My Niece's 1st Birthday

"I'm wishing you another year

Of laughter, joy and fun,

Surprises, love and happiness,

And when your birthday's done,

I hope you feel deep in your heart,

As your birthdays come and go,

How very much you mean to me,

More than you can know."

(Joanna Fuchs)

Sunday of Labor Day weekend, 2 weeks ago, we celebrated my niece Ellie's 1st birthday. Peter, my nephew, turned 4 at the end of July, and I could hardly believe it had been 3 years since we celebrated his 1st birthday -- aka dol (or dohl) in Korean -- with a buffet lunch in the community room of my sister's building; the same place of her baby shower approximately 1 year earlier.

Handmade pillars, personalized M&Ms, and doljabi items from Peter's 1st birthday

For Ellie's dol, my sister wanted to avoid us having to deal with the food and most of the set-up, so she and my brother-in-law booked a room with multi-course dinner at a Korean restaurant in NJ called PoongLim. Overall, it went well and everyone had a good time... Everyone, that is, except the birthday girl herself! Ironically, Peter was a pretty fussy baby who was perfect during his 1st birthday party, but Ellie, the sweetest, most laidback little girl, wasn't feeling well and cried during much of her party.

I don't have good photos from the actual party -- one of my sister's friends, who has the combination of photography skills and a fancy camera, took pictures that he is going to share with them -- but below are shots of some DIY elements, as well as how things turned out.

Silk Flower Pens

We made handcrafted silk flower pens out of, you guessed it, silk flowers and pens. They are pretty and easy to make, and the only other supplies needed are scissors, a glue gun, and floral tape or decorative ribbon. Although the dinner tables were decorated with fresh flower arrangements ordered from Whole Foods, vases of silk flower pens were placed at the table where the doljabi poster and guessing cards were located, and guests were encouraged to take a pen to use and then keep.

Various pink and white faux flowers with green leaves

Working on the floor of my sister's place

I liked the large, fluffy flowers the most, but they all looked nice together

Basic ballpoint pens wrapped with floral tape

Several completed pens in a glass

One of the flower pen arrangements next to Ellie's doljabi board

The best part about this craft project is that you can use your favorite colors or kinds of flowers to make them suitable for any occasion or holiday... or even just to have a pretty pen to use at home or bring to work!

Dol Pillars

When I helped with Peter's 1st birthday party, I made pillars or towers -- aka dol goim -- using M&Ms, pillow mints, and licorice to commemorate the occasion and the year he was born (see photo at top). For Ellie's birthday, I wanted to do the same, but we decided to make them more neutral rather than bright and to use dried beans instead of candies.

Large, medium, and small beans in white, green, and red/pink

My freehand dragon from an image found online

Impressed by Peter's own dragon sketch

Bean pillars made it to the party

Chook dol (happy 1st birthday), born in the Year of the Dragon, and Ellie's Korean name

It was almost a miracle that these came together in the end. Unlike when I made the ones for Peter, this time, I left everything at my sister's place in NJ -- which is harder for me to get to now that I live in Brooklyn versus the Upper West Side of Manhattan -- and she tried to continue working on them, but quit after she burned herself with hot glue. The day of Ellie's birthday party, my brother-in-law and I were literally hot-gluing beans until right before they had to leave for the restaurant and I had pick-up the centerpieces! I'm glad we didn't give up.

Ellie, Future Doctor?

A fun part of the Korean 1st birthday tradition is the doljabi, when the child is set in front of several objects, and whichever item is chosen is said to help predict his or her future. Ellie chose a stethoscope, so she just might follow in her parents' footsteps. (Peter chose money, which is what everyone secretly or not-so-secretly wants their child to pick!)

It's doljabi time

More Party Takeaways

The flower pens did triple-duty as decor, writing tool, and favor, but in addition to those, guests could also enjoy wrapped chocolate bars, and kids took home goody bags full of fun things. There were tons of children at the party, and my sister's sister-in-law set-up a craft table to help keep them occupied when they weren't eating.

Trader Joe's chocolate bars underneath

Goody bags for kiddies

Craft table

It was on September 1, but this party rounded out a big birthday month for our family: mine on August 1, my sister-in-law Grace's on August 2, our other niece Christina's on August 12, and Ellie's on August 27!