Evan’s birthday party was such an amazing event. I remember at one point getting teary-eyed because I looked up and realized that our closest family and friends were all there to celebrate with us. The thing that touched my heart the most was that they had also been there for us throughout the entire year. The best part of the décor were their smiling faces.
The Dol
Non-Koreans often wonder why Koreans seem to have such extravagant parties for their children’s first birthdays. The “dol” or “doljanchi” is a celebration of life and a tradition born out of an era in Korean history when babies often didn’t survive to their first birthdays due to malnutrition or illness. In modern days we’re fortunate not to have such concerns thanks to medical advancements yet the celebrations continue. For us, the dol wasn’t about throwing a big party…it was just about gathering our family and friends to share in our love for Evan and to commemorate the amazing year we traveled together.
Here are some of the details from the party. Photos were taken by our awesome photographer, Youkeun or by me. Vendor reviews are in a post below.
The Theme and Colors
It all started with this little paper elephant. I’ve had Martha Stewart’s elephant punch since before Evan was born. I always knew I wanted to use this one day for my baby boy. I finally had my chance. I designed a logo out of it and used it throughout the party. I also incorporated our safari photos into the décor.
The colors I wanted to use were light blue, light green, yellow and silver/grey. I was inspired by my dress and a pack of paper!
The Invites
We searched everywhere online for invites but we just didn’t find anything I loved. We decided to make them ourselves. Here’s what we came up with…
We put a paper belt to keep the pieces together and also to hide the elephant. When you first see the invite all you see is Evan but when you raise the belt you see the baby elephant! We also included an advice card for people to fill out and bring to the party for a chance to win prizes.
The Décor
I had a vision of what I wanted the centerpieces to look like but it took a lot of searching to find the right pieces — the vintage luggage, the stuffed animals, the grass, etc.
The Food
Andy, Evan and I love to eat so we had to make sure our guests were well fed. We had the Kogi Truck serve all-you-can-eat Korean style tacos. Even my mom’s friends knew about them and were excited!
The coolest thing about the party was that our talented family and friends made special dishes for us. We had everything from Aunt Teresa’s famous 14 carrot cake to Grandma Ahn’s spinach salad.
We also had a donut station where The Fry Girl made fresh mini donuts. These are one of Oprah’s favorite treats so I knew they’d be a hit!
We also had a sweets buffet! Sophia did an awesome job of making it look picture perfect. Evan’s Aunt Sandy made yummy cake pops. You can check out Sandy’s blog for a tutorial on how to make them yourself!
We had two machines that made different flavored coffees, hot chocolate and teas.
The Floor Pillows
I really wanted to make a comfortable floor seating area for families to sit with their babies so they could spread out and the babies could lay, crawl or walk around. We (Andy & Jane) actually made 20 floor cushions!
The Canvas Bags
I made a bag for each of the baby guests personalized with their initial on the front and Evan’s logo on the back. A lot of the things were the same (organic puffs, bubbles, blow up ball, book) but some things were personalized based on the baby’s age/gender (bib, toy, clothes, crayons, DVDs). I really wanted to make each bag special for Evan’s best baby buddies.
The Slideshow
Instead of a traditional slideshow we decided to make a video montage of our first year with Evan including photos, videos and commentary. If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the link…click me!
The Doljabi
The “doljabi” is a traditional event at each dol where items representing the baby’s future are lined up. The baby is encouraged to pick one of the items which then signifies what their future will hold. Guests were able to predict which one Evan would pick for a chance to win prizes. Evan chose money! It was so funny because he went right for it and started fanning the bills.
My very talented friend from Dohl Posters and More designed a board illustrating the items Evan would choose from.
The Thank You Cards
The Links
I’m ecstatic that Evan’s party has been blogged about. I was so surprised and happy when his party photos showed up in my Google reader from one of my favorite design blogs, Twig & Thistle!
Here are a few of the links:
The Happy Ending
It was pretty stressful trying to plan the party, especially because I made so many things by hand. Luckily I had so many supportive family, friends and a team of awesome vendors to help. There were many all-nighters, glue gun burns, paper cuts and countless trips to Michaels and Jo-Ann Fabrics but it was all worth it in the end. I always say…love is in the details…so everything we put into creating this event was just a product of our love for Evan.
