Your baby's 1st Birthday

[Staraglimmer]

What did you do for you baby's first birthday? Who did you invite? I know she won't remember, but I want to celebrate anyway.

[sarahsthreads]

We had a big (40+ people) family party at home. Granparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, our friends and their kids, etc. But DD1 always has been a little social butterfly and was not at all upset or concerned about that many people in the house. I made a special rainbow themed cake and cupcakes, and everyone brought gifts which she was thrilled to open. We gave her a chocolate cupcake of her very own on her high chair tray - though technically it wasn't quite her first, as I'd given her a little bit of one the day before while baking them to be sure she wasn't going to break out in hives at her party! It all could have gone badly if DD1 was a more sensitive child, so I think it would really depend on your DD's personality.

And even though DD1 doesn't remember the actual event, just this morning we were looking at pictures of her birthday party, of her with cake smooshed all over her face, and she was thrilled. I think especially now with her baby sister getting lots of attention, DD1 loves to look back at pictures from when she was the baby and got all the attention. So I'm glad we did the whole huge party thing, if only for the pictures!

[maestramommy]

We had mostly family parties at my parents' house for the girls' first birthdays. Whichever cousins were available and one GF that I'm still in touch with. It was a lunch/brunch, and just basically hanging out. For Arwyn's bday there were more kids and my parents had a Little Tykes play structure by that time, so we spent a lot of time outside. Everyone doesnt get to see each other much so it's a good time just to chat and catch up. No games or anything. Just decent food, cake and ice cream.

Having small parties started out because I went to a couple of huge 1st parties, and if the kid was shy he didn't really have a good time. Dora was VERY shy and I knew she would just freak with that many people. So we kept it small, and according to the pics she had a great time. Arwyn's more social, but still has more fun if the group is smaller. We have a pic of her with her first cake, and she's got the biggest toothiest grin. I'll always remember that!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Ds1- Major party with lots of friends and extended family invited. He did fine with the crowd till it came time to sing Happy Birthday; he started to cry when all those people stood around him and sang. I knew that he had needed a bit of quiet time before the cake time but my mom insisted on moving the party along. Had I followed my gut and taken him upstairs alone for a few minutes he might have been able to handle it better. He perked up after that though and the party continued on well. We bought a cake at a bakery and made lots of yummy food. For decorations I put up pictures of him through his first year. (a friend of mine had her favorite pics made into 5X7s and distributed them as favors. She may have even bought frames for them, I think.)

Ds2- After ds1's experience I opted for just immediate families (15 total people). It was great! We had pizza, sang "happy birthday" and opened presents (with lots of time for mingling). I made a giant cupcake for him (Wilton specialty pan) as well as 4 small cupcakes that I put in Wilton silly feet cupcake holders (one of those was his own to smash into). I got into making b-day cakes for my boys a few years ago and I love doing it. Even if you aren't a great baker I urge you to give it a try. :) For decorations I had 2 collages made on Shutterfly of ds2's first year (I had been taking pics of him with blocks that spelled out "X Months" all year long so I used them- one collage of the silly outtakes and one of the more perfect ones). I remembered to decorate his highchair this time too so it made for cute pictures. My other tradition is to have all the family members write a letter/ note to ds (favorite memory, prediction...). I love reading the letters again over the years. We looked for a 1st b-day shirt for him on Etsy but ultimately made our own.

Scheduling is really important. Make it for a time baby will be awake and happy. With ds1 we started the party at 11 and naps were normally around 2. With ds2 I decided to start the party at 4:30 (even though I knew the b-day boy may still have been napping) so he was perky and ready to go. You know your child so look for the best time for them.

Both of their parties had pros and cons. My advice is just know your child and plan the party that you think would be best for them, rather than what you might want. :)

Beth

[BabyMine]

We had about 5 family members. The most important thing for me was that cake moment. My son didn't want to touch the cake so I had to smear it on his face so I could get some good shots.

[zag95]

We are about to have the first BD in a week- so I was curious about this!

We invited grandparents, uncles, godparents, a couple of extended relatives (great aunt, uncle and great-grandma!) and a couple of friends with babies the same age. I didn't want it to be too overwhelming. Our DD does pretty well with people.

I am doing a small birthday cake (so DD can stick her hands in, etc) and cupcakes for the adults, along with punch and some snack type foods. I think it will be mellow enough- and she'll have fun!

[brittone2]

We had a brunch with a bunch of friends and family. Most of our friends didn't have kids yet, so it was primarily adults with a few family members' kids scattered in the mix.

I made two breakfast bake types of recipes...strata and baked overnight french toast. We had a juice bar with some fun picks from Trader Joes. Mimosas.

Cake for adults. DS had a bday cake without dairy or wheat. He was sensitive to dairy when he was under a year and we hadn't introduced it at that point. He was very tired by cake time and overdue for a nap. In retrospect, we needed a shorter party.

DD's 1st bday was just our little family plus the grandparents (we are in a different state now, so not as many old friends and family). We got a Spiel und Holz birthday ring for her 1st bday and that's a new family tradition (we use it for everyone's bday).

[gatorsmom]

For Gator, I emptied our 3-season's porch of most furniture and spread toys all over the floor. It's got a nice soft carpeting on it and is very, very well lit, so all us 10 moms sat on the floor and played with our babies who were approx the same ages as Gator. I served appetizers (mom and baby friendly) and then cake. It was like a big playdate with cake and no gifts. Then, that weekend, my family who lives out of town, came for a birthday dinner and we had more cake and they gave gifts.

