give your advice about first birthday parties

longhorngal · January 2009

what to have....what not to have.....cake or cupcakes....anything!!! tia

MrsDR1015 · January 2009

We just had something really simple at our house. Cake and pizza, a few balloons, sodas. We had a pull-apart cake for the big cake and she had a smaller smash cake. I would recommend the pull-apart cake, because everyone was able to have their choice of chocolate or vanilla...

stephensweetie · January 2009

We just had ours today!!! The best thing I did was have a photographer there. I think knowing she was there made me at ease and it totally slipped my mind to take any pictures. I finally took a few, but not near as many as I would have. We had chick-fil-a nuggets, a veggie tray, sliced apples (the only fruit in season), and chips and dip. I made the cake (thought it was going to be a huge mistake, but turned out way better than I expected). I can't say what not to have, because his party was everything I wanted.

abpdjs · January 2009

imho, simple, lol! there are going to be plenty of years down the road of elaborate big birthdays. for ds's first it was strictly family which amounted to 18 people. we had pizza, drinks, cake, ice cream, presents, of course we decorated. total cost was about 100. it just depends on what you prefer and what you want for dc. this is what worked well for us, hth!

Daisy77 · January 2009

Keep it short. The activity and attention can be overwhelming!

For DD#2 we had a few close friends and immediate family...my siblings, DH's siblings (and their spouses and kids) our parents, and grandparents. Wound up being 40 people (I have 8 siblings). We served lunch (sandwiches, fruit, chips, etc) and then did the cake right away. We did a 1/2 sheet cake for everyone else and a little cake for DD#2 for her to smash into (which she had zero interest in doing!) After that we did gifts. Thankfully DD#1 and DS helped her or we would still be sitting there today, lol. I set up our video camera on a tripod for that so I could actually watch what was going on instead of directing a camera. It was all done in 2 hours and she went down for a nap right away as she was dealing with an ear infection (diagnosed the day before) as well. I also think she needed some personal time to be alone...lots of excitement! It was nice though...everyone got to see her, take pictures, etc. and then visit afterwards.

StageDva · January 2009

Things that worked (and didn't work) for us:

1. Kept it short. At this age 1.5 - 2 hours is plenty.

2. Keep it small. It can be overwhelming to have so many people at your 1st B-day party.

3. Keep it simple - Just do finger foods. No one expects a fancy or big meal. Veggies, fruit, dip, etc.

4. We did cake for the adults and individual cupcakes for the little ones.

5. At the party, keep an eye on the time. It will get away from you. Don't let it go too long.

6. Assign a person to take pictures (or get a photographer.) You won't be sorry, and obviously, you won't have time to take pictures yourself.

JDB3358 · January 2009

I agree about the photographer. Thankfully a family member is a photographer and she was on hand to take pictures. There was so much going on, there is no way I could have taken them. Plus, it was such a relief knowing that the ones she took would turn out great. I also agree with keeping an eye on the time. If you have alot planned, you may want to come up with a schedule for the day. I had tons of stuff planned, and before I knew it the party was into its 3rd hour and we had not done cake or presents yet.

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