Cameron and I loved the name Hendrix way before we even started having kids. One night we were watching a special on the History channel on the origins of Christmas (because that’s what newly weds do). One of the commentators on the program had the last name Hendrix. I looked at Cam and said “Hendrix. That would be a cool boy’s name”. And this is the full story of how we named our son Hendrix 6 years later. When people hear his name 9 times out of 10 they will ask if it’s after Jimi Hendrix. Darlin’, I couldn’t tell you one Jimi Hendrix song if it walked up to me in bell bottoms and introduced itself! I wish it was a cooler story to tell, haha! When it came time to start planning Hendrix’s first birthday, I decided I would give the people what they want. They want my son to be named after a rockstar, then we are going to rock like we partied all night with Jimi Hendrix himself! Now that I am a mom of two I couldn’t afford to spend top dollar on this party, nor did I think I had to. I am so excited to share with you how I threw the best ever rockstar birthday party on a budget just from Walmart, The Dollar Store, Etsy, and Amazon Prime!
I don’t know if it’s my inner Emily Post, but I can’t get down with Evites #sorrynotsorry. Most of the time they get lost in a sea of texts and the day of the party I am left scrambling to find where that Evite text is or I forget about it all together. I keep it old school with party invites. Paper. Stamp. Snail Mail. Refrigerator. For Hendrix’s birthday I created Concert ticket invitations in Photoshop. It 100% helps that my husband is a professional photographer and took amazing pics of our sweet boy leading up to the party. The return label on everyones envelope read “Bertuzzi Talent Management Co.” and listed our address.
When guests arrived they all grabbed a backstage pass. I got a great price on red lanyards and plastic badge cases for buying in bulk (50). For the card design I had them designed by a maker on Etsy. I was able to download the design and print it myself. All I had to do was send them the info and a picture!
My mom came in clutch in finding these red curtains for the entrance to the party. I wanted people to really feel as though they were going backstage and these curtains did the trick. I purchased a cheap tension rod from Walmart and set up was a snap.
As people came in they were able to create their own band name using a set of parameters on an instruction sign I made in photoshop. Guests then were able to slide their band name card on the back of their backstage pass so that it was two-sided. It was fun to see all the band names people came up with!
There were several areas for photos to be taken at the party and many people arrived dressed in rocker gear. I set up this area with a prop table and guest could take pics in front of the concert stage backdrop anchored by a metallic black fringe curtain. To add to the concert vibe I made speakers out of a box I cut in half and painted black. I then glued paper plates on the front of the boxes. I was thrilled at how it turned out!
The kids (and some of the adults) enjoyed the tattoo parlor. Honestly this was my favorite idea of the whole party. I found rockstar temporary tattoos and cut the sheets to then spread all over the table. I also provided a spray bottle and paper towels so that the kids could easily apply as many tattoos as they wanted.
Another area that really rocked was the design your own guitar area. I loaded the table with stickers, glitter markers, washi tape and the kids went to town decorating their own guitars. I got these cardboard guitars and hole-punched holes in them to string ribbon through. The kids loved decorating these!
Not pictured, but definitely noteworthy, is the fact that we had wii Rock Band going at the party. It rained a lot of the weekend so Rock Band was a great inside activity just incase the party was rained out. The kids and the adults enjoyed playing.
Of course the favor bags were located at the “merch” table. Filled with more tattoos, and musical toys every bag was gone by the end of the party.
For food for Hendrix’s rockstar birthday party I kept it simple with pizza from one of our favorite local pizza places. I laid out a table with different themed snacks that party guests could munch on between slices. From pop rocks, to “chex mix-a-lot”, to “drumsticks” (straight pretzels with large marshmallows on the tips), to Rockstar energy drinks, people were snacking like they were on tour! My favorite had to be the desserts which were custom cookies from a local bakery (Suzybeez) and the microphone ice cream cone cupcakes made by my sweet neighbor. Hendrix has a few food allergies so we got a specialty smash cake for him also made by Suzybeez.
For decorations I made a back drop with metallic gold fringe curtains and went to town on my cricut by making a “Hendrix Rocks” banner. The star balloons were also from The Dollar Store and I will NEVER purchase balloons at high priced party stores again!
My favorite decorations of the whole party was this super easy DIY project of platinum albums! Just when I was wondering what to do with old CD’s we had around the house! I bought frames from The Dollar Store and created his album covers in photo shop. I had a lot of fun coming up with his platinum album names “Up All Night” and “The Toddler Years: Vol. 1”
When your artist friends have artist friends you can get some really neat custom things made! A last minute (seriously like 2 days before the party) project was this drum set painted to perfection. I found the wood cutout on Etsy for a really great price and had a friend of a friend paint it. I love the way it turned out and I love the fact that it’s a keep sake that we now hand in Hendrix’s room. I stuck some sticky velcro on the back of the cut out and on his highchair so that he could rock out in his birthday chair.
And the birthday boy? He was napping for the first part of the party and when we woke him up to put on his tattoo sleeved shirt and to sing happy birthday, he was not having it. He didn’t even want to eat his dairy-free, egg-free cake, that was actually really delicious.
Even with all the planning (which was pretty last minute despite what it looks like), kids will be kids. The children had so much fun at the different stations and couldn’t get enough of the bounce house in the backyard. Happy 1st birthday to a son that totally rocks!
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