Fun First Birthday Parties

Start by creating a guest list to get an idea of how much and what type of food, decoration, and entertainment you'll need. Keep in mind how much space you have and, if you're planning on an outdoor party, what to do in case of rain. A party tent is a good solution, but before you buy one consider how much future use you'll get out of it; you may also want compare the cost of renting a tent instead of buying one.

Sensory overload is a good possibility on such a big day, so be sure to start your party well before baby's normal nap time and plan on one to two hours max for the party itself. Flexibility is important because, as you already know by now, one year olds march to their own tune. If your little one is anything like mine, she'll sense the excitement in the air and won't be taking her nap on her big day, which could cause a big case of the crankies!

Although you've probably already safety-proofed the areas that your baby plays and sleeps in, it's a good idea to re-check the party space.

Try to arrange for a close relative or friend that your baby is familiar with to help out with the digital camera or camcorder, when you need to handle party details, or make a quick diaper change.

Find adorable outfits and unique gift ideas for baby's first birthday at BestBabyShops.com

If you've planned a child's birthday party lately, that was surely the question! Birthday party themes are extremely popular and there are literally hundreds of themes to choose from.

Every popular cartoon character has an entire line of pattern matched party supplies, not to mention the more general categories, such as cowboys, fairies, sports, 1st birthday and dozens more. Going with a theme simplifies planning because you can purchase a party package that will include all the party supplies you will need.

The Pooh Party Box offers a basic package that includes plates, cups, napkins, and cutlery for 8 guests, plus a table cover, balloons, streamers, candles and curling ribbon.

The Pooh Party Deluxe Box includes the same supplies as above plus beverage napkins, dinner plates, a centerpiece, blowers, a pinata, and a Happy Birthday banner, all pattern-matching.

If you need more supplies you can order another basic package or purchase specific supplies, such as extra plates; you can also add pattern-matching decorations and favors, invitations, thank you notes, stickers, banners, hats, and more.

Theme Party Alternatives
Another way to go about decorations is to build a collection of traditional birthday supplies that can be used each year.

You can build your collection around a theme, such as flowers or butterflies (that could transition into fairy or princess themes in the future) or penants or cowboys (that could transition into future sports or western themes) or go with a traditional look that will work with lots of colors and themes.

A good way to start is to use your own tableware, cutlery and table covering, or go with coordinating solid color paper and plastic, then add a dozen or so balloons and a special birthday banner. Because you'll be building your collection over time you can spend a little more on unique items that will make all of your birthday celebrations even more special.


Decorations
This festive felt birthday pennant banner is colorful enough to match many themes. It's also available in pastel flowers, jazzed up with polka dots and trimmed with yellow satin ribbon.





This unique and charming banner will make a beautiful keepsake that you'll look forward to using each year! Completely handcrafted of felt and strung on leather cording with hanging loops, personalized with your choice of wording and color.




Light up your little one's party with string lights. These mesh butterfly lights are adorable for a little girl's party or for everyday fun.





Birthday Keepsakes
You can honor the birthday baby with a keepsake for a specific year or with one to be used for many birthdays to come.


Celebrate baby's first birthday with this custom made crown. Handmade in the USA, this crown is sure to become a treasured family keepsake.






Make your birthday girl's day extra special with this handmade chenille hat. Other colors and matching bibs are also available.





This adorable, hand painted plate is personalized with your little one's name and birth date on the front and "May all your birthday wishes come true" on the back along with space for your own special message.





Each year your family and friends tuck their special wishes into this charming jar.

Find more birthday plates, hats, and cake toppers at BestBabyShops.com.

As with all birthday party supplies, you can match invitations and thank you notes to a theme. However, you may want to splurge on invitations for baby's first birthday because your guest list probably won't be very big and it's such a special birthday. Remember to order extras in case you make a mistake when addressing them; you'll also want at least one extra as a keepsake.

Send out invitations two to three weeks prior to the big day. If your guest list is close family and friends only, you probably don't need to have an RSVP; if you do have an RSVP, call anyone who hasn't responded one week prior to the party.

Fill-in invitations come in dozens of styles, usually in packs of eight. They're the most affordable option, can be matched to almost any theme and many styles offer an invitation and thank you note combo.


This fill-in first birthday invitation is super-cute and super-affordable. Pattern-matching party supplies, including thank you notes are also available.




Personalized invitations are professionally designed and printed and there are many styles to choose from. Pricing varies on the design and amount of cards ordered (the more you order the lower the cost); plain white envelopes are usually included.


This custom birthday invitation is perfect for any little girl's party. You'll choose font style and color, envelopes are included, and return address printing is available for an additional fee.



Photo invitations are also professionally design and printed. There are lots of styles to choose from and many can include multiple photos. As with personalized invitations, plain white envelopes are usually included and pricing varies on the design, paper type (card stock or photo paper), and the amount of cards ordered (the more you order the lower the cost).




