Ideas for baby's 1st birthday party?

Question

My son is turning 1 in October. I would like to get some input on some ideas for a party. Food, decorations, invitations.....

Answer 1

With our son on his first birthday we actually did it at chuck e cheese... His b-day is in nov. the poor kid was actually born on thanksgiving day so we can never have his b-day on his actual b-day b/c no one is around. He loved it and had a lot of fun... I don't care what anyone say's he may not remember it but I will and I will feel like a heal if I don't give him a descent party. We did the park for his second w/ the madagscar theme and this year its going to be Diego. Have fun with it they are only little once.

Answer 2

First of all, congrats on making it thru the first year. The best advice I can give you is to keep the party small. Too many people and too much going on will just overwhelm him. Also make sure you plan it for about an hour after nap time so he is happy and refreshed and won't be sleeping during the party. As far as food, that depends on if you want to do a meal or just cake or what have you. Decorations and invitation are always nice when you go with a theme. My one son loved Baby Einstein videos and they had some cute invites, thank you cards, and plates and napkins. The places even said something about Baby's 1st birthday. I couldn't find a Baby Einstein cake so I had them copy a napkin. It cost more but it was worth it. Also don't forget that some grocery stores such as Shoprite and Acme offer a free cake on baby's first birthday so make sure you ask if you plan to order a cake. Good luck and enjoy! They only turn one once!

Answer 3

My second son is also turning 1 in October. We'll definitely celebrate! As with my first, it will be just family, at our house. I have found great ideas in Parents magazine/parents.com. I used invite and cake ideas from the magazine the first time, and everyone "oohed and aahed" over them! The cake had a little one on top for him, so everyone else was spared the mess! I am definitely not overly talented in the arts areas, and even I could still pull these ideas off!
Party America has some really cute "first birthday" decorations, and is usually cheaper than stores like Target.
Congratulations!

Answer 4

At this age the party is for the parents, not the baby. He's too young to understand it, and all of the activity will probably over stimulate him - he'll get too tired and fussy. I'd just invite the grandparents or local family members over for a nice dinner and a birthday cake. Take photos and relax. There will be plenty of time later when he's older to have a true party that he can appreciate.

Answer 5

Well on both our children's first birthdays, we also had their baptism, so we doubled the celebrations. So you can include all the people that you would normally invite to such things. Send out the invites about 4 weeks before hand. and just remember the child will have no idea what is going on, so just make it a celebration of their life.

For both we just had a bbq in the back yard, and made it a day for family and friends to get together

Answer 6

If you are looking for themes for the party and want everything to match, look at www.birthdayexpress.com

They have tons of themes and you can order just about everything to match. My little girl is 1 yr old in Sept. and we are going very low key.

Everyone I asked recommended few people and to try and not disrupt his schedule too much since it will make her cranky. We are doing a morning trip to a children's museum with just us and her grandparents. Then after lunch and an afternoon nap we are doing finger foods, presents and cake.

It is a BIG event, so go all out on anything you want - just remember when it comes to the amount of people, keep it small so your little one will be more relaxed and enjoy the day better. Besides, with lots of people milling around, you will be so busy doing food, chatting and trying to keep things in order that you will miss the most important thing...which is concentrating on your little one and cherishing the day and all its small moments.

Take lots of pictures and enjoy!

P.S. Parenting magazine has an entire article dedicated to birthday parties in this month's edition - it breaks it down by age. Check it out, you may find it helpful too.

Answer 7

my baby boy wil be turning 1 on december 13th and i think its a lovley idea all babies shoul have a first birthday its so speacial i will be having a cake made and sandwishes cakes and lots of others balloons inside and outside and pass the parcel for the older children musical statue for the older children too you can buy the invitations from a shop and if you go to a propper party shop there will be loads to choose from hope your little boy has a really speacial birthday and dont forget the camera best wishes

Answer 8

Our son is turning 1 in September...while he may not remember it, we sure will...so it's hardly a waste of time :-)

Don't have it too big, because it may overwhelm him. Make sure to have it at a good time, when he won't want a nap. Our son LOVES balloons, so we're having some of those.

Food --> can't be catered. Finger foods, stuff that people can get on their own (e.g. veggie platter, deli meat platter, cookies, etc.)

Decorations --> balloons. Happy Birthday banner. Keep it simple and AVOID choke hazards.

Invitations --> we got ours at Babies R'Us. Winnie the Pooh ones, real simple. We are keeping one for our scrapbook :-)

Good Luck :-) And remember to have fun :-)

Answer 9

Only invite small amount of people or keep it private. Too many people will set your child crying, trust me,..I know.

Carrot cake is a healthy cake that's good for young kids and adults like it too. Any type of age-appropriate decorations is good.

Hope that helps a little.

Answer 10

Finger food...decor anything he likes pooh,trains and so on...once you pick a scheme then you could get those invites good luck..one last thing buy him his own SMALL cake so he can dig into it..that was the best part of my sons party.Head to toe frosting what could be better!