***Need Advice from Creative Moms****!!!

Just a tip- Publix gives a free "personal" cake to one year olds if you order the "big" cake with them and their cakes are yummy! (My Sabrina will be 1 on March 21!)

join toys r us birthday club. or go online. they sent me a booklet about first b-day.

My favorite goodies from parties that my children have received in the past aren't goodie bags full of "stuff", but one special thing....books are great and you can usually find an inexpensive book that ties in with your theme. Another fun party favor my child received was a bubble blowing set (a huge plastic container full of fun bubble blowers and bubble stuff). You can usually find one fun item for around $3 to $6 (which is what you would probably spend on each child's goodie bag anyway). In the past, I have wrapped up a book or tied a decorative ribbon around the item with a computer printed note attached to it from the birthday girl (thanking the guest for coming to her party). I love it when my kids come home with something that they will love to use instead of a bag of candy and Oriental Trading stuff that breaks in 1 day....good luck and have fun! Hope your little girl enjoys her party!

oh my gosh!
i have a lot of good ideas! i tear out really cool things from magazines that i see that i like and keep them in a
3-ring binder with birthday ideas!
my husband and i have a 3 1/2 year old girl and i love the theme we did for her first birthday party!
please give me a phone call ( ###-###-#### ) and i can give you tons of ideas for a baby's first birthday party! we did a "yellow" theme for our little girl....and i've kept all the stuff too...or you can pick any color really. then for her 2nd b-day we did polka-dots and bouncy balls! and her 3rd birthday this past may was a "messy art party" out in our front yard! i love coming up with themes and planning out kid's parties. please give me a phone call and i'd love to help! the 1st birthday is really more for the parents and family any way (as the kid doesn't quite know what's going on just yet!!) it's a celebration for the parents, the special child, and the family to celebrate that first amazing and miraculous year of changes!! call me and we can plan something awesome!
S.
ph#: ###-###-####

For both of my chidren's first birthdays I had everyone that came to the party to write a one-line Birthday Wish for my child. Ex. My first was an Elmo theme and I found some cute elmo note pads that I used for goodies. (I had mostly adults at my party.) I saved one and that is what I had everyone write their wish on. After the party I made a collage (sp.) with the wishes and put it in his baby book. Also if you are purchasing your birthday cake from a local grocery store (I know bi-lo will because that's where I get my cakes from) will give you a free small cake or cupcake for your child for his first birthday (for him to "play in"). Also you can find some really cool and inexpensive stuff for goodie bags at the dollar store. If I were you I would not worry to much about games unless there are going to be several children at your party because believe me the adults HATE to participate. Also keep in mind that adults can entertain themselves as long as they have good food and good company (they're just there because they love your child, and want to share this monumental occasion). If you are having quite a few children at the party and want to have games and crafts check online and your local library for party books. They have some cool ideas for almost every theme. To keep the cost down, try your local craft store (like Michael's and AC moore)and the dollar store, and make your own decorations, party favors, etc. Oh yeah, bubbles and balloons are great too. I know both of my boys loved those at one. Good Luck! Hope this helps.

I had a shower for a friend this summer and purchased various colored baby bottles with the same color lids. I Filled them with Skittles and M&M's, then put bows around them. They were a hit. Many of the girls had other small children so the candy did not go to waste!

Hi! We did a "Rock Star" theme for our son's first. The invite looked like a backstage pass to a concert with a lanyard. "Austin and His Noisy Toys" was the band name, and we listed "tour dates" for whatever upcoming trips we had planned at the time. I just laminated something I worked up on the computer, punched a hole, and attached a lanyard from the office supply store. I had star decorations and star lanterns as well as balloon bouquets in light and dark blue and a cake decked out in stars. I used stars and those two shades of blue to keep the visual theme in decorations, napkins, everything really. We gave CDs we made using iTunes with 50's rock and roll music as favors (fun songs that kids like to move around to) and had that playing during the party. Our son got a bunch of fun themed gifts from the family, like toy guitars and drums, even a Harley rocking "horse." The whole thing was really quite easy, a lot of fun, and Austin is still known as the "rock star" of the family. :) It's not a very "baby" theme (we've never really been that type), and I see that you have a little girl, but I thought a new idea might get your creative juices flowing. If this theme does sound fun to you, let me know and I'll be happy to send along some of the stuff we did (invite, etc.)

I completely second the recommendation to get someone else to take a bunch of pictures - you'll definitely be too distracted! If you're looking for a really special cake, we had Matty Cakes in Midtown (http://www.mattycakes.com/) do our cake - it had two layers and we used the top layer as his "mush" cake. I can't recommend them enough if you're looking for something special. In retrospect, we absolutely could have done something simpler for the cake - it was amazing and looks great in the pictures, but we had so much leftover! It was a great cake for a first, special birthday, but we'll tone it down a bit next time, I'm sure. Good luck to you! Happy birthday, little one!