Add your favorite photo and custom text to this tri-fold invitation to create a unique invitation for a special day. Order as few or as many as you need; envelopes are included.




This trendy invitation is printed on card stock and you can choose the ink and font. Envelopes are included and return address printing is available for an additional fee.


E-mail invitations can be sent if you've waited too long to mail invitations or are on a tight budget; you'll just need to have the e-mail addresses for all of your guests. AmericanGreetings.com is a good place to look for e-mail invitations; they have a wide selection and they offer a 30 day free trial.


Thank You Notes
Purchasing thank you notes and invitations together will save time and make it easier to accomplish this task. You can pattern-match your invites and thank yous, but the important thing is to get them done!


A photo note card with a favorite shot from the party is a nice way to say thanks. This card comes boxed in a set of twelve; you can choose a matte or glossy finish on high-quality card stock.





You can also go with note cards personalized with baby's initial or name. This set includes 10 blank cards; matching personalized envelope seals are also available.





Take advantage of free photo print specials from online photo galleries to add a favorite birthday photo to your thank you notes. You'll bring extra smiles to the recipient and you can take advantage of other special offers, like this one from Snapfish:

Sign up and get 50 Free Prints plus a choice of either 20% Off Photo Cards OR 20% Off Photo Books. This offer expires April 30, but you don't have to make a purchase by the expiration date, so if you've been thinking of buying photo cards or a photo book, sign up today to get in on this great deal.


Mini photo gifts, like a flip book or photo magnet, are a particularly thoughtful way to say thanks to family or friends who weren't able to make the party.


This clever little card is a great way to showcase the highlights of baby's big day. It unfolds into a poster with customized text windows and 11 photos. It's printed on glossy paper stock, fits into a 5x7 envelope and other background styles are available.


Seal your invitation and thank you note envelopes with an adorable photo sticker of your baby.

These stickers are available with a variety of borders or without a border. They come in two half sheets of 15 stickers each and you can use a single photo for all 30 or up to 15 for variety.

If you've got more than a few of little kids at your party, you can play classic party games such as Duck Duck Goose, Simon Says, and Musical Chairs, just be sure to keep the games moving along quickly. To avoid hurt feelings (or complete meltdowns) have a prize for everyone or no prizes at all.

You may want to hold off on hired entertainment, such as clowns, favorite characters, or petting zoos since there is a very good chance that your baby will be freaked out or overwhelmed.




Even baby can get in on the fun with these glittery bubble bugs. Their holographic wings spin as these cute little colorful bugs blow tons of bubbles.






Want to really impress your guests? Learn how to create huge spheres, giant tubes, rainbow-hues towers, jumbo bubbles-inside-bubbles and much more, using ordinary dish soap and water. Includes instructions, solution recipe and 23" bubble wand.



A pinata is classic party fun, but if you'll be having small children or you'll be indoors, you may want to convert to a pull-string pinata. You can purchase a pull-string conversion kit for around $3.





Your guests will get a kick out of helping this adorable donkey find his tail. Game includes reusable tails, blind fold, and charming donkey print.





Have your guests create a special keepsake with a signature frame. The white wood frame is hand painted and the reversible pink and blue mat is beveled on both sides.





Create and display a photo book of special moments from baby's first year. Personalize your photo book from cover to cover with easy to use online tools, like guidance text and drag and drop pictures.




Easy to create and fun to watch, baby's first year DVD will be a hit at the party! Your multi-media slide show will be complete with photos, music, and special effects of your choosing.




To learn about photo books, memory books, baby books, and more fun things to do with your baby photos, visit my Beautiful Baby Memories Squidoo lens.

Music is a key factor for any successful party, but finding appropriate music for a child's party that adults will also like can be tough these days. We've put together a list of CD's that are popular with our 2-year old daughter that shouldn't offend anyone at your party! Click on the titles to hear song samples.

Pop/Rock and Folk
Here Come the 123's CD and DVD by They Might Be Giants
Singable Songs for the Very Young CD by Raffi
Curious George: Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies CD by Jack Johnson
Catch That Train CD by Dan Zanes

Jazz
Dave Digs Disney CD by Dave Brubeck
Songs I Heard CD by Harry Connick, Jr.
Singin' in the Bathtub CD by John Lithgow

If you'll be having children at your party, you may want to give party favors. There are three ways to go about it:

One Special Item for Each Child
For a first birthday party you'll probably only have a handful of children, so you may want to splurge on one nice toy or book.


It's never too soon to start reading to a baby and this is a perfect nighttime book. The beautiful illustrations and story will be a sure-fire winner with parents and babies alike!





A beautiful favor for a fairy, princess, or butterfly themed party, your little guests will love playing with them at the party and at home.






