Has anyone started planning their baby's 1st birthday party yet?

Samantha - posted on 04/12/2013

Hey choosing a first birthday theme is very difficult. While your child will not understand what it’s all about, you as a parent want to do the best of all. I would suggest, you must choose simple theme such as barnyard or may be a color party. About planning, start as early as possible because, you will not get plenty of time with a young baby. So, start early to avoid last minute mess-ups.

Kennedy - posted on 08/18/2012

Yes! We are having our daughter's birthday at PLAY in East Lansing! Parents in the Lansing Area should check it out... www.playeastlansing.com. The place is spotless, eco-friendly, & all parties are 100% private. It's so nice to be able to relax and talk with adult guests without the worry of your baby being run over by another child or your little one getting lost in a crowd. You also don't have to worry about your baby leaving his/her party with some crazy virus. ;)

Anita - posted on 08/17/2012

I make a living of running 1st birthday parties..we bring soft play equipment and provide entertainment too .. my1stbirthdayparty.co.uk has lots of ideas

Becky - posted on 06/14/2012

First Birthday Parties are so special! Let's face it, they only happen ONCE :). We decided to have a party, but also create a few personalized things to act as keepsakes as well. We found some cute stuff like this On BirthdayPartyKids.com and invited mainly family. Take lots of pictures. Here's sme cute things we found:
http://www.birthdaypartykidz.com/birthda...
http://www.birthdaypartykidz.com/2009/10...

Heather - posted on 08/20/2010

Sounds great to me, good luck!!!

Kaylee - posted on 08/20/2010

I still don't know what "theme" I want to go with yet but I am having the party at my friends house and a girl from works does cakes so she'll do that for me and then because not everyone likes cakes I am having another friend from work make her cookies for me. I have a friend that does photography and she is going to get with my mom who does Stampin Up! to make the invites. The friends house that I'm having the party at has her own party planning business so I am pretty much giving her free rain on planning.

Heather - posted on 08/20/2010

Umm.. yeah, that is my specialty, I am planning my daugters right now! I am a party planner, I hired a calypso steel drummer, have a snow cone maker I purchased and already started using, great investment. Am doing jamacian beef patties jerk chicken to go with them and just hired a hair braider!! one thing i do a ton of with my business is sugar cookir favors any shape color indiviually wrapped each with a customized sticker. I am doing a red and purple one for Sieana's first bday and attaching a maraca to each. You should hire me for the favors, cookies, look great, taste amazing and i will give you a great deal, what do you think? you can reach me at heather.gocard@gmail.com, or 917-440-3767:) would luv to work with you on helping to make your party a sucess!!!

Alarna - posted on 08/10/2010

Aww these are going to be such wonderful days for all of us! I know what you mean when you say you get a little teary eyed thinking about the past year!! The frist year is so exciting and amazing! But everyone I know who has young children hasnt come to a stage they havent loved yet so I am looking forward to seeing my daughter grow and develop. I am really looking forward to seeing her take her first steps or even to start crawling. She is starting to sit up now :) Gosh I am so excited about the party!!! Good Luck to all of you on the day and I hope the weather is beautiful too :)

Jenny - posted on 07/30/2010

I started planning Sylvia's birthday a few months ago. We are doing a ladybug-themed party and there will be about 30 guests. We are doing a lady-bug shaped "smash" cake for her and then ladybug cupcakes for the guests. We booked the party at this local coffee shop called Cafe Sip n' play because it has a huge area for toddlers to play while the adults are able to socialize. The food will be sandwich trays, and veggie and meat and cheese trays. The invitations I ordered from Zazzle.com are decorated with ladybugs and are super cute!! The decorations will be simple, just red and black napkins and plates and we're deciding not to do gift bags because the age range for kids will be so broad (11 months to 14 years old). I'm really looking forward to her first birthday but it makes me teary-eyed each time I think about it!

Annie - posted on 07/25/2010

I just realized that our son's first b-day is in two months. So I am starting to plan now. We will probably do cars as a theme. Not the movie cars. I know a girl that has started her own cupcake business. So I think that I will have her do some for us. I don't think we will go too far out, since he really won't remember it anyway. Bbq, homemade ice cream, friends and family.

Pallavi - posted on 07/24/2010

Yes! I am super excited! We are doing a jungle theme

Michelle - posted on 07/23/2010

@ Kellie Brito

I love that idea! My son loves Palm Pilot from that show. I think I have seen that you can print stuff from Playhouse Disney for birthday parties.

Michelle - posted on 07/23/2010

My son is turning 1 on Sept 11 I have a few things planned.

Theme: Bob's Big Boy - he's turning 1, so he's going to be a "big boy." I got a Bob's Big Boy piggy bank for his cake topper and will frost it with the white and red checks. I am also going to make him a big boy costume to wear for the day. I was thinking of doing hamburger cupcakes for the guests and french fry rice crispy treats to go with it too.

Decorations: I am going to make the main decorations out of his photos throughout the year. My mom has software to do a DVD photo slideshow with music which can be playing in the background.

