Let's talk first birthdays!

ATXmommas

Yes, my son's first birthday is 3 months away. Yes, I'm already stressing, I mean thinking about it.

What did you do for your little one's first birthday? Big/small? Theme/no theme?

I'm having trouble of thinking of a theme. This is a conversation Z and I had this weekend -

L: What do you think the theme of his part should be?

Z: I don't know.

L: I mean, it's not like he's into anything yet. Except boobs.

Z: Hooters it is.

Please help me out so that I don't resort to having my son's first birthday at hooters!

My only idea so far is The Very Hungry Caterpillar (as long as I can find a vegan version of salami ).

Bonus - post pics of your LO's party!

Folks who don't have babies on the outside yet, would love to hear your opinions as well!

mallory4284

My niece's 1st birthday was cupcakes.... It was pink and purple and super girly.... Which doesn't help you since you have a boy lol

I think The Very Hungry Caterpillar sounds awesome though! I would totally do that!! (And make my sister plan and make everything because she is much more creative than me!!!)

Here's a pic of my niece's present table. I made the photo collage 1's for my sister (the random pics all around are because I'm a photo-whore and printed off too many pictures!!) and this was 5 1/2 yrs ago, pre-Pinterest, so I wasn't aware of the cooler ways to display "first year" photos!! And honestly, aside from table cloths and some random confetti thrown in the middle of the table, this was the extent of decorations... The cake table had a balloon bouquet and her smash cake with a small tier of cupcakes (since it was a cupcake theme, she didn't bother having a huge cake made....)

her parties have gotten more complex as she got older and requested different themes.... (2nd toy story, 3rd Disney princesses, 4th wreck it Ralph, and 5th My Little Pony!) But her first was pretty low key!

herbunmyoven

We kept things pretty low key. There were a ton of family members, but we had a basic food/drink/cake/gifts party. M is obsessed with wheels so we had a light construction theme. We mainly just kept everything black and yellow with touches of caution tape. We had snacks in kids hard hats as bowls and made a cake with crushed graham crackers and Oreos to make roads and dirt and put construction toys on top. We planned the whole deal about 2 weeks before. Your little one is going to change so much in the next couple of months, I wouldn't worry too much about it yet. 

We tried to keep it pretty mellow. Next year I am thinking maybe a "Little Blue Truck" theme Nice mix of wheels and animals. But who knows he is already into dinos. 

herbunmyoven

This was his cake. It was actually a cupcake pull apart deal. 

ATXmommas

@mallory4284‌ - love the collage! May have to use that idea!

@herbunmyoven‌ - I do want to keep it pretty low key, and you're right - probably too early to think about it quite yet. I'm just a teensy bit nutty! I love the theme - sounds like a lot of cute touches - hard hats as bowls, super cute! ETA: just saw the pic of the cake - never seen anything like it. Very cool idea!

herbunmyoven

@ATXmommas we started thinking about it early because it was fun. We figured we will wait to go "all out" for a birthday that he is old enough to remember. We are both super crafty, but this year has worn us down I know some people treat 1st birthdays with the same care and budget that we treated our wedding, I just wanted to avoid all of that drama.

I was super excited about the cake smash! Unfortunately M touched it a little bit, pushed it away, and played with his truck. He never even tasted it.

trisholio

We just had baby K birthday party this past weekend with our family. We kept it small with family and a few friends. We did a lady bug theme with cupcakes, fruit salad, veggie tray and chips. I forgot to take pictures of the decorations, ugh. But it was cute, but simple. My opinion is go for more broad themes because then it's easier to find decorations that don't cost an arm and a leg.

ATXmommas

@trisholio‌ - good tip. I would rather save on the party and splurge on some professional family photos.

valeriegp

I didn't really have a theme except "colorful." To save money I printed cupcake toppers and made the two things in the photo I'll attach. The one with his monthly photos was a huge hit. 

Ours was about 20 people just at our house, and it was totally overwhelming for my son. Most of the pictures of him that day were of him crying or unhappy. He didn't like being the center of attention. I was glad that we didn't do more than we did. 

Also, he got a ton of toys (and then more at Christmas -- his bday is 12/22) so we put about half of them away and brought a new one out every couple of months. This has worked really well.

ATXmommas

@themommymonster‌ - that sounds lovely. And, ohmigosh, love the throwback pic of baby C!

newmompeanut

For N's first birthday we did a combined party with B's family, my family, and R's family.  Since we had about 60 people we didn't want anyone to have to host that many people so we went to a local hotel.  We rented the breakfast room and went swimming.  I didn't know what to do as a theme, so we just went with water and whales.  Here are a couple photos I found on facebook.  First photo is the cupcake table and in the background of the second one you can see the photo collage that B made (it was a huge hit and everyone wanted to be looking at the photos!)

bfonz619

We haven't put together a first birthday just yet but, DW and I plan that it will be Hawaiian themed. We were married in the spirit of Aloha and our donor is native Hawaiian so we want to honor both by incorporating this into the theme. 

firstcomeslove2013

We were pretty instrumental in helping my sister plan our niece's 1st bday party. The theme was "cute as a button" so we did a lot of button decorations. They were both cheap and easy to make! The party just consisted of inviting friends and family over, having food and cake and everyone talking and having a good time. They did not have he open gifts in front of everyone. C and I did the cake for the party. I think the key is to not drive yourself nuts. The parties at this stage are really just for parents and family but there is no reason you shouldn't go as big or as little as you want! Excited to hear the theme or flow you are going with!

firstcomeslove2013

We also did a smaller, less sugary "smash cake". It wasn't covered in fondant so she could go crazy...she wasn't as impressed! ;-)

ATXmommas

Love the input, ideas, and pics! That button cake is super duper cute. I really want to keep it small - around 20 people. We don't love near family, so it helps cut down the overall number. I like the idea of going with bright, fun colors with a broad theme. I'm totally not a crafty, Pinterest mom, but sometimes I get carried away with all the ideas out there. Simple and fun is just as great and better for me (less stress!). Look forward to sharing details and pics in a few months!