My Lil Girls First Birthday

I'd go with: goldfish, grapes, cherry tomatoes, blueberries, marsh mellows, chicken nuggets, pizza (cut in bite sizes, shredded cheeses...I hate juice boxes for toddlers, mine tend to squeeze them! Give them a sippy cup as part of their goody bag ;) Wash them, put them in a basket at the table and tell the parents that each child gets to choose one.

Games, that's hard at this age, but I just hung a poster for pin the tail and let them each choose a prize from a goody basket full of coloring books, bubbles, etc. Dance music is a hit for my girls, all their friends like to dance int he middle of the room. And for decoration: buy about 30 basic helium balloons and just let them float to the ceiling with long strings. It's pretty and most kids like playing with balloons.

chicken fingers from a place called FWOT ( Fingers wings and Other things ) On ridge pike in Conshocken/plymouth meeting

hi

i love a party for children and always get carried away.

Games

Pass the parcel is a must with a little Jelly sweet that falls out when they unrap the parcel so everyone is a winner.

Musical bumps always gets the energy going when the music stops the children have to sit down slowest gets a sticker till the last one with no sticker is the winner.

Decorating cone shapped party hats that they actually wear at the food time with stickers and glitter.

If it is nice going outside for a play in the garden is always a winner.

Food

sandwiches with ham and cumber cut into shapes of animals with a cutter.

make some carrot cake which is not crumbley and slice it and cut it into star shapes

finger foods carrots, peppers red, cut into battons you can make a dip with curd cheese and pureed tomatoes

egg sail boats , hard boil some eggs cut in half make an incision across the top and then pop on the sail which is a triangle of cheese they look cute

you can then cut fish shapes off bread and make boats out of magetout empty and fill with cottage cheese or cheese spread or philly then pop 3 peas on like they are the sailors.

pudding

Jelly with manderins

chocolate crispie cakes

melted chocolate with dried apricots, grapes, strawberries for dipping in the chocolate baby fondue

Always good to have a theme for the party a nice one for your age group is a teddy theme so you can have a teddy bears picnic in the garden or they just join you for tea.
The guests can bring along a favourite teddy.

Also a few days befor you can get some plain paper
and cut out teddy shapes on potatoes and your children can print the teddy on the table cover.
They will love seeing their art work on the table at the party.

I hope you have a lovely party
love
L.

Hi S.,
I love doing parties for my kids, but before I come up with themes and such I look up different sites to get aga appropriate ideas. Some of my favorite sites are www.familyfun.com, www.marthastewart.com/kids, www.birthday express.com. You could also google your search too. Just type in something along the lines of kids birthday parties and you'll find all kinds of sites to help you decide. I personally would keep most foods small and a lot of finger foods that are fun. I would ask in advance from the parents I know if there were any allergies before making any menu though, just to be on the safe side. Just remember no matter what you do your child is so young still ANYTHING will be fun for her. Those sites should also give you ideas on some games to play that are age appropriate and connected to the theme. Please post back or email me at ____@____.com to let me konw what you came up with. Remember to have fun yourself and it'll be fun for the kiddos. Good luck hon.

My 2 daughters (now 4 and 1) shared a birthday party and I did a craft theme. It was easy to customize to the different age levels. I had coloring sheets ( they were blank birthday cakes that the kids could just scribble on or decorate) pasta to string and foam visors with stickers and markers. I also did tye dye but that would be a little advanced. instead of a cake I had decorate your own cupcakes and each of the girls got a star shaped cupcake (using the new reynolds shaped pans) and the invitations had a coloring sheet for the cover. The best part was that the favors were all the crafts that they made. So there wasn't any extra cost. I also did pin the tail on the donkey (actually it was a pony but that's a whole 'nother story) and I had a craft kit for the prize. It was a lot of fun and each kid did what they could. and they all had a lot of fun!! Hope that helps.

We just had a first birthday party for my daughter. It was outside, so that was helpful because we didn't really have to do much. We hung up streamers and balloons (the kids loved the balloons, but we obviously had to watch to be sure no one ate them) and mostly just catered the food to the adults. There was deli meats and cheeses, rolls, chips, deviled eggs, a veggie platter, cake, juice and soda. Oh and we went to mms.com and ordered special M&Ms that said Happy Birthday and Rebecca is one! They were expensive, but a big hit and very fun for my baby's first birthday.

The kids didn't seem to really care, they ranged in ages from 1 to 4 and mostly played. My son is 2 1/2 and doesn't do organized games, so it seemed better to just let them be free to do what they want.

No matter what you do, the kids will have a great time, and since your little one will not remember her first birthday, just be sure to take a ton of pictures.

Good luck!

Hi Sharon

Pizza is always good. Most kids eat it and it's easy. Fresh fruit is usually popular too. I'm actually getting ready for my daughter's (oldest) 3rd birthday party this weekend. This is her first year with a special party for just friends that we are actually planning some simple activities for. She's having an art theme. So far the weather's looking great and we're planning on being outside. We're going to put the easel with paint, sidewalk chalk on the driveway, playdough, and fingerpainting all outside. Every child gets a big t-shirt for a smock and favor and they can just go at it. We'll hang a clothes line for drying any art work and have a bucket of soapy water for rinsing off the messes. I'm also going to have their various riding toys and slides/climbers available for those that prefer that kind of thing. I'm not really planning any games exactly - just free playing and art for all. We're having pizza delivered and will have cake of course. I found that for her previous parties (and my son's 1st), that the little ones are quite happy to just be free to play with new toys and explore. We had food, but nothing really organized and just let the kids do their thing. The adults watched and chatted on their own. In past years we avoided a meal as we had so many family here, so everyone just "grazed" on the many hordorves and snacks as they wished. Try to keep it simple - it will make your life easier and the kids will feel more relaxed too.
H.

