1St Birthday Party for Baby

Go to a park! It would be fun to have it outside where kids can just run around and the parents can sit and relax. The first birthday is more for the parents anyway. You get more stuff for the baby, a chance to hang out with other adults, you get to eat cake... all the good stuff. I would do it at a park so you don't pay per person, people can come and go as they please, and you really don't have to clean up too much.

We invited our best friends and family over. Our house is SMALL. We had about 15 people over, the majority were kids playing xbox. I made cupcakes (which my 1 year old hated), brownies (which my 1 year old also hated), and wine and beer (which the grown ups loved)... my son opened his presents, pitched a temper tantrum, then went to bed... it was perfect ;) My point is, your 1 year old is going to be WAY overwhelmed by people and presents, stay home. When he's over it, you're not going to want to deal with psycho baby in public. Keep it small, simple, at home, and as quiet as possible, then let the little man go to bed when he's over it!

A park. You can decorate with balloons, take your own food, the kids can play, the parents can relax. This is our old standby when money is tight or the weather is good : )

Really, I would advise you to plane a very short party around his nap time and have it at your house--no matter how small. What about a small canopy for the yard?

Do you have a public pool by your house? Any community center may be a good option too. Nthe pool would keep the odernones occupied with lifeguards on duty. You could use a room very inexpensive. We live in a master planned community, and non residents are allowed to use our beach club and community room. Maybe you know someone that lives somewhere like that and would put their name down. Ours is $50 for residents! Good luck. We did a circus theme for the first and had clown noses, balloon artist, circus peanuts, popcorn and cotton candy with hot dogs and cake.

I agree with Meg, day at the zoo sounds fun, depending on how much everyone is willing to pay lol. Or a park pavillion at a nice park. You can rent the gazebos here for a small fee so it's guaranteed to you... they post it on the park board.

Some cities have places that do birthday parties. Like a place here has these outrageous themes in their huge play room, like crazy cool. And they do parties. Do you have any places that are kids play areas that do parties? Like an indoor bouncy house place?

We had our second son's 1st b-day party at Cousin's BBQ in Burleson because they had a private room you can reserve (didn't cost us a thing!). The family we invited all purchased their own meals and we provided the cake and small decorations. It was great for a family style b-day party. If Burleson is too far south, I'm sure other restaurants in your area offer something similar.

Since his birthday is in the summer and being in Texas I am guessing you prefer an indoor party. :) You can rent a room at the NRH recreation center for $22/hr. I have lots of ideas for activities you could do if you would like to contact me. Luckily we get to see so many creative ideas that Mom's come up with at P.. Good Luck with your party! www.scribblecakes.com

I don't mean to 'bust your bubble' but he's ONE YEAR OLD for goodness sake! He's NOT going to remember it and will, most likely, be too overwhelmed to enjoy it. When my granddaughter turned one, we met at the house (grandmas/grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins and a couple of close friends). We planned it right after lunch time (HER).....we let her get all messy with her cake, took loads of pictures, opened a couple of gifts (she didn't really understand the concept) and cleaned her up and put her to bed. Trust me - that's about all they need. Then the kids can play outside or whatever, the adults can have some refreshments and call it a day.

Believe me, it's not worth the expense and mayhem! Do yourself (and everyone else) a favor and wait a few years until he really knows what's going on and enjoy it!

Have you ever been to No Frills up on Denton Highway? They might have another location closer to you but this is a restaurant/bar but it is a family atmosphere. We had a family bday there last year and food was great and cheap. They have a separate room and i believe it is free (but double check). Everyone can order on separate checks and they also have a gameroom for the older kids to keep them occupied. The games at 25 or 50 cents each.

Is there a local pizza parlor that has a "special events" room that you could use? I live in a small, one-horse town in Nevada and our local Pizza Factory has the "Dustdevil Den" (our HS mascot is the Dustdevil) and you can reserve it (free of charge) for a birthday party or whatever. They have great food, friendly staff and a handful of arcade games. I usually bring a couple rolls of quarters to hand out to the kids for the games and the adults just sit around and talk. When the pizza arrives, we all chow down then open presents. After presents, is cake and more games.

Truly, this is the easiest party ever.

Another thought is reserving a spot at a local park. Plenty for the kids to do and lots of fresh air and space for adults to chit chat. This is what we did for my 17 year old's first birthday and it was a blast.

Good luck!

church social hall
park pavillion
day at the zoo
day at the carnival

If you invite people to something that requires admission such as the zoo or a carnival, then you as the host MUST PAY THEIR WAY IN as well as their food and drinks for the day. You can't expect guests to pay their way in or they're not actually guests for your party.

So what you can do is call local zoos or indoor playscapes and ask them if they do group rates for parties the way Chuck E. Cheese and movie theaters do. Ask them what's included (pizza? drinks? icecream? cake? party hat? balloons? private room? special time with some animals of choice?).