Little cowboys and cowgirls will love this hat full of goodies. Hat comes with sheriff's badges, bendable toys, finger puppets, bouncing balls, plastic handcuffs, gold nuggets, a bandanna and more.






Perfect for a spring or summer party, this 15-piece sand toy assortment has everything a little one needs for the sandbox or the beach.



Party Favor Sets This is the quickest, easiest option. Sets consist of various theme-related toys in a bag or box. If you'll need a lot of favors you can go with an inexpensive to moderately priced set; these will range from $1.25 to $5 for each favor set. If you'll just have a few kids, you might want to go with a deluxe set that can be as much as $10 per favor set.



Pooh's first birthday favor set will be a hit with all of the little ones.







Your little pirate party-goers will be playing with the toys in this favor set long after the big day is over.



Do-It-Yourself Favor Bags Find a cute bag or box then fill it with toys, books or other little trinkets. Match favors to a theme or just make a mishmash of cute things. This is fun - but it can be a real budget-buster if you're not careful.





A good choice for girl-boy parties, this box is ready to be filled with goodies of your choosing. Sold in sets of 4.




Another good choice for a girl-boy party, this soft, fully lined elephant bag is almost a favor in itself.





This cute little tin pail makes a cute favor holder for a western theme party. Sold in sets of 12 without imprint; personalization is extra.






These squeezable rubber duckies are perfectly dressed for a birthday celebration. Sold in sets of 12, they also make cute game prizes.





They'll love these fun little twisty puzzles featuring the Sesame Street gang. Sold in sets of four.





A perfect for a spring or summer party, this 12" inflatable beach ball is another favor that will get plenty of use after the party.

To bake and decorate baby's cake or buy one is a choice that you'll make based on your budget, time constraints and cake decorating abilities.

Homemade
First you'll have to decide whether to go with a boxed cake mix or bake from scratch. If you've never baked a cake from scratch before, you'll probably want to test out a recipe at least a week before your party.

You'll also have to decide on a theme for your cake; if you've gone with a theme for the party then you'll probably want the cake to match. There are lots of character and theme cake pans available and decorating instructions are usually included.




These cute cake pans, and dozens more, can be matched to a character or color theme to top off your birthday decorations.




When deciding on a cake it's important to consider the frosting that is called for. Fondant frosting is the smooth type you see on many cakes these days; it allows you to do wonderfully creative things with a cake, but although it is made almost entirely from sugar, it's kind of chewy and doesn't taste good.

Butter cream frosting, on the other hand, is delicious because it has a higher butter to sugar ratio which makes it melt in your mouth. It also looks great on almost any type of birthday cake and is generally easier to make and work with. If you don't have much experience decorating cakes, you'll want to go with butter cream.

Bakery
A great baker can create a gorgeous cake that will not only take everyone's breath away but also be absolutely delicious.

If you don't have a favorite bakery, you should get referrals from family or friends. To be sure that you and the baker are on the same page, order a sample cake with your chosen flavors for frosting and cake.

Market
Birthday cakes from your local market are more generic; you'll get a chocolate or yellow cake with white frosting and some other colored decorations and the bakery shop clerk will add "Happy Birthday ____" or you can add birthday wishes yourself at home. It's not the fanciest choice, but you'll get a perfectly good cake at a good price with little effort.

Cute idea: photo cakes - you supply your baker with a favorite photo and they use a special software and printer to print it right onto the cake with edible ink or you can order the image and apply it yourself at Icing Images, Photo Frost, and Icing Magic.


Party Food and Refreshments
There are no set rules regarding refreshments, but you may want to have a least a few light snacks in addition to cake and ice cream. Foods that can be prepared a day or two before your party will make things easier.

If you'll only be serving cake and ice cream, be sure to mention this in your invitation so that your guests will be sure to eat before they arrive.

Pasta salad - a favorite dish that is easy to prepare, they also tend to taste better after chilling for a day.

Fruit kabobs - for a fun twist on fruit salad, serve these up on a party platter. Good fruits for skewering include strawberries, seedless grapes, oranges, kiwi, pineapple, honeydew and cantaloupe.

Deli trays and crudites - you can prepare these yourself or order them from your local market; be sure to offer a variety of dips and condiments to suit the different tastes of your guests.

Pizza - If you've got extra help on the day of the party, you could whip-up homemade pizzas, or have them delivered on the day of the party. You may want to order an extra large sheet pizza that you can cut into finger food size. If you'll be ordering your cake from your favorite bakery, see if you can save yourself a step by adding pizza strips to the order.

Chicken wings - another party favorite that's easy to prepare and can be made a day or two before the party. You can go with a variety of flavors, such as sweet and sour, teriyaki, and honey mustard.

Grilled Foods - hot dogs and hamburgers are probably your best bet for easy party grilling.

Drinks - in addition to your standard sodas, water, juice, and coffee, you can throw in some easy-to-make party drinks, such as party punch, root beer floats, or milk shakes.