods from day to day. Be sure to drop a DM and tell me how you found me. Hope to see you there!