Chicken Themed First Birthday Party on a Budget | This Chick Is One

If you’re looking to throw a This Chick Is One party on a budget, read below for all the details of my daughter’s chicken-themed first birthday party.

With this being my third baby, I feel like I have more experience in the party planning department. I Pinterested the heck out of this party, and I was able to achieve most of my ideas! Let’s jump into all the details I lovingly put together for this special chicken-themed first birthday party.

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Chicken Themed First Birthday Party Invitations

To start, the chicken birthday party invitations! I purchased these chicken cut outs on Etsy in the size 6 inches, and I found these cute square brown envelopes on Amazon to fit the invitations. For the labels, I bought these clear Avery brand labels that were really easy to customize and print off from my printer at home. I found the sayings “This chick is one” and “Join us for a clucking good time” on Pinterest to come up with the wording! These were seriously so cute, and I love the homemade vibe.

Chicken Birthday Party Treat Bags

Another thing I made for the party are these chicken goodie bags for the kids that attended! It was so simple; I used white paper lunch bags, construction paper, glue, and a black marker. I found one on Pinterest that I liked as inspiration and freestyled it.

To make the combs and wattles (the red parts of the chicken), I used red construction paper. To make the beaks, I used yellow and orange construction paper. Those white paper lunch sacks were stuffed in one of my kitchen drawers for years. If I would have bought them new at the store, I would have gotten white AND brown paper. I think a mixture of different colored chickens would be so fitting! I used a black marker to make the eyes and eyebrows. Then, I filled the treat bags with candy and party blowers.

First Birthday Guest Book

Using a children’s book as a guest book is such a cute idea. This was my first time doing this. Basically, you have your guests write their name or message for the birthday girl! I wrote a sweet little poem on a folded piece of construction paper: “Please stop here and take a look, then write a message in my birthday book. A birthday wish or just sign your name, so that I will remember that you came.”

I tried to find a book with a chicken on it for my daughter’s chicken-themed first birthday party. This was the best I could find at Walmart. If I did it over again, I would look for a book online that fits the theme better. In addition, I’d buy a book with PAPER pages. I didn’t realize the pages of this book were glossy and hard to write on.

I gathered some paperback children’s books that feature chickens for you (prices are the prices on Amazon at the time of writing this post):

The Little Red Hen (Little Golden Book) – $4.24

The Little Red Hen (Paul Galdone Nursery Classic) – $7.99

Catch That Chicken! – $13.54

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick! – $5.72

With Love, Little Red Hen – $7.99

Baby Monthly Milestone Banner

This corner in our dining room is our future homeschool set up. I taped the monthly milestone pictures against our chalkboard and wrote “This Chick is One” on the board. This cube organizer made a good place to place her birthday presents and display the birthday cake. I bought the first birthday photo banner awhile ago for the last first birthday I threw, but here is a similar one on Amazon!

Chicken Animal Figurine Birthday Cake

The smash cake is my favorite thing that I made for the party. I was really going for a minimalist, sweet, simple birthday party, and I feel like this cake really caught the essence of the celebration I was going for.

To achieve this look, I made two 8-inch round vanilla cakes and a big batch of homemade frosting. I put frosting in-between the cakes to stick them together and then frosted the entire outside of the cake. I bought two packs of realistic chicken figurines (this one and this one) to use as cake toppers.

In addition to the smash cake, I made a 9-inch by 13-inch vanilla cake and frosted it as well. I added some random sprinkles I found in my cupboard and one big candle from Walmart to finish it!

Here is the recipe I used for both cakes. I doubled the recipe to be able to make two 8-inch round cakes and one 9×13 sheet cake. I didn’t even get to taste the cake, but I heard nothing but good reviews! Home-baked goods are so much better than store bought and way more affordable than catering or fancy bakery goods.

Chick-Fil-A Chicken Nuggets & Other Food We Served

One major thing I invested in for this party was Chick-Fil-A catering. Some advice my mom passed on to me is to feed your guests dinner when you throw a party, so they don’t have to figure out a meal later and can leave the party filled and happy. We also live quite a ways from some of our family, so it was extra important to me to supply a filling meal.

Now, we live in a small rural town far away from most restaurants, so I ordered two orders of frozen chicken nuggets (enough for 50 people). My husband had to drive an hour to pick it up, and we heated it at our house. It came out to just over $200, and Chick-Fil-A supplied all the plates, silverware, napkins, and sauces we needed. Overall, I was really impressed with the catering, and the chicken tasted great for being re-heated in our oven.

While I wanted to splurge a little bit on the Chick-Fil-A, another more affordable option is to order chicken at your local supermarket deli. You could even buy a bunch of frozen nuggets to heat and serve your guests! Honestly, as long as they’re fed with good food and have good fellowship, your guests will be happy.

Other food we served included applesauces pouches for the kids, chips, fruits and veggies, scalloped potatoes, chocolate chip cookies, and ice cream. I tried to have easy foods available that were filling and that kids like.

Other Details of the Party!

Here are a couple more details of my daughter’s chicken-themed first birthday party!

I found this precious farm animal dress on Amazon!! Along with the chickens, there are other farm animals on it, but I thought it was too cute to pass up. It actually came in a set of two, so we could have one dress for before and after the smash cake.

In addition, my mother-in-law gave us this chicken photo backdrop to put behind her high chair. I didn’t get a good picture of it, but it has a couple chickens on it. I like how it isn’t super obnoxious or cartoony. We also used some extra chicken cut outs that we used for the invitations to make a chicken banner that spelled out my daughter’s name. We hung that banner up above her high chair against the photo backdrop.

Finally, I bought a small bouquet of flowers and a package of egg cartons as shown in a photo above. I intended to fill the egg cartons with cookies, but ended up putting fake eggs from Walmart in one as decoration!

Seek to Bless, Not Impress

All in all, this was the sweetest birthday party because our family and friends gathered with us in our home to celebrate our baby girl! The biggest lesson I’ve been learning in my homemaking journey is to seek to bless, not impress. Connection over impressing.

I’ve held myself back so many times from connecting with others because things weren’t “perfect.” Whether the timing wasn’t perfect (my kids are too little and will miss their nap time) or the conditions weren’t perfect (my house is a disaster) or something else, I am done being held back from what truly matters (fellowship and serving others!!).

So mama, use this birthday party as an opportunity to serve others, fully celebrate your child, and enjoy communion with your loved ones free of guilt. Newsflash, no party is perfect, and something is bound to go wrong. Don’t let it steal away any of your joy as you celebrate your child.

Blessings,

Avery

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