Oliver’s 2nd Tour: A Bruce Themed Birthday Party
Oliver is 2! It was so fun celebrating our little guy. If you’ve been following along on Instagram with us, you know how much of a Bruce Springsteen fan Oliver is. I still laugh about it – a 2 year old, a Springsteen fan? A few days before Oliver’s birthday, I went back through my pregnancy journal and found an entry from my third trimester. I wrote about how Rob was playing so many Springsteen records and how Ollie would go wild in my belly anytime we had his music playing. I thought it was cute and silly at the time. Little did I know at the time, we’d be celebrating our sweet boy turning 2 with a Bruce themed party. His love for music is something else, and I’m not kidding when I tell you he has Springsteen’s albums memorized.
I found this old Bruce and the E Street Band concert poster on etsy from the UK. The seller was incredibly sweet and had it blown up large for me to use as a backdrop for the party.
So we threw him a Bruce Springsteen themed birthday party. With everything from vintage Rolling Stone magazines ft Bruce to a very Springsteen cake and even a denim vest (an ode to 80s Bruce) with a ton of concert pins (we found a few vintage ones on etsy and our friend Brendan from Jar of Buttons made some amazing personalized ones for Ollie). It was a pretty incredible birthday that kept our boy smiling all day, which of course kept us smiling all day too. 
We felt so thankful to have our family and friends with us to celebrate this year. The party definitely looked way different from our intimate bash last year, but in the best way possible. Ollie’s friend Max even dressed up as Bruce too! My heart couldn’t handle seeing those boys together — truly so sweet!
We had the cake made locally at A Bake Shop, just like we did last year. We exchanged a few emails, I sketched out a few things and their team brought our vision to life. They even made a huge fondant guitar for the cake based on Bruce Springsteen’s. Oliver was truly so happy with just the balloons, but I think his cake really amazed him! We had instrument cookies made too, to complete the whole music theme. I couldn’t believe how cute they turned out. Etsy is always my go-to when I can’t find things locally, and they have some amazing music notes cake toppers. 
I decorated the table with some small wooden instruments, stickers, and Bruce memorabilia. Made for great party favors too! We had some fun yet simple banners made with ShipPartyReturn – they have a ton of customizable party options. You can even rent banners and party accents, so when you’re done using them, you pack them up and return them for someone else to enjoy. They made some adorable Bruce straws, wooden forks, and party plates too. 
Every night I tell Oliver, “you are a sweet boy, a smart boy, a gentle boy and strong boy, and I love you so so much!” and he truly is. I don’t know how we have a 2 year old now or how we got so lucky to have him in our lives…time is going by quickly and I want to hold onto all these memories. It feels like music is what bonds our little crew together: morning records with breakfast, afternoon dance parties, record store outings and so much more. I’m so glad hope as he grows older, music will continue to keep our bond strong and be a reminder of all our happy moments together.
🧡Happy birthday little guy, we love you so much! 🥰 🎈
I know a Bruce Springsteen birthday is a bit obscure and maybe not at the top of everyone’s list, haha, but just in case, I put together a source list for all the decor below.
1. Bruce Springsteen + The Boss Party Straws | 2. Ship Party Return Knit Banner | 3. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Concert Poster | 4. Kids Knit Party Crown | 5. Neutral Party Dishes + Star Napkins | 6. Colorful Balloons | 7. Pom Pom Garland | 8. Bruce + Clarence Stickers | 9. Red Bandana | 10. Music Notes Cake Topper | 11. Gold Number Birthday Candle | 12. Bruce Springsteen Custom Banner | 13. Bruce Springsteen Enamel Pin | 14. Thunder Road Enamel Pin | 15. Toddler Denim Vest
As someone who is in the process of planning her son’s first birthday (Where The Wild Things Are themed) and also a HUGE Springsteen fan, I can only say that this is the BEST thing I have ever seen and it fills my heart with such joy that you celebrated your son like this.
Also, probably gonna steal all of these ideas for my 40th birthday in a few years 🙂
HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVER! May your days be filled with the wild joy and ineffable hope that Bruce brings to us all.
Thank you for mentioning the local cake shop! We’re moving to Phoenix in two weeks and my daughter’s birthday is coming up. We always indulge on the cake for our girls’ birthday. I will be contacting them when we get settled in.
Happy Birthday to Oliver! Looks like it was a great day.
Welcome to phoenix Traci and happy early birthday to your daughter! Hope the party is a good one. 🙂 It’s so special celebrating these little ones.
Aww how cute! I haven’t been to your blog in awhile and love this! Happy Birthday to Oliver! You did an amazing job and how creative 🙂 My daughter just turned 2 earlier this week and she had a horse themed party. So exciting to see them grow up!