Special Gift: I think all of you should do this idea! I found it online. I am stating this in our invites so people won't be surprised. I am making a time capsule for him to open on his 18th birthday. I am going to ask guests to bring in something that reflects this year or his day like newspaper, ticket stub, how much gas was, things like that. I am going to take everyone's picture that was there and have them write on one of four topics that I will give them like "My hope for you is..." or "My favorite memory of you is..." It will be something special for him when he turns 18 and I am sure some of our family will no longer be living (my grandpa is 81 and my son loves him). My hubby and I are going to put things that he loved this past year in his capsule and write about it. I found a poem I reworked for the invites online. This is something extra that will be really memorable.

Kellie - posted on 07/23/2010

My son's birthday is Sept. 10th but we're having a party at our house (family and close friends, about 60 people) on August 28th so we can use our pool. Our theme is Special Agent Oso because he lights up when he sees that darn bear! My mother-in-law is a really good cake maker and so she's making the Oso cake that says "Mason's Oh So Special."

Kassi - posted on 07/23/2010

My son turns 1 on the 24th of Sept. I have all the stuff for his birthday. The theme is Scooby-Doo. We watch it every morning and he loves it. I too love it as I have both movies and have seen every cartoon. So it works out. I plan on doing it at the park so the kids can play and eat cake. There will be several people so I don't think we will be doing food as it will cost to much to do so. I'm not sure if we will be doing games though.

Christy - posted on 07/22/2010

We are having a family and close friends only party. I have thought a lot about themes but the best theme of all is that it is his first! So a 1 cake and all that jazz with photos of him through his first year. Invite from shutterfly.com with a pic of each month leading to the 12th. We won't have older ones so pretty easy on the games and stuff. A bbq in the backyard!

Amanda - posted on 07/22/2010

I am/have been, at least in my head, planning my son's first birthday. He turns one on September 29. I am planning his party for October 2. Like someone else said, I don't want to spend a lot of money, so we are not really having a theme. We are making cupcakes-they are bugs- for his birthday cake. My mom is coming down. She really loves to bake, so it should be a good time. I plan to have it at a local park, too. I am trying to make it as inexpensive as possible. I know I have to get gift bags for the kiddos, but that shouldn't be bad!

Kylie - posted on 07/22/2010

my son turns 1 in september we might just have a small gathering with family & friends nothing over the top............still can't believe he's almost 1

Stephanie - posted on 07/22/2010

I have too! My son was born Sept 4th & we're having his party on Aug 28th at my close friends house. The theme I'm going with is Curious George! I've decided to make banana cupcakes in place of buying a sugar-filled store bought cake! Also, I'm planning on making sugar cookies in the shape of 1's with a stick in them, like a lolly-pop, with royal icing decorations. We live in Hawaii, so we're going to do it as a sort of cook-out style with hotdogs and hamburgers and lots of side dishes! I cannot wait!
Hope all your children's birthday parties come out wonderful!

Felicia - posted on 07/22/2010

iam so excited for my sons first its on sep 16th and i want a theme of spider man or whinnie the pooh dont really know yet but very sad that he is growing up so fast !!!!!

Bridget - posted on 07/22/2010

I didnt plan on having a big party for my daughter originally. I thought it was silly to spend much $ and make a big deal about something she wont even remember- but then I found out my husbands entire family is coming into town so now we are definitely planning something.
Our community have these beautiful outdoor pavilions residents can rent- the one we are renting is surrounded by gardens and has a great playground next to it. We will either bbq or have it catered. We are asking for no presents- but rather a donation to this small local charity that is based out of a hospital in the area. They support the families of children in the oncology ward. They have made all of the treatments rooms comfortable and entertaining for the kids, and they help the families wth their bills.
Now that weve started planning Im really excited! It will be great to have all of our family get together, and I cant wait to see my daughter dig into her cake!

Tiffany - posted on 07/21/2010

Most of my family lives out of state and will most likely not be able to make it in for her bday. Im sure we will just do something at the house with her and I.

Francine - posted on 07/21/2010

I have already started, we will be on holidays when it is her actual birthday so it is going to be the weekend before, but we have to have it all organised by mid August when the party isn't until mid September. But we will be having a small thing on the actual day. I am looking forward to it :-D

Jennifer - posted on 07/21/2010

I Just stated today... I cant believe its been a year already!!! I got the guest list done and looking into cakes and stuff its very exciting...!!

Christine - posted on 07/21/2010

We had a nice celebration for my girls' baby dedication just a few weeks ago- had a nice buffet for the adults- all easy, ready-made foods from Costco. The only thing we made was the bruchetta bar- toasted baguette slices with different toppings, including the traditional tomato/olive oil/basil/garlic mix. It was a hit!

For the girls' 1st b-day, we'll probably do something low-key with family. I can already see the next few years of hosting twin b-day parties with a ton of people!

Julia - posted on 07/21/2010

My daughters first birthday will be the last weekend in September and we are inviting family along with a few of her baby friends. A friend of mine makes cakes so we are having a ladybug birthday cake and will decorate with red and white ballons to match with the cake.