I think coloring would be ok as far as activities go. Mostly they'll want to play with the toys at your house, because they're different than the ones at their house!

For food...is it a meal time? Hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls and then baked are good. Fruit, crackers, etc. Cake for sure.

Happy Birthday to your little one!

when they arrive, lots of balloons. This is a good 1/2 an hour excitement piece while everyone is arriving.
Then a simple version of something like musical chairs without the chairs. Just turn on some music and walk or run around in a circle and then suddenly turn off he music and stop. (1//2 hour) With a couple of adult or teenage helpers.

another 1/2 hour with large balls like the exercise balls. By now, they are ready for finger foods. fruit slices, flavored rice cakes, lil hotdogs. (l hour)

bring out balloons again (1/2 hour) or blow bubbles.

Then put on a movie, take pictures, open presents while parents feed lil ones applesauce cups and then send everyone home with a piece of cake wrapped up and maybe a lil goodie bag.

Hope this helps. This is the roughest age to have a party. So make it short and sweet and fun.

I think hot dogs are always a good thing for small children. Cut up, even the 1 year olds can eat them. Also, frozen chicken nuggets and cheetos are ALWAYS a hit! If the party is at your home I suggest leaving all the toys out, let them have a good time until it's time for presents and food. Oh, pizza is always a favorite, too! Good Luck!

S. beth

HI!
I don't know if everyone else already knows this, or if the store still offers this, but...

Tops Friendly Supermarkets in Rochester will supply a free cake for your baby's first birthday. I think it was a quarter sheet that served 8 or so.

I called the store (the Brighton location on S. Clinton Ave.), ordered the cake over the phone, and I had to bring in her birth certificate to pick up the cake. That was all! Very easy and it was one less thing I had to worry about!

I hope this helps! And, "Happy Birthday" to your little girl!

Hi i had a joint party for my boys this summer the coloring sheets were a blast but mostly for the kids that were 3 and up. The toys we hsd were best for the younger kids we also gathered little kids music together and made them a cd to listen to. They loved to dance. For food we had cold cut platter cheese puffs (are always a little kids favorite esp the troyer farms twisty kind not so fat very soft dissolves easily) the mini butter cookie rings were a plus for both the young and the old. we had a cake with both thier names on it and cupcakes decorated with thier individual themes the cup cakes were a blast, and ice cream cups from perry's. they we set it up it was help your self to the food and then we sang Happy birthday with the cake and then they helped them selves to ice cream and cup cakes we were actually able to enjoy our kids birthday too instead of working through the whole thing.

We served pizza. Just ask the pizza parlor to cut the pizza into smaller slices. We had one pizza cut like this and the rest sliced normally for the adults. Worked like a charm. Each parent cut the slices even smaller for the younger children.

Of course cake and ice cream are pretty much a staple at one of these parties. I think the Hoodsies are a good idea rather than scooping each child ice cream out of a larger container.
You can find them pretty cheap at BJ's if you have a lot of kids. Otherwise smaller sizes are always at any supermarket.

Hi. I just had my little girls party 3 months ago. Had several young children ranging from 7m - 6y.

For food we did fruit trays, lunch meats, rolls, etc. Think of things that you would feed your daugher. The older kids may like hot dogs. Chicken fingers, cheez-its and mac-n-cheese always work too.

For drinks I got them juice boxes and small 8oz bottles of water. It helps control how much they get and cleans up easily.

For the cake I did cupcakes. Kids like them and no fighting over who got a bigger piece.

For activities:
Coloring: I went on the web and found simple coloring pages: a horse, a frog, a cat, etc. printed off a whole bunch. Then set them out on a table. Each kid got their own four pack of crayons - can find them at Target, Walmart, Party stores. Kept them entertained for a long time.
Video: put a long family friendly video on and just let it play, so if they wandered into the room, etc.
Outside stuff: sandbox, bubbles, rice/beans in a tub...

For party favors. I did mixed favors, making them age appropriate for the kid. The baby got a new blanket, the toddlers got beanie babies, etc.

Just keep thinking: if I was a guest, what would I want them to offer my child?

S.,

1st birthday! gotta be right for sure. Keep it simple. One idea is to serve only icecream and cake. Activities could include roll and catch with balls. Blowing bubbles could do too! Best wishes and happy birthday to the little one!

I just had my daughters birthday party on Sunday and for the first time I made it simple. I made the kids pigs in a blanket...I bought the pillbury crescent rolls and rolled hot dogs up baked 325 for 20-25 minutes I made 24 of them for a party of 12 adults and 6 kids and I ran out! They absolutely loved them!!! May have to be cut for the real little ones but for my daughter and her friends who are 3 they gobbled them up.
For the adults I made a large pot of Chili served chips-n-salsa and cheese platter and I had nearly NO leftovers!

cupcakes are easy to hold and good size. Plus no cutting of the cake.

birthday cake

fruit, brownies, hot dogs cheese burgers.

small jelly sandwiches, chips.

basically if they can eat food then what ever you and your family like you should eat.

also dont forget about the adults that you are going to have around. that is all that i served for my sons 1st bday.

everyone loved it.

ok hope this helps