NEED TO KNOW
Alison and Austin Havens welcomed their third baby, son John “Mac” Havens, on July 17, 2024
The mom of three tells PEOPLE that her “99th percentile baby” quickly earned the nickname Big Mac
A stop at McDonald’s weeks after he was born led to the realization of how his nickname created a great birthday party theme
The family found the perfect nickname, and thus the perfect birthday party theme, for their not-so-little boy.
Alison Havens and husband Austin welcomed son John “Mac” Havens on July 17, 2024. The couple has been excited for the milestone moment where their final baby turned one. From early on, Mom knew exactly what the theme would be.
“Mac is our third baby, and he was born very, very big, and he just stayed that way for the first full year. He was born 9 lbs., 7 oz., which was very shocking to us because our first two were not that big. And then, he’s just stayed in the 99th percentile,” Alison tells PEOPLE.
The idea first struck when she went through a McDonald’s drive-through just a few weeks after giving birth to Mac. “It kind of made me laugh because it was the first time I looked at the McDonald’s [menu] and I was, ‘Oh Big Mac,’ because that’s what we started calling him,” she shares.
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“It hit me, and I was, ‘Wait, a second, what number is the Big Mac?’ And sure enough, it was the number one, and immediately, then I knew his first birthday was going to be this. It was fun just anticipating it. And then, once it was finally here, it was really fun to put together.”
The mom of three went all out on the details, creating small floral arrangements in fry boxes and painting a beautiful banner celebrating her little boy.
Courtesy of Alison Havens
Mac celebrates his first birthday
“It was actually crazy, because although I had been thinking about it for almost a full year, this summer had been so crazy. We were on a two-week vacation, and then we had actually moved, um, a few days after that, so we had only been in the house about a week and a half before we had the party,” she shares.
“I had to throw everything together pretty fast. I did crafts the week before. I used my Cricut to make the little aprons, the hats and then the name tags for all the older kids to play in the little pretend play area as McDonald workers.”
“It ended up being perfect because the Happy Meal toys were actually McDonald’s themed the week of his birthday party, so they were just the perfect little goodie bag for all the kids. I was able to go in and purchase those. It all just came together.”
She included a special family tradition that’s a staple at birthdays. “I always do brown paper poster banners for my kids, so I painted that. It wasn’t super over the top. I did a lot of the DIY stuff. I wanted to keep it simple, but still special.”
Courtesy of Alison Havens
Mac enjoys his Big Mac-style cake
The birthday party doubled as a housewarming, bringing out over 50 of the family’s closest loved ones.
“It was perfect. We catered McDonald’s and everybody loved that. It also ended up being the week that the Snack Wrap came back, so it was fun to get to add that to the party as well. Everybody was excited to get a Snack Wrap up there.”
The theme was “fun for everybody,” especially because so many people had taken to calling him Big Mac without making the connection.
“It was really fun to use his nickname and play off of that. Everybody was loving it,” she says.
While the party was a hit, the Havens were surprised to see Instagram Reels showing details from the party going viral.
“I think they enjoyed the play on his nickname, and then it was just cute. I think it was fun to see all the color and see it come to life in a very… it wasn’t simple because there were a lot of decorations, but I think it was nice to see that it wasn’t so over the top where people couldn’t achieve that type of party themselves,” Alison says.
Putting together special days like the one they enjoyed is her “favorite part of being a mom.”
Courtesy of Alison Havens
Family gathers around Mac on his special day
“I love making things extra special. I love doing it myself, DIYing it, because even though he is now only one year old. He won’t remember it, but he’ll be able to look back at the pictures, the videos, and see how much love went into it,” she shares.
“I think it’s really fun to do it for my older kids as well. My daughter will definitely remember it. She loves getting to be involved and helping set up and prep and plan for these things. I think it’s one of the best parts of being a mom, getting to celebrate your babies and do special things for them.”
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