“Our Little Pumpkin is Turning One” is a cute theme for 1st birthday parties because it can be gender-neutral or themed for boys or girls. It’s easy to decorate for if you have it during the fall, and everyone likes pumpkins, so it’s easy to find good recipes for cakes and party snacks.
These are some pumpkin-themed ideas for a “Little Pumpkin” party.
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Invitations and party decor ideas.
There are tons of options for pumpkin-themed party invitations and decor. Here are some options, including coordinating ones from the Artisan Shopper Designs store on Zazzle, but you can find customizable paper and party supplies on Zazzle
or Etsy, and sets of party supplies on Amazon (ad).
- Send pumpkin-themed invitations with cute illustrations.
- Decorate with decor featuring autumn colors like pale orange, brown, green, and ivory.
Pumpkin garlands.
- Hang pumpkin garlands using artificial minis, or get custom pumpkin banners like these from Mama Doc Celebrations.
You can get pumpkin themed high chair decorations on Amazon, too (ad).
Mini pumpkin table centerpieces and mantel decor.
During the fall months you can get mini pumpkins and gourds at the supermarket or a local pumpkin patch and arrange them as centerpieces on your tables, mantel, and buffets. Add some fall greenery and dried autumn leaves and you’ll have a seasonal display that’s easy to put together.
Orange balloon arch.
Get orange balloons and tie them together to make an arch or garlands that can be used around doors, or for a photo booth backdrop. You can get a variety of balloon arch sets on Amazon (affiliate link.)
Pumpkin leggings for mom.
These cute pumpkin leggings were designed to match the pumpkins on the invitations that I linked to earlier. They’d be cute as part of mom’s wardrobe for the party. You can see these and more legging styles in this article: Patterned leggings for work and play
Pumpkin vases.
Hollow out little pumpkins and make flower vases out of them. Use white pumpkins and orange together to create a nice assortment of colors.
Orange and sage green table runners.
Get some table runners in fall patterns or shades of orange and sage greens to create a pretty base color that you can put the fall themed items on. Click here to see some on Amazon (affiliate link)
Guest books.
Get a cute guest book alternative on Amazon with this pumpkin that guests can add messages to. Put this on a table near the entrance and let guests write on the little pumpkins as they come in. See it on Amazon (affiliate link)
Or get a traditional guest book that you can make into a party keepsake after the event by adding photos and memories from the day to it later.
More ideas
- Use gingham tablecloths and fall baskets for an autumn pumpkin patch feel.
- Set up a photo booth with an autumn themed backdrop and pumpkin accessories to take pictures at the party.
- Place floral arrangements with fall leaves in them on tables as centerpieces.
- Put a customized pumpkin-themed welcome sign at the entrance to the party to welcome your guests.
Party games and activities.
For a first birthday party, you’ll need to have a range of games, because the first birthday party is more for adults than the kids! For children, most guests will be there with their parents and possibly older siblings, so you should have a range of things to do.
If the party is outdoors, you can have it at a local park so that older kids can play independently, but it’s always good to have some structured options to offer.
- Set up a pumpkin patch of your own where kids can hunt for pumpkins that you’ve decorated.
- Make a pumpkin decorating station where kids can paint little pumpkins that you provide. You could also have glue and glitter, or other craft supplies to decorate them. (This is a better activity for an outdoor party than an indoor one! Use a dropcloth, too.)
- Do a pumpkin relay where guests have to race to carry a pumpkin across a finish line and transfer it to a team member without dropping it.
- Have a coloring station with pumpkin-themed coloring pages. You can find a lot of options for downloadable coloring activities on Etsy.
If you’re having your party outside, click here to get some ideas of supplies you might need!
- Have a pumpkin toss game with buckets and bean bags, or get a customized pumpkin-themed cornhole set that you can use at the party and afterward.
- If it’s the fall and you have “pick your own pumpkins” farms nearby, find out if you can have the party there and have an actual pumpkin picking activity for part of the time.
- Play Pumpkin Bingo with these printable cards from Greengate Images. This is a good activity for adults or older kids, but parents can help younger kids with their cards, too.
Little Pumpkin party food.
Planning the food for a pumpkin-themed party is going to be fun because you can use pumpkins in so many recipes. Choose to go with pies, or add some hot items in to make the food more savory.
Mini pies.
This is the obvious choice, and it’s going to be a popular one. A dessert buffet filled with mini pies or tarts will be a fun option for guests, and they’ll be able to try out a few different flavors. Add some fruit pies to the mix and have a selection for people to try.
Pumpkin cinnamon rolls.
These are SO GOOD, and you can make them at home to add to a dessert table. The recipe is on my baking website. Your guests will want the recipe, and you’ll probably have to make them again at some point, but you won’t be mad about it!
Pumpkin soup.
Make pumpkin soup in a crock pot so that guests can help themselves when they want a savory dish. There are a lot of recipes for pumpkin soup online, I like this one from Hebbar’s Kitchen. You can also dress it up by putting the soup in this pumpkin-shaped tureen from Amazon (#ad)
Pumpkin crudites and cheese tray.
Set up a cheese, cracker, and veggie station and make a cheese ball in the shape of a pumpkin. Put out paper plates and napkins and let guests help themselves.
Pumpkin cake.
Make this fat-free pumpkin cake recipe from my baking website, or put them in muffin cups to make pumpkin muffins. You can serve the cake iced with cream cheese frosting, or shape it into an actual pumpkin-shaped cake like in this tutorial.
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Pumpkin birthday party favors.
Party favors for a first birthday party can be mostly for adults, and you can go with the seasonal candy theme if you want to do treats for any kids who attend. You can also give people individual pumpkins muffins or something else to eat later.
Pumpkin keychains or magnets.
This cute keychain has hand painted pumpkins and is a gender neutral gift to give to guests as a party favor that they can actually use!
Pumpkin can coolers.
These pumpkin patch can coolers are a fun and useful thing to give to guests. My husband loves getting these as party favors because he uses them on the golf course, so they’re a good gift for everyone.
Pumpkins!
The obvious choice, guests can go home with a pumpkin that they decorated during the party, or with little gourds that they can use to decorate their own home for the fall holidays.
For an article with over 45 ideas for first birthday themes, click here.
I hope that this gave you some ideas to get started planning your baby’s first birthday. The most important thing to remember is to have fun and enjoy the day!