1St Birthday Party Ideas

B.
I have 2 daughters, every b-day they have a party. My oldest is 13 my youngest is 9. About 5 yrs ago my youngest wanted to give out chocolat pops. I agreed. 1 pop for every child not only was it a hugh hit but, it ended up being a lot cheaper than party bags. Also, the parents loved it. The moms espeacially appreciated not having to deal with the junk that comes in the bags. I now do it for every b-day, for both girls and some of their friends look for that chocolate pop at the end of party!!!
Any chocolate candy store will have them. I get different designs every year. The price range from $1.00 to $2.00
Good Luck and have fun!!!!!!
L.

Hi B.!

For my daughter's first birthday I had a princess theme and did bubbles from the $1 store. I took envelop labels and printed out 'Princess Brooke's 1st birthday' with a picture of a wand and put those on the bubble bottles. I wrapped pink and purple ribbon around each and attached a princess charm that I got from Oriental Trading. I also gave a few other things like frog water toys, king, queen, horses, etc. hand puppets also from oriental trading, princess gummy candy from Birthday 411 I think and the kids just loved it all.

For my daughter's second birthday I did the bubble thing but we had an elmo theme so I did Brooke's 2nd Birthday with a picture of elmo on the labels and red and white ribbon. I also got elmo coloring books and crayons from the $1 store. It was fun and the kids liked it.

Good luck!
S.

For my daughter's first birthday party I gave out a bottle of bubbles and a tin of animal crackers. The kids at her party were her cousins ages 1-9. At my son's first birthday party I gave out little plastic frisbees (about 3 inches in diameter, some candy and bubbles. Again, the kids at his party were his cousins ages 1-10.

One of the treats I always have on hand for the toddlers at the birthday parties is the soft fruit snacks from Gerber. They are more easy to chew than other fruit snacks/gummi bears.

You could go to a dollar store and buy each a little board book or look for inexpensive board book sets at Walmart.

I don't know how many kids you are buying for and what your budget is but what about purchasing a set of Peek-A-Blocks or Roll-Around-Balls and giving one to each of the kids. I don't know off hand how much the sets cost so this might be a pricey suggestion.

I would go with the assumption that the kids in her class still stick things in their mouths, especially since there are probably kids younger than her in the class. My son (now 3) almost never stuck anything in his mouth. My daughter (almost 2) still sticks everything in her mouth.

Good luck and enjoy your daughter's special day.

Hi B..... Kids LOVE bubbles at that age. Or you could do some fun bubble bath or bath tub soap in a fun bottle with pooh or elmo or whatever your daughter is into. Have fun!

B.

I've always found that sidewalk chalk is a big hit with kids of any age. Also you could think about crayons (the thick ones that are easy for little hands to grasp) and a small pad of paper. Hope these suggestions help!

Hi there! How exciting for you! My daughter turns a year old in September and I often wonder the same thing you are wondering. At a year, aren't babies done with sticking things in their mouths? If so....what about play doh and a tool to mold it with? Or a small roll of construction paper with some shiny metallic markers? Each one could also have a balloon filled with helium to bang around.
I would leave out food, personally. You never know what kids can't have what and excluding a little person can feel bad to them.
Of course, I am super sensitive to that feeling for kiddos.
Kay - I will quit blabbing and just hope I helped. :)

Hi B.. My name is S. I am a 26 and a mother of two little ones. My sister-in-law goes to the dollar store and looks for chalk, and crayons and small safe toys for the goody bags.
Another good idea she does, she sets up a table flat on the floor and covers it with paper, sorta like a table cloth, but made of paper instead. Then she leaves crayons, markers, stamps, stickers, and playdough on the table for the kids to make a mess with. They love it because their attention span is't very long and the can switch activities as often as they like. They can also make "gifts" for the birthday kids or their own parents. It works really well.
If I can think of anything else I'll let you know.

One suggestion I have is to check out your local store (Walmart, Target, etc.) and see if they have the multipacks of the Weebles or Little People. Then you could give each child a Weeble or one of the Little People. If you are looking for a snack treat, a snack most 1 year olds can have is animal crackers. They melt in the mouth. A little more expensive would be a sippy cup for each child in the class.

These are just a few quick ideas. I hope that they are helpful.

My daughter is turning one in just about a month! I am having the same dilemma. My problem is that there will be children of multiple ages at her party. My husband thinks favors are a joke and had no idea you do that! So my idea was to buy a disposable polaroid camera (I know they make them but I can't find one). Then, at the party have like those foam stickers and cut out foam frames so everyone can have their picture taken either with the birthday girl or alone and decorate the frame . . . just for the memory, it gives everyone something to do, including the older people. It cost me about $20 for all the crafts. Not too bad. I know toys r us has pre-made gift boxes for kids birthdays as well.
I hope I helped!!!

C.