1st Birthday Party Ideas ??

farintea

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas and or tips on planning a first birthday party... we are having it at a park in a couple months. The park has picnic tables, horseshoes and a jungle gym. We were planning on cooking out and having hamburgers and hotdogs. We were thinking of going with a nautifcal/blue/one theme..... anything cool we should do? Should we have a craft table? How about favors, is that a must? For the hamburgers should we bring onions, lettuce and tomatoes and all those toppings? Anything fun we should do?

I'm a first timer and just want to make it the best!

Thanks in advance... I would love to hear what everyone has done!

anonsouthernbell

We had my son's first birthday party, well one of them, at a local park and I didn't plan anything else activity wise.  I figured that we were at a park so no need and it went beautifully.  All the kids had a great time.  Originally, I was going to have hamburgers/hot dogs on the grill, but then I was worried about one of the kids getting hurt on the grill, so we opted to bring pizza, fresh fruit, and other items instead.  For the party favors, I made them age appropriate and included books, homemade musical instruments for the one year olds, crayons, and fruit snacks as well as a few odds and ends.

farintea

Thank you!!!

Ok, so I probably don't need to go crazy on this hahah.

madladybride

My daughter's 1st b-day was mostly an adult party. We don't know a whole lot of kids her age - there was only 1 other kid. We had it inside and served tex-mex food. We invited family and friends and just hung out. If she hadn't been born in January, we might have done it outside...

anonsouthernbell

LoveLossHopeRepeat:

farintea:

Thank you!!!

Ok, so I probably don't need to go crazy on this hahah.

It's so easy to get caught up in the excitement of it, though. I think most of us have been there  

My best advice after 4 parties: enjoy the opportunity for lower-key parties while you can. I know it's only a matter of time before my daughter's begging for her parties to be hosted somewhere with 20 kids in attendance, and I'm loathe to start sinking that kind of money into a single party. I love that, for now, she's content with parties at home with family and just a few friends.

Same for holidays. Christmas was cheap for the first few years - she didn't know any better! Pleas for expensive gadgets will come later, so I'm enjoying her simple requests now. It's so much easier on my budget

ITA...I actually buy the majority of my son's Christmas presents at yard sales over the summer.  (I hid the toys in the attic).  He doesn't know any better and some of his favorite toys I bought for $1 or $4, compared to $10 and even $50 plus.

farintea

Good Idea... I know, I hate to say it but this was his first Christmas and we really didn't do presents...  he didn't know and he had SOOO many coming from other family members..