Kendall's Dragons Love Tacos 1st birthday party

I’m awful at planning parties, but I’ve learned to give myself grace to just have fun, and not stress. I know you don’t come to my blog to read about kids’ birthday parties, but today, I’m straying from my usual posting fare, and sharing about our 1-year-old’s Dragons Love Tacos party, based on our (my) favorite kids’ book!

Since I’m big on enjoying my own kids’ parties (as opposed to killing myself for a Pinterest-perfect party, like I used to), I kept it pretty simple and super fun.

First, we had the party on a Friday night, from 6 to 8pm. I figured, this way we don’t take everyone’s entire Saturday, and I’m feeding everyone dinner and then sending them home with tired kids who are ready to go to bed. #yourewelcome Some husbands came from work, and it worked out great. It actually made our weekend seem longer too. (Imagine that?!?)

Secondly, this was the first of any of our kids’ birthday parties where I didn’t handle the food. And I loved it. (Obviously.) We had a local taco truck pull up in front of our house. It was such an novelty that everyone loved it, especially the kids, and it also made for a great photo background. (Translation: I didn’t have to decorate as much.)

(Yes, he is holding a Taco Bell taco, and this was for the photo I took for the invite.)

I bought all decor on Amazon, and it shipped to my house. Easy and simple.

I didn’t bother with an ice chest and just had everyone go to the fridge for drinks. No cups or straws required.

Since this is our third boy (and he literally needs nothing), I asked everyone to bring their favorite book in lieu of traditional gifts. It took the pressure off of gift-giving, and made it fun for us to read new books!

Instead of a cake, I had Choco Tacos for everyone. (Yes, they still exist and I found them at Walmart.) It might seem like an expensive route, but it was actually much cheaper than ordering a cake and buying plates, forks and napkins for everyone. Plus, it was much easier to serve!