1st Birthday Party - What did/are you going to do?

[arieltron]

Reading the thread about 1st birthday presents got me thinking. I have a huge family so a 1st birthday party is a must. I want it to be adorable and fun. What have other people done? What are you thinking of doing? Pictures a plus!

[McGucks]

Hi--there was a good thread on this maybe a month or so ago with lots of good ideas.  I don't have the link, but if Cecilia's Mama sees this, you might get lucky & she'll send it to you!  She's very good at that kind of thing and I am not!

[happyhippie]

Oooh, cool thread. My dd will be 1 in July, and I am definitely throwing a wonderful festive event. Don't know what yet. I went to the best late summer 1 year harvest party last year. The family grew a ton of gorgeous vegetables (like heirloom tomatoes, chilis, etc.) and passed them out as favors. It was the sweetest. The theme was "how I've grown". Aww, it kindles my heart just talking about it. It was awesome!

[Knitting Mama]

I do remember that thread, but I can't find it!

Cecilia's party is a week from tomorrow (eek!) and it's going to be at the park. We have a huge guest list (70 people RSVP'ed yes), which is overwhelming me like you wouldn't believe, and I wish I hadn't been convinced to have a big party. I'm sure it will be fun though, if chaotic.

We're doing snacks and cupcakes, and no real organized games. Maybe next year when she can actually have fun with them. I still have a ton of shopping to do, though, and about a zillion mini cupcakes to bake!

[happyhippie]

Woah! 70 people! Aren't you afraid she will be overwhelmed? I don't think I could do that to my dd. I am afraid she would panic. 

But maybe your little one is used to a lot? 

I was thinking 15-20 max, and some of those being her age.

Good luck with all of the cupcakes. 

[Jenni1894]

I had a huge backyard blow out for DS.   Yeah, I invited about 50 people.  

I learned my lesson b/c it's not needed!  And most people didn't come. 

With ODD I did a cupcake theme and invited about 40 people.  

With YDD I did a ladybug theme and invited only 30 people.  But DH has a larger family and they mostly all have kids, so his immediate family alone is 10-12 people.  

Here's some pics of ydd's 1st bday!

A centerpiece for the treat table

Made lady bug PB&J's and PB&honey's for the kids

Lots of balloons!

i didn't really plan any games b/c all the kids were younger and it was more of a family party.   I served chicken bruchetta pasta, tomato and basil pizza and a garden pizza.   For favors i got buckets from the party store for $1 ea and put pinwheels and let DS (6) pick out 2 small prizes from the favor section at the $ store for each kid.   "cept my nephew got all kinds of small plastic animals b/c he's the cutest and my fav little guy ever, next to my son that is!! 

Was going to make ladybug cupcakes, but MIL said she'd get them from the bakery.  So that saved me tons of time and money!!!

[Knitting Mama]

Originally Posted by happyhippie 

Woah! 70 people! Aren't you afraid she will be overwhelmed? I don't think I could do that to my dd. I am afraid she would panic. 

But maybe your little one is used to a lot? 

I was thinking 15-20 max, and some of those being her age.

Good luck with all of the cupcakes. 

Other kids, yes. Cecilia, no. She thrives on large crowds. She's at her happiest when she has a big audience, my little social butterfly. Of those people, 18 are immediate family. We have a lot of family around us.

It's also outside at a park, and people are coming in stages, from what I can tell, so I don't think it will be 70 people crowding around her all at once. It still means a lot of work though, and next year I am putting my foot down!

[tzs]

i was going to throw a party but then realized that dd really had no idea what was going on. so we just got everyone together at a cafe/bar outdoor patio and had some beers and cake. she had her "friends" and family there and we had fun. i mean, at 1 year the party is mainly for the adults anyway so why not really enjoy ot?

[1stTimeMama4-4-10]

We are actually doing two separate parties - one for our friends with babies and one for family.  I went to a combo friends/family party a few weeks ago, and it went by so quickly and I didn't get to see my friend or her son more than 10 minutes! So MIL is hosting the family one and we are hosting the little kid one.  We are looking forward to both - I think for the family one it will be more of just an adult get together with dinner and drinks, while the little kid one will be more traditional with cupcakes, punch, fingerfoods, balloons, and favors.  I don't know about games though since pretty much all the kids will be around 1 year or less - they won't know what's going on! We are mostly just looking forward to having so many of our couple friends with babies all together. The family party will be around 15 ppl or so and the kiddie party will be around 14 adults and 7 kids.  Combining the two would be overwhelming. 

[Knitting Mama]

I wish I'd had the foresight to push for that this year. Next year for sure.

