When infant Liam Clark received a French Woodours teddy bear to celebrate his birth, he surely didn’t know the impact it would have when it came to planning yet another milestone celebration in his young life. Mom Tisha knew that young Liam’s first birthday was approaching but wanted to mark it in a way that wasn’t “out of a box or bag.” She saw how much Liam loved to play with the daddybear doll, lovingly named Bearnard, and set about planning a birthday extravaganza around an adventure in the woods.
“In Asian culture, the first birthday is almost the most special,” says Tisha, a former marketing and event planner turned mommy blogger, explaining why she put so much effort into the big day. “Or least that’s what my mom always said.” A full 24 hours before the party was held at Tisha and her husband Sean’s home, the cooking began with the help of family members. Ordinary edibles such as tomato and mozzarella took on the shape of magical red mushrooms, wine bottleneck openings transformed cookies into raw woodsy mushrooms and Oreos were used as eyes on owl cupcakes.
Hand-lettered banners were strung on the walls heralding the Happy Birthday message, and green tissue paper poufs – alongside the still-standing-in-January Christmas tree – brought to life the imagery of an afternoon over the river and through the woods in the Clarks’ three-story ranch home. “There aren’t a lot of woodsy-themed kid parties,” Tisha says. “I wanted this to be boyish, unique and interesting.”
In the interest of keeping the big day picture-perfect, Tisha took Liam for a photo shoot the day before the event, commemorating the ever-infamous first birthday cake encounter – or “Smash Cake” shoot, as the trend is called today. Tisha made a special mini-cake with no eggs or sugar out of molasses, applesauce and whipped cream, and Liam promptly dug in, making a sufficient mess to capture on camera. The family’s brindle pit boxer, Finnegan, even got to participate in the deliciously messy fun.
With the cake consumption behind them, the big moment arrived, and family along with a few friends piled into the Clark house for homemade farm-stand lemonade and tasty bites galore. While the soiree was no doubt in honor of Liam, the ambiance wasn’t lost on the full house of adoring guests who Tisha jokes shot more photos of the spread than of the people. “There was a lot of love put into every part of the day,” she says. “And if I had it to do over, I’d do even a bit more.”
