ROCK THIS WAY - BROTHER IS ONE!

My little boy is turning one and it's really making me sentimental. He's walking, learning, exploring and starting to do all those boy things. He's less and less of a baby and becoming more and more a boy. Sigh...sniff...



Husband was interested in helping with the party this year (which ended in him deciding the theme) so we went with a Classic Rock Birthday. Not what you might expect for a small child, but we're having a blast with it. There were so little ideas on the theme online that I really had to put my thinking cap on and put it together on my own. I thought I would share it with the web world in case there is a mom out there looking for the same Rock N Roll ideas.



Since we are going with a more Classic, or Hard Rockin' party, we opted not to decorate with records or go the 50's route. For invitations, I set the tone with a rock band poster detailing the when and where. I used lingo like: "You were there when it all began"..."Rockin' the first birthday"..."ONE DAY ONLY"....etc. For treat bags, the kids can expect glow bracelets, plastic microphones and VIP tags to show off their attendance. Check eBay for cheap lanyards when you buy in bulk. The invites & VIP tags were done quickly on my computer and printed at home to save costs.

Special consideration for a "green" party are noted on the invites, encouraging globally responsible thinking. No paper plates, cups etc will be used. It's cheaper too! If you're worried about dishes, serve finger foods and cupcakes.

Decorations are super easy, inexpensive, fun and simple: black, silver and purple balloons, rock posters on the walls and inflatable guitars to play with. I was lucky to find a 60's rock poster calendar that was clearanced to $2 so I have 12 posters to display. I also found some cool posters on art.com for relatively cheap. I also own some rock albums so I set those out too. The guitars came from Century Novelty (online) and they had a cooler selection than Oriental Trading Co. Plus the reviews for similar items at Oriental weren't too impressive. I'm VERY pleased with my product and would highly recommend CN.



We're all rocked out for clothing, including an AC DC tee from, you guessed it, Target for Brother, a tie-dye dress & leggings for Sis, and various rock tees for Husband and I. Not to mention leather boots, studded bracelets and retro aviator glasses. Several of these items we already owned or were super cheap and easy to find at the goodwill.

Another cool idea is to create a mixed cd of iconic rock hits to had out as favors...a few songs from my playlist:

• Jumpin Jack Flash - Rolling Stones
• Rockstar - Nickleback
• Barracuda - Heart
• One way or Another - Blondie

At this age, the activites don't need much planning, so I have a bunch of instruments for the kids to jam with in a sectioned off VIP Room. Parents can jam on Guitar Hero and if your family is anything like mine, you can expect some serious competition. A Red Velvet cake is the finishing touch for true rockstar appetites!