[happyhippie]

Oh Aimee, I am sure you will be fine if you say your little one likes being the center of attention. I bet you guys are going to have a fun party!

[P.J.]

Wow, am I the only one here NOT doing a party for my LO's 1st?

Honestly, this may sound so jaded and negative, but it's something he does not know or care about at this point, and would likely not remember....so to be brutally honest the idea of throwing a party would just stress me out. I am not a party-throwing kind of person in any case. So this year we're just skipping it. If my MIL and SIl can make it, we'll probably have them over and I'll make a cake, but I would hardly call that a party! Next year and ever-after I'm sure we'll do something, but I know we'll keep it VERY mellow. I don't want to set the bar real high and have him expect an over-the-top shindig every year. So, I can picture maybe 5 of his playmates and their parents, and close family (since half the family is on another continent, it means like 3 people from DH's side)

Don't get me wrong. I want Max to be excited about his birthday every year and feel like king for that day. We will make sure of that! I just don't think a party, for this first birthday, is necessary.

One side note: someone recently told me about a Korean tradition where, on a child's first birthday, they out before him a pen, a book and a dollar. If he goes for the pen, he'll be creative. If the money, a business person, if the book an intellectual.  I think that sounds kind of neat and I may do something like that with him on his Bday, just for fun!

[Buzzer Beater]

Well, for us it is a party for mama and papa... it is kind of a miracle that we have a baby at all, and since it is DH's only child at 46 he is not going to miss a landmark. Besides, GG loves crowds, the more the merrier. Grandparents will be here and big sister will be home from college... can't wait!

[arieltron]

Jenni- OMG those little lady bug sandwiches! 

Personally, I have been dreaming about a 1st birthday since DD was born! I love throwing parties, baking cakes, showing off lol. Her birthday is late August, IN TEXAS, so I'm dreaming of an outdoor party, but I don't want the cake to melt! I was thinking of doing it in the evening outside. 

Well, for us it is a party for mama and papa... it is kind of a miracle that we have a baby at all

I agree! We had quite a journey before birth, and it needs to be celebrated!!

I am so excited, and it's only like...5 months away. LOL. 

[1stTimeMama4-4-10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzzer Beater 

Well, for us it is a party for mama and papa.

Well of course it is!  A one year old doesn't have any idea that they are at a party, much less that it is a party for them!  For us, we are celebrating DD's birth and life with us. We are not religious, so she did not have a baptism or Christening - the birthday party is kind of a stand in for those things.  And the little kid birthday is to continue to keep our connections with all of our friends with babies.  We are very fortunate to have so many friends who are starting their families at the same time. I want to keep those friendships going. What better way to do that than to have a party!

[Knitting Mama]

Originally Posted by 1stTimeMama4-4-10 

Quote:

Well of course it is!  A one year old doesn't have any idea that they are at a party, much less that it is a party for them!  For us, we are celebrating DD's birth and life with us. We are not religious, so she did not have a baptism or Christening - the birthday party is kind of a stand in for those things.  And the little kid birthday is to continue to keep our connections with all of our friends with babies.  We are very fortunate to have so many friends who are starting their families at the same time. I want to keep those friendships going. What better way to do that than to have a party!

That's us too! Besides having around 20 family members here, we have the awesome families from our Bradley childbirth, who we have remained close to, and my mom's group.

[happyhippie]

I have joked with my other mama friends that I was going to throw myself a cocktail party since we made it through a crazy yet blissful year!

[goinggreengirl]

We aren't near family but my MIL came into town for it. We went out to dinner- he ate some strawberries for dinner (he's still against solids) and then we ordered dessert with a candle in it. We got pictures of him with a big piece of chocolate cake and then I ate. He played with my fork afterwards and tasted a tiny bit of chocolate. Not too exciting.

[arieltron]

Originally Posted by 1stTimeMama4-4-10 

Quote:

Well of course it is!  A one year old doesn't have any idea that they are at a party, much less that it is a party for them!  For us, we are celebrating DD's birth and life with us. We are not religious, so she did not have a baptism or Christening - the birthday party is kind of a stand in for those things.  And the little kid birthday is to continue to keep our connections with all of our friends with babies.  We are very fortunate to have so many friends who are starting their families at the same time. I want to keep those friendships going. What better way to do that than to have a party!

Exactly! We never had a baptism or christening, so it's The celebration
 

[Zangua]

We just had DD's this weekend (her birthday is tuesday)- we did a brunch potluck. Super simple. Everyone brought delicious food and the grown ups drank mimosas while the kiddies played in the backyard. DD had a blast although she missed her nap so by the end she was delirious.