1st Birthday Party

A 1st birthday party theme should be focused around something your baby is familiar with. What will bring a smile to your baby's face, possibly a popular children’s theme or character? Here are some favorites we have provided tips and ideas for our readers

Abby Cadabby Baby Einstein Barnyard Animals Cupcake Party

Let’s face it, your child’s 1st birthday party isn’t only for him…it’s for you too! Your child’s 1st birthday is a celebration for everyone grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, siblings, friends and of course mommy, daddy and baby.

Since the 1st birthday is for you as well as baby be sure to invite family and friends. A 1st birthday party typically has more adults than children. If your child regularly plays with other children, you may wish to invite them. If you choose to have a family only celebration then you may want to arrange a play date with some of your child’s playmates for another day and provide cupcakes and goody bags.

Allow yourself about 6-8 weeks to plan your child's first birthday party. 8 weeks if you're planning live entertainment (depending on where you live the entertainment can book up early) and 6 weeks if they'll be no live show.

Begin planning with a theme. A theme gives you a blueprint to follow which makes the entire planning process easier. A theme can be anything from a favorite TV show, book, toy or movie. Or maybe your baby is amazed by cars, fire engines or dolls.

Once your theme is chosen you can begin to pick decorations, invitations and even food based on your theme.

1st Birthday Party Ideas

Decorations

There are tons of kids birthday party supplies for a 1st Birthday party.

A little creativity goes a long way. It's easy to incorporate a theme into a children's birthday party with little expense. The simplest way is through themed birthday party supplies. Popular kids themes provide plates, cups, tablecloths, banners, centerpieces, balloons and more that match the theme. Purchase a few of these items to express your theme. Don't over power your party with these store bought themed items. Incorporate your own style as well.

Invitations

Once you have your theme, you're ready for invitations. Popular themes typically offer invitations to match. This makes the selection of invitations simple. Using an invitation that matches your theme is an excellent way to let your guests know what to expect. It's also a good way to get the children excited when they see there favorite character on the invitation. But, it's not essential to use an invitation that matches your theme, there are plenty of other options. Consider printing your own invitations using an invitation website, create your own using clip art and a catchy phrase, purchase fill-in-the-blank invitations found at any party supply store and if your party is informal then word of mouth always works.

Visit our page on 1st Birthday Invitations & Tips.

Activities

Often the 1st birthday party is really more for the adults than the baby. After all the birthday child may not even be aware it's their birthday. Since you typically have more adults at the 1st birthday party it's a fun idea to keep them entertained. Try some of these fun and playful party games for the adults.

Bottle Bowling

Fill baby bottles with beans or rice, something to keep them stable.
Arrange the bottles like bowling pins.
Mark a spot for the bowler to stand, a good distance from the bottles.
Using a small ball have them try to knock down the bottles.

Baby Can...

Prior to the party put together a list of the things your baby can and can't do. Such as smile, laugh, walk, talk, recite his alphabet, eat with a spoon, eats vegetables, etc.
Hand out a copy of the list to each guest and have them mark which items the baby CAN do and which items the baby CAN'T do. The guest who is most accurate wins.

Poop Diaper

This game may seem gross, but it realy gets people laughing. You will need several different types of candy bars and diapers.
Melt each candy bar. Put each melted candy bar into a diaper.
The idea is that the diaper looks like a poop diaper. You should have several diapers with a different candy bar (poop) in each. Be sure to keep a list of which type of candy bar is in each diaper.
Pass the poop diapers around and have the guests guess which type of candy bar is in each.
They can taste and smell the poop diapers to guess.

Food

The menu for a kids party should not channel the gourmet chef in you. Save your gourmet meals for adult parties. Keep the food simple and kid-friendly. Snack food is a good choice for a kids party. Most important for kids at a party is friends, games, cake and ice cream. Everything else is secondary including the food. Good choices for kids are pizza, chicken nuggets, sandwiches, hot dogs and fruit.

Visit our page filled with Kids Party Food recipes.