Big, blowout 1st birthdays are fun and definitely memorable. But as a seasoned mom of three, Megan of charleystar photo knew that those parties are stressful, expensive, exhausting, AND you don’t get to spend any time with your baby at the party. So she created a really sweet family-only party for her littlest guy who just turned one. Little Keats. First, he’s gorgeous! And such a lucky guy to have had a fun birthday morning with cake and sisters.

She created some simple little details so the morning seemed special, but nothing that had her up late at night for weeks at a time. The Red Balloon was her theme inspiration as it’s one of her family’s favorite movies. And Keats loves balloons so it was perfect. He also love pushing cars around and hanging with his older sibs. She turned his crib into a balloon playground, which entertained Keats and Navi for the entire morning.

Isn’t that little table and chair set cute? It’s one of our faves from IKEA, but she painted it!

And in order to make it feel like an extra special day, they rearranged/cleared out their furniture and hung a drop cloth to create a nice space for the party.

Megan did make his cake herself. It’s the only time of year she attempts an actual cake, but it does feel so much more special and full of love when it’s homemade. She used this recipe, if you’re curious.

His little gold crown is from Fire & Creme Kids. You might have seen our instagram of their adorable party ideas? Totally worth checking out!

They tried multiple times to get him to smash the cake, but he just wasn’t having it.

Don’t you want to just EAT HIM?

Happy Birthday Keats! Way to get smart the 3rd time around, charleystar. It’s perfect.

Other mamas, this post officially gives you permission to create something intimate, easy, and full of love for your kiddo’s next party. We love sharing events full of details, but the real-life ones are just as beautiful.