Idea's for 1St Birthday Party

The only advise I have is that if you plan to videotape her having cake or opening gifts etc, start a fresh tape. Each year add to that tape with only the birthday. It makes watching a little more interesting, and the kids get a kick out of watching themselves grow up. Do the same for Christmas, Halloween, etc if you videotape them. Most of all, have fun!

Make HER favorite food! Mine had meatball subs, watermelon and carrot cake. We set up a bench with a birthday banner behind it. We had all the guests take turn sitting on the bench holding my son and took pictures, then we made doubles and used the pictures as thank you cards. Take your time and go at her pace. Have someone else in the family or a friend take pictures so that you can enjoy every second with your daughter. As far as a theme goes, I would do something simple like flowers.

I know people will say dont go over the top she wont remember it,I disagree. Sure she wont remember it but thats what video and pictures are for. My now 5 year old daughter loves to watch old videos of her Birthday parties. I say do it up! Invite many friend and family, put some burgers and hot dogs on the grill. I think theme "1" theme is the best..I had my daughters picture on her 1st bday cake as she was holding her finger up to say "1"..it was soo cute! Good luck!!

Well, she is only going to be one years old so she is not going to be to much into anything. I would try to keep it simple for this one, I know it is the excitement for you. I was really excited when my daughter turned one. When they turn two and three and so on I would try to start doing things like at chuck e cheese, and places like that.

Hey Family and close friends is perfect for first b-days. Take a lot of pictures but don't spend alot of money. My daughter fell asleep on her first b-day and did'nt even play with all the kids. We had to wake her up the sing happy birthday and it scared her, she started crying.This party is for you to remember because she will not.

Pick a theme and plan the party around it. When my cousin's son turned 1 (in July) they had a BBQ with a BUG theme. She had a catapiller cake (made out of cupcakes) and bug cookies, (oreo's with licorice legs and M&M eyes). They had chicken and burgers, salads, etc for the adults. The kids all played and Caiden blew out the candles and opened presents.

When my son turned one (In March -- 4 years ago!) we had ot have the party inside. We did a Baby Einstien theme and I wish now I would have done something not as commerical. But I planned the party from 3-5 so we wouldn't have to do a big meal b/c at the time we were in a smaller house. We had munchies, sandwhiches and then did cake and presents. My son was whipped out!

My daughter turns 1 in October (another inside party) and I'm thinking of a butterfly theme.

Good luck.

Remember the 1st birthday is for the parents and is some times overwhelming to a 1 year old. Don't set your expectations for your daughter too high. Let her enjoy the day and keep the kids friendly ideas for when she has her friends over.

keep it simple, there are a lot of very cute themes at party america, my daughter just had her 1st birthday, we just had the grandparents over and a few very close friends. 1 year olds don't do much and she will probably be more interested in the bags and boxes the gifts come in then the gift its self. save the really big party's when they can enjoy them better

just have something at home, that's all your baby needs. A simple party of close relatives, friends, and a cake. OF COURSE PRESENTS AND GAMES OR WHATEVER, BUT DON'T do anything big, because they wont really be the one to enjoy it, go for the big parties at a later age.

It looks like you are getting a lot of great ideas! I have seen some families purchase a small cake for the birthday child to have for him/herself, it's fun to watch them go at it!! Just a thought : )

My youngest will be turning one in October and I am thinking of the same thing. I want it to be simple but enjoyable. Having it outside is one of the best options.

We had a party for our son for just family. We did not have a theme and just invited grandparents and family friends. After about an hour he was tuckered out and ready for a nap. The family had a great time and we have some wonderful pictures.

Because our son's birthday is a week before Christmas the house was already decorated, but we put our little guy into a nice suit and had cake and ice cream.

We also had a small party with just the three of us to celebrate the actual day. I made an angel food/ devil food cake. It was fun and we made some wonderful memories.

Just remember the memories and pictures are for the parents, but they don't have to be elaborate, making the plans too complicated may just stress you out.

Good luck!

Keep it simple! ;o)

You have gotten some great ideas already! Couple things we did ... we had everyone bring pennies instead of gifts for a penny project that the youth of our church are doing - our son didn't need more toys and we recorded in his baby book how much money he gave away for his birthday. We also got a blank book from Borders and set it out with a bunch of markers and asked everyone to write him a note. My hope is to get it out every year like that. I am not a scrapbooker so this will work better for a long term keepsake. Next to the book, we had a 12 opening frame with a snap shot from every month - including that morning for the 12th one. I thought it was just a party decoration, but have since hung it in our room and love looking at it.
We just had cupcakes and did the party after dinner.
Have fun!!
B.

A luau-themed party is always fun for everyone and there are so many fun ideas and decorating items available. I am an expert party planner and I have 5 kids ranging from 5 months to 11 and have managed to throw unique and fun parties for each one of them every year and I still have more ideas left if you can believe. Since your 1 year old is not likely to remember it or really enjoy it, take it easy. If you would like some more ideas feel free to contact me directly.
M. Lally
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For my daughter's first birthday I took a bunch of pictures of her a couple of weeks before the party then I went to a scrapbook store and got a bunch of cute paper frames put two pictures with the frames on each piece of construction paper and decorated the house I also made construction paper butterflies and put thoese all over the house too. What was nice is that everyone (family members) is always asking for the latest pictures so before everyone left I had them pick the set of pictures they liked best, it did help with clean up. My daughter is now 4 and when we moved I found the butterflies that I had made she wanted them on her walls in her new room. I hope this helps.

Like so many people before me said, the first birthday really is more for the parents. With that said keep it simple with family and maybe a close friend or two. However, if you are looking for a theme. Think of something she will be into over the coming year or two. For my daughter's first birthday, we printed out on line invitations from Fisher Price and even the cake pattern from them-all from The Little People Collection. We had just family and they all got her little people items, she is four now and still loves them-we put them away a while ago, but from time to time especially lately she has asked for them to be gotten down and she plays with the whole village. If you are not a fan of Fisher Price, then check out one of the knock offs from another company (that just has not come out with the truth yet) there are plenty of them out there.
Hope this helps and have a wonderful big day.

We attended a Hawaiian party with lei's ,flowers, grass skirts for a first birthday party for a boy and everyone wore a flowered shirts. It was a lot of fun.

Hope your party turns out fun,
D.

When my son turned 1 in December, I tried to keep it as simple as possible. Just a luncheon with cupcakes and ice cream. I also asked the guests to bring something for his time capsule which will be opened upon high school graduation. That was a fun thing for the guests - people got really creative - and I think it'll be very nice for my son to open in 17 years.

Have fun!
S.

My 2nd daughter turns 1 this Saturday. I am reusing napkins from my 1st daughters 1st birthday, the have bright colors on them, (purple, lime green, red, yellow) and say "Happy 1st!" We are accenting with purple & lime green plates & balloons. We had a cake made to match the napkins. Having family & close friends over (my family is huge...total guests about over 25) Party is at 4pm (after her nap) and we are having simple foods...sloppy joes, pot. chips, cheesy potatoes, veggie platter, etc. and obviously cake & ice cream. We are opening gifts first and then having dinner and cake. Nothing fancy...a time to celebrate our daughter and spend time with family & friends. Hope this helps! Don't stress out too much...just enjoy your day!

You might want to check on the Tyra shows web page, if the link is still there. They had a whole show about planning kids parties, and some great ideas, like putting a low table and making a kids buffet with cheerios and cut up fruit and grilled cheese sand. There were a ton of cute ideas, and also lots of suggestions to make to party fun for the very little ones.

Keep it simple, she won't rememeber it. Cake and Icecream, and some ballons.