Sarah - posted on 07/20/2010

that sounds amazing! hope everyones little ones' special day turns out as spectacular as we all wish!!

Alarna - posted on 07/20/2010

Wow! These are all fantastic ideas and it sounds like our lil ones are all going to have a very memorable 1st birthday!!! I ADORE the idea of the donation to the childrens home Rashmi - that is so wonderful and I love the sound of all the cakes - I only wish I could be there to sample LOL he he he.

If I am completly honest I started planning Claire's 1st birthday when I was still pregnant HA HA I wanted a Dr. Suess theme for her nursery and want to continue the theme for her 1st birthday. I bought all the party favours, plates, loot bags, table cloth etc while still pregnant and because its pretty much impossible to get them here is Oz I had to get them on ebay from the US.



I am hoping it will be a nice day weather wise so that we can have the party at a lovely local park down near Maroubra Beach here in Sydney, Australia. So far the guest list stands at roughly 40 guests. Claire's actual birthday is September 30 and the Rugby League grand final weekend is the weekend directly after her bday so it wont be held then - Im a fan of leage myself and too many mates would be devastated if her party was on GF day LOL. So the date has not been set yet, as well as the fact that we are awaiting confirmation for her final operation which could have her in hospital on her birthday. Not to worry - like I have been saying to family and friends I dont care if her party is in January - we're having one LOL

I am hoping to get a 3 teir "Cat In The Hat" hat cake with pics of "Thing 1 & Thing 2" and "Fish in The Bowl" around it with letter cubes spelling out Claire and ofcourse - a #1 in there somewhere too hehehe.



There will be children of all ages there on the day and just like you Alicia the big kids like to have fun too - so we'll probably take along a footy, a cricket bat and some other things to keep everyone active and having fun :)

I'd like to have a pinata and maybe do a pass the parcel game for the younger ones and maybe even set up a treasure hunt around the park - Im SOOOO looking forward to it!!! Keep the posts coming I love hearing about all the upcoming parties, they're great xx

Amber - posted on 07/20/2010

We are having our daughters first bday party early due to a very crazy September she turns 1 sept 2nd but her party will be august 14th. It's all planned invites I made from hand, we rented a moonbounce for the older kids, ordered a big meat package from a local meat market. Were doing a big back yard BBQ about 60 people. And my favorite part is her cake the theme of the party is butterfly so we ordered her a 2 tier cake from a bakery the bottom tier is light pink, the top tier is lavender and the very top will have a big blue butterfly and Happy Birthday Julia. Along the sides are hot pink flowers. I love it!

Meghan - posted on 07/20/2010

I started planning J's first bday in may...he turned 1 in oct..LOL I was a tiny bit excited! I haven't started really planning his 2nd bday yet-but I have quite a few ideas.

Rashmi - posted on 07/19/2010

Meera's b'day is going to be only "very close family" affair with a nice b'day cake...and donation in kind to an underprivileged children's home....Will even have photos clicked...so that when she grows up will let her see...how many children she made smile that day :)

Jess - posted on 07/19/2010

Ava is turning 1 on August 12th, so Im counting down the days now. We choose to have a colour theme of white, Pink and Purple and butterfly's. Its a lot cheaper than having a character themed party like Elmo or Winnie the Pooh.

The cake is the one big expense for the party and its a beautiful pink cake with butterfly's and flowers on the side and alphabet blocks on the top that spell out her name ! Super excited !!!

Sarah - posted on 07/19/2010

we are planning on having a nice bbq backyard party! its on sept 4th, so hoping it will still be nice weather. havent been out yet to see about themes, love the ones I see on line. I'm sure there's nice plates/ decorations for first b-days at the local stores too. There will be lots of babies around a yr old and all sorts of different aged kids, so I will be having bubbles for the older ones to blow for the babies. I was thinking of getting some chalk paint for the older ones to draw the birthday boy a nice collage on the fence in the backyard, or the ground. (depends on if it comes off the fence easy enough, lol) along with the party food for the big guests, I will have bowls of smaller food chopped for the babies, like fruit and stuff. Its so exciting! I love first birthdays, I remember my daughter's like it was yesterday (almost 12 yrs ago now)

I was thinking of doing the football theme too, but I want to wait till he's a little older, maybe two or three. that should be lots of fun tho!

Alicia - posted on 07/19/2010

I have! My son was born September 13th and we are doing his party on September 11th at Grandma's house! Since it is the start of football season and my son is starting to love sports already, we decided on a football theme! We only have a few friends with kids and all my husbands friends are big kids anyway, we are focusing the games around them...like pin the football in the goal posts and a football throwing competition! I am make two football cakes and and baby cake for Jaylen with a 5 inch pan! I live in Southern California so I know it will be hot so we chose to just do sandwiches and a salad bar for the meal!

What ideas do you have? I am so clueless on how to throw a birthday party! It is only his first so it is my practice round! Are you planning yet?

I did my invitations on evite.com...I am trying to save as much money as possible and spend it on his presents! Invites are expensive between cards, envelopes and POSTAGE...so I thought evites were a cool idea!