Birthday theme related sippy cups, baby cookies or other baby snacks (the Gerber stages stuff they make fruit snacks, cookies, and cereal bars).

My daughter is now 15 and we have so many wonderful birthday memories. From 1 to about 7 we picked themes, usually things that she wsa really in to. 1st year she was crazy about Barney.
So we had someone come as Barney, we had the Barney cake, ice cream and finger sandwiches, fruit and veg. tray. For the bags I put in of course Barney things. 2nd year I had some one come in and do a puppet show and for goodies I gave small puppets.
For the goodie bags at age one you can always put in a small soft animal.
Good luck!
P. W.

A.,

I've given balloons to the kids to take home. For this age you might want Mylar balloons. Maybe a Beanie baby? And my son loves the bubbles he's gotten as favors at other parties. Maybe photos of the kids having phone if you have a Polaroid or a digital photo printer. Don't go overboard on cake as all the baby cares about is that it tastes good and makes a nice mess. If you can follow the directions on a Betty Crocker cake box do that and do cupcakes for the children. I think games are ambitious. Just have fun.

R.

A.,

You should try stuffing the bags with some of the age appropriate snacks from Gerber and some soft plushy items.

I read alot of good advice from the other mom's, they are true about it's mostly adults, so keep it simple and that way YOU will be able to enjoy it more!

Also, give your child a small cake and have a pre-mini birthday with just the family. My son had never had a cake shoved in front of him and he spazzed, even though he loved cake and sweets since we had let him try them by now, there were just too many people, which kept me too busy to give him my complete attention, and he got overwhelmed I think. We had just moved to a new base, hardly new anybody and decided to make it into a BBQ/bday party to get to know people.

And you should get somebody you know well to take aLOT of pictures for you, you will be too busy to remember, and make sure they know you want pictures of everything so it has to be someone not shy about taking them! I gave mine to a teenager there and they had fun with it.

Trust me, everyone will enjoy themselves, they know they are there for a first birthday and the simplier you keep it, the better time everyone will have, because no matter how simple or involved the party will be, you will still be busy!!

Hi A.,

I think they would love a bubble machine. Something else they would love is painting with pudding where they can lick it off their fingers. As for goodie bags, how about some homemade playdough. Cheap to make and much softer for little hands. It's also used at school to develop their hand muscles. Have fun, they only turn 1 once!

I don't know if you think this might be too much for kids, but you could always get simple clay pots (terracota pots), put some soil in a bag, and then put some flower seeds in another bag. It would provide a project for the parent and child team and then the child can watch some flowers grow!

The best goodie bag our ds got at a birthday party had maracas and a little inflatable beach ball in it. He absolutely loved those toys.

Instead of goodie bags you could give out coloring books and crayons. I've done that before and everyone was happy.

I did the same kind of party for my little one when she turned one (she's almost 4 now).
We had the party at our house and just invited family and close friends. One thing that my daughter (and the other little ones her age) really enjoyed was a bubble machine. I found one at Target. You feel it with a huge bottle of bubbles and it spins huge bubbles out for awhile. I'll never forget my birthday girl standing in the middle of all those bubbles laughing. The older kids enjoyed trying to catch them.
I did appetizer foods and a cake. Our theme was pink and yellow flowers because I figured that it was the only year that I was going to be able to choose the theme.
Good Luck and most importantly----RELAX and have Fun with her on the big day. Its a celebration for you too...you have made it thru the first year of motherhood.

Hi! I'm coming up on that milestone, too. I'm thinking of something big kids would enjoy as well as little ones. My ideas are balls and bubbles. Two things it seems like no one ever outgrows. You can come up with simple, but structures games with balls.Use bright colored balls, like red and blue. You can have cups, plates etc to match. Goodie bags...If you go with a theme, alot of times you can find plastic cups with the same theme. Put those in the bags with age appropriate candy or treats. Or try little books or bubbles. Also read a great tip in Baby Mag. include a short Thank You for Coming Note in each bag. Know how many kids are coming and their ages and make the bag ahead of time. M., in Sc

First birthdays are so much fun! You didn't mention the age of the chilren coming to the party.I agree, treat bags can be lame. I've been giving age appropriate gifts instead of goodie bags. For my daughter's 2nd birthday I gave out dress up shoes to the girls and trains to the boys.They were happy to open their own gifts. I don't think any activites are really necessary. I've given all my children on their first birthdays their own small cake or cupcake to eat themselves. The pictures of them digging in are priceless!

Hi A.!
I know a lot of people thought i was crazy going all out for my sons 1st birthday but it was such a great time! We had a lady from the puppet playhouse come over and do a puppet show for the kids! She did such a great job and all the other kids had a great time as well. He is 16 months and people are still talking about his 1st birthday party. Email me if you want more information. Have fun planning and don't be afraid to go all out! They only have one first birthday!