For Cha Cha it was pretty much the same thing but with fewer families and sibs were allowed.

For the twins, I invited ONE mom who happened to have a baby the twins' age and a boy that Gator and Cha Cha both play well with. I served make-it-yourself sandwiches from cheese and meat cut with a cookie-cutter (shaped like flowers and stars). The boys and babies played for awhile and then the boys had fun putting their sandwiches together and us moms had sandwiches and salad. We all had pink and blue cupcakes with the number "1" on them for dessert. My relatives came for a separate party and I bought a cake with some pretty decorations on it.

I never made the cakes for our birthday parties. I always buy a special one with special decorations. However, I'm proud of the fact that I always MADE the invitations (they had a "scrapbooking" look to them) for my kids' first birthday parties. I make an extra one for their baby books. I also really enjoyed hanging streamers (sp) and balloons everywhere so the house looked really festive.

Each year for their subsequent birthdays we've really continued doing pretty much the same routine except that on the actual DAY of their birthday, I get a tiny little cake and we put a candle on it and celebrate again. I think it would feel funny if we didn't do a little something for the actual day of their birthday, kwim?

[lorinick]

We had about 30 people over to our home in the summer time. Our son had a great time with everyone and was loving being pushed around the yard in his new wagon by the older children at the party. The cake moment was great he had a ball. He was not scared or overwhelmed. I thought he may be. It was great party for our family and friends to enjoy. It was a long time coming for us. It was a long hard struggle to have baby number two. The party was great.

[pb&j]

We went completely overboard. Oh boy. We invited *everyone*. We had about 75 people, and two different musical acts (we are lucky to have friends who are musicians). We had a keg for the grownups; cupcakes, a bubble machine, toys, and goodie bags for the kids; and a huge spread. It was SO MUCH FUN, and really exhausting. We had more people there than we had at our wedding reception! I'm glad we did it, but am not sure we could pull of Babypalooza 2.0 for DD. I am pretty sure we want to give her some kind of big party, though. We worked so very hard and went through so much to have children, that when the time came to celebrate, we REALLY celebrated.

DS's bdays have gotten smaller and smaller - his second b-day, we had a few friends over to our basement for cupcakes. And this year, we just took DS and one friend to the fire station for a tour and then out for ice cream.

[lmwbasye]

For both boys, we have always done decent sized parties. Family and some friends invited. It has gone well each time.

I know that they don't remember it, but DS1 LOVES looking at all the pictures and video, and really the celebration was in some ways for DH and I...it's always an accomplishment of sorts to reach that first year in your child's life. LOL!

[AnnieW625]

We had a family party at my parent's house with some of our close friends, maybe 20 people max.; there was only one other little boy there. We had lots of drinks, and food. It was fun. I think simple is better esp. at 1. I don't see why people have such elaborate parties. If I had musician friends though I would've invited them too!

[Melaine]

We had just family, maybe 12 people. Our kids are SO shy and sensitive that this was even a little overwhelming for them at that age. We did homemade banana bread with plain whipped "frosting" (no sugar). They enjoyed it since they'd never tasted any kind of dessert or candy. We got lots of pictures. It just depends on your situation. We had a great time with our very small, low-key event!

[hez]

We had a cookout at our house and invited family and close friends from church. The friends from church are surrogate grandparents and aunts & uncles (and their kids are like brothers & sisters) for our kids, so it was pretty much like having a huge family party.

I think we'll do the same for DD. DS is moving on to kid-centered parties, so it'll be nice to have a birthday party for DD with all her grown-up (and not-so grown up) friends :)

[Staraglimmer]

Would it be crazy if I rented a spacewalk to keep cousins entertained? I think that Hailey might enjoy it. I would enjoy it. There would be about 6 kids.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Would it be crazy if I rented a spacewalk to keep cousins entertained? I think that Hailey might enjoy it. I would enjoy it. There would be about 6 kids.

If it floats your boat, go for it. :) But, be sure to keep Hailey out if her cousins are bigger. That is one of the big safety rules with those- make sure there isn't a size discrepancy between users.

Beth

[kijip]

1st b-day for T was parents, grandparents, godparents and uncle over to watch him eat his first cake. Following my family tradition, that cake was a fancy black forest cherry cake and he got the first swipes before I cut the mostly unmarred portions up for guests. Cute pictures. I tied some balloons to his high chair. Then the following Saturday we had friends and playgroup peeps to a park for a picnic with ice cream cake from Ben and Jerry's. The kids played on the tiny tots park equipment. I think there were about 15 adults and 6 or 7 kids.

Birthdays 2-5 have all been essentially the same formula as the picnic above but on a larger scale in terms of food and guests (hovering around 50, it's the only party we throw each year anymore and the outdoor factor has kept it low key for the adults and kids). I started making all the theme cakes from scratch and decorating them (Big Bird one year then Thomas then Cars then the solar system). This year T asked if his party (not for 5 months yet) could be at one of those bouncy places where you jump for an hour and then get a party room with cake etc so I just called in and made a reservation. I am going to just do salad, pizza, punch and cake for food and I think it will actually come out a tad cheaper than the big bbq beach park picnics. And way less work for me to juggle with a 6 month old. No clean up. They provide everything (balloons, tableware, set up etc) except the food and cake.

For Finn I don't know what we will do because his b-day is so close to Christmas. I am thinking that will be throwing the party in early January and indoors of course because it's winter so no sunny parks. We have a small house to boot. I might rent a room at the community center or something where they have tot toys indoors or something. That costs about $40 here.