Seeking Tips and Ideas for Baby's 1St Birthday Party

Hi J.,
I'm in the same boat as you! My daughter's birthday is in July and I've been thinking about the party for months already! We aren't going to have many other kids there either so it'll be for the adults really. I'm thinking: lots of pink balloons, some good snack food, and birthday cake. No themes and no cartoon characters. If I get my act together, I will do favors or I like the idea of doing the DVD slideshow too. And I think I'll listen to the advice of doing cake and then presents before she gets wiped out. Thanks and good luck! It'll be fun no matter what and over before you know it : )
~ K.

I love the name Violet!
Well, congrats on making it through year 1! We had a cocktail party for our oldest one's first birthday. We created a cocktail especially for the event (it was pink, but I think you should create something... yes... violet! Maybe a little blue curacao with something red to balance out the color?). It might be fun to carry that theme throughout - candied voilets on the birthday cake, little pots of voilets on the table as a centerpiece. I don't know if you are planning dinner or just snacks. We had ours catered by an Italian restaurant because I can't cook to save my life. If you are going to cook, may I suggest barbecue - that way you can make your husband do it and you can enjoy your Violet (the drink and the baby). =) Have fun!!

It'll be an exciting day no matter what you plan! For my son's first birthday I ordered a variety of pizzas, including some unusual ones, for our extended family. I decorated a Winnie the Pooh cake, but didn't do anything else that I can recall. And let's face it, watching a 1 year old toddle around is such joyous entertainment we didn't need anything else.

Have fun!

Hi J.,

For my sons 1st birthday, I did a Baby Einstien theme because that was his favorite at the time. Even though the party is mostly for the adults, I still planned the time around his routine and kept the party going. The one problem I had was that I waited to do the cake until after the gifts and he was completely exhausted. One of the best times for a 1st birthday is making sure they have their own little cake to dig into. Even though they will be a mess, get it out of the way first so she enjoys it as well as the guests.

We plan to do a BBQ out by the pool, but we too have a lot of kids in our family. The other thing we are planning to do is buy a "signature" plate and have all our family members write on it so we can use it on her birthday forever.
I can't wait to see your other responses!

I am of the opinion that a baby's 1st birthday party should primarily be a party for the MOM! :) Obviously, yes, it's about the child, but, hey, the mom did most of the work! So, I would do whatever would make you happy and help you to have a good time.

Have fun!

~ E.

I made a DVD slide show to music with pictures and video clips from my baby's first year and played it during the party. We only had her grandparents and great-grandparents so it wasn't a big group and they really enjoyed it. I made them each a copy for party favors. We planned the party for right after her afternoon nap and watched the video while we waited for her to wake up. Then we did the presents and cake first before she got tired or cranky because I have heard stories of babies who were too over-stimulated and cried instead of eating their cake and I really wanted cute pics of her and the cake... It worked really well for us.

That is a great idea. Sounds like fun to me!
We had a BBQ at the park for our kids first bdays, but we have tons of other kids in our families.