Don't Know What to Do for My Son's First Birthday...

For our oldest daughter's first birthday, we had a cocktail party. We figured, she won't remember it, and we were darned proud of ourselves for living through her first year! (And by then, we just really needed a stiff drink.) We invited close friends and family, and a few of them brought their kids. We had it at a local Italian restaurant - it was not exactly a "family" restaurant, but of course it was fine to bring kids there.

My recommendation is to not try and schedule any big, over the top event. There's plenty of time for that when your child turns 4 and has some clue what their birthday is all about. For the first birthday, just do what makes you happy and won't stress you out. =)

Keep it simple, keep it small. Your son will be happy to have some treats, but won't remember much else, if he makes it through it! :)

Invite as many babies as you wish! Just know that at one year old you are doing this party for yourself more than for your child. He really won't know the difference or understand the occasion. But do what you want and have fun! He'll only be one once.

I like Cahterine's idea, that is funny. We just had our daughter's first and did a small bbq at our house. Family and close friends. If your friends have kids then great, but don't worry about having to invite kids. At this stage it's more for the parents and your son will have fun being with you. Keep is short and simple. Put your son down for a nap and relax with your friends. You deserve it!

Hi A., for my sons first birthday I went to the bakery and purchased a tiny cake just for him. I had close family over we got a few gifts and let him make a mess and we sung happy birthday. I did'nt have a huge party only because he did'nt understand the concept of birthdays. He played in his cake then he went to sleep. The first three years should be nothing to expensive. You can still have close friends and family with their babies come and celebrate his first birthday. I would recommend having it at home. You dont know how the weather is going to be. Hope this helps.

My suggestion would be to keep it simple, because a large crowd could be a bit overwhelming for a one-year-old (and his parents!).
Since weather is a concern for November, you could look into renting a room in a community center (such as the clubhouse at Arlington Park in El Cerrito) or having it at a restaurant with rooms that can be reserved for parties (I've known parents who would have their parties at places like the Round Table Pizza in Pinole that has an indoor play area, although that's better suited for toddlers and older.) You might want to check into places like Play Cafe or Tumble and Tea that are designed to accomodate littler ones.