First Birthday Ideas - Lenexa,KS

honestly C., i wanted to do a huge birthday bash for my son's 1st, but he really wasn't ready for it. we ended up doing a small family thing at my mom's. i ended up opening 99% of his MULTITUDE of presents, he opened the first one or two and just wanted to play with them, not understanding that there were lots more to come. i also didn't exactly relish the idea of him eating all kinds of cake and ice cream (that's just me though, other first birthdays i've been to the kids were given even their own small cake, and ice cream on top of that) so i just gave him a bit of cake without frosting. we really just made it a celebration for the whole family. now he's approaching his 2nd and i'm glad i didn't go through all the hassle, he's going to "Get" it this year SO much better. it's all up to you though - for my son's 2nd we're considering deanna rose childrens' farmstead. you can google it, it's great fun. good luck and have fun!

We made a plate at a Walls of Clay type store (Paint, Glaze and Fire in Overland Park) that said "Happy Birthday Samantha" and had everyone at the party sign the back of it. I plan to use it for her bday cake every year going forward and it's a nice memento. We had a big party, but kept the concept simple. Babies have short attention spans and patience, so I kept it to 2 hours (right after nap time so she was in a good mood and didn't have a meltdown), and we had it at a park so the kids could play and not feel confined and we didn't have to do much prep work - a few decorations and snacks. She had never had sugar before so she just picked at the frosting a little on her cupcake. I think everyone watching her kept her from plowing into it, too, but it was still cute. Good luck and whatever you do, remember to go with the flow and try not to expect it to be a perfect event since you know that no longer happens. :) It will still be memorable and fun.

I'm not a good source for this because to me first birthdays are not for the child but the loving family members. we kept both of our first bdays simple in consideration of the exhausted parents (most the mother!) not getting enough sleep. got some good photos. My SIL did a photo of one of hers plowing into a chocolate cake in a diaper...but we try and keep our kids low on junk food til they get older and there isn't a choice..because they are surrounded by it in the world at large.

We did a yellow rubber ducky theme and went out to a restaurant to keep it simple. We had the immediate family, which came to about 10 adults. Everyone had a great time. I got some party items/favors from "Oriental Trading Co" on-line, and had these at my guest's places. US toy also has similar items. I had baby yellow ducks holding the place cards, ducky necklaces for the female guests and ducky post-it notes for the favor at each place. Just search the internet for 1st birthday themes and you'll find a million ideas. Most important, if you can afford it, go out to eat and let someone else cook & clean up! Ask if the restaurant has a private room so you can make all the noise you want.