Hi A.!
I make Almond Butter cookies in all shapes and designs. Many people buy little baggies of cookies that match the theme. For instance a volleyball, dog, palm tree...You can have the number 1 as a cookie in the colors you are doing. Just a thought. My company is Pieces of Heaven. I do not have a website yet but if you need any pictures of anything please let me know!!!
J.

If you have a Gymboree play program near you, stop in to see some of their items. We sell several items for $5. or less such as bells, balls, and puzzles at our site. Most should be appropriate for a 1 year old. You could take individaul pictures of the children and have some inexpensive frames for the grownups to decorate with stickers and markers. A nice remeberance of the day. Good luck!

If you want to do something different for your goodie bags, we bought t-shirts from a lady on ebay. She started her business because her son wanted kid show t's that she couldn't find. And she does a deal for birthdays.
http://stores.ebay.com/Wonder-Shirts-by-Jenniflower

I haven't gotten my shirts yet but I have ordered them. We're doing t-shirts that go with the theme, stickers of theme and a mylar balloon. Wilton makes a lot of great cake pans that make it easy decorate characters. Because I'm doing a couple cakes, I also ordered a cake picture from ebay. That I did get already and the lady was wonderful. My 2 yr old chose Super Why for a theme and there aren't cake pans. I figured out how to make the individual characters with icing but I really like the picture for the cake and the cupcakes.

http://stores.ebay.com/Thermal-Curtains-and-More

Let your daughter have fun with her cake and be prepared to clean up!

A., this is going to be fun. Go to you local craft store, ie Michael's or Hobby Lobby. Get a soap making kit or something like that. Something fun for bathtime. Every mom would appreciate that. Hope your day is great!

What about seeing if someone you know has a Polaroid camera? You can take a picture of your little sweet pea with each of the kids & then get cute little Dollar Store frames to put them in. It's something sentimental & fun that they will cherish for a long time! And, it's pretty cheap. If you don't know anyone with a Polaroid, look into camera equipment rental places. It's less expensive than you would think. Have fun & CONGRATS on making it through the first year! :o)

Hi for my son's 1st B-Day we had a little kiddie pool filled with plastic balls and all the babies that came I put gerber finger buffs and biter biscuits, teethers that sort of thing in their goody bags. Everyone loved it. We designated one room for the kids to play in because most of them were all close to turning one put stuffed animals in one corner the kiddie pool in the center. They all had a great time.I also sat out puffs and biter biscuits as snacks so the kids loved it. As far as the bigger kids I usually do candy, pencils, bubbles they tend to be used or eaten quickly so you don't have party toys laying around their houses for weeks. Hope it helps a little.

Hi, congratulations on your first daughter's birthday. My 2nd granddaughter's birthday was yesterday. We had her party this past weekend at CiCi's pizza. I can tell you that the first and second birthdays are mainly for the adults. 1 & 2 year olds could care less. We did have a a few older kids there. Also my daughter had a picture of my granddaughter on the cake (Walmart and a few other places do this). You need to have a snap shot of her and they make a picture out of icing. Also, I guess it's the tradition to have a separate little cake for your daughter to play in and make a mess of all over her face (take lots of pictures). As far as goodie bags are concern, it will depend on who are getting them. If you are giving them to adults, a small framed picture (with birthday) of your daughter would be a nice touch. If children are getting them, maybe a small toy, healthy snacks (crackers, gummi bears, etc) would be a good idea. Hope some of this helps.

a very neat thing my daughters's friend did for her youngest childs 1st was....... had a portrait done at Wal-Mart, bought a mat for the 8x10 picture, had all the birthday guests or parents sign the mat with birthday wishes. My daughter and her friend are both Army wives and they travel a lot. I thought this would be a great birthday party idea no matter what age their child is to remember who they were friends with at the time. Don't see why it wouldn't work for any child.

You might want to scan some photos and print them on colored construction paper, using only the black ink(I've used yellow paper because the black ink shows up well).
When you print them smaller, you can put about 6-8 on a page and cut them out for thank you's/tags on the goody bags, even as place cards, use rattles/diaper pins with tags attached. You can find them(rattles/pins) at party supply stores. Maybe just a simple photo frame for a gift and some full size bags of M&M's.
Good luck!

When I had my sons first birthday, I put bubbles and little watches, balls that can't be swallowed and crayons. Things that I thought a child could use and enjoy. If you put candy, most parents will throw it away.

May be some washable body paint or markers? Let them draw on each other and they will love it, parents can be involved too! Also for games at the party u can have all the kids and adults draw on the same HUGE piece of paper, put their hand and foot prints on it, that would be fun. Have evrybody help u clean up later too.

For the goodie bags at my sons first birthday i collected all the large baby food jars i could. i cleaned the lables off and decerated the glass. then i took sqares of fabric and hot glued them to the lids. i filled the jars with candy and closed it up and tied a fabric ribbon around the fabric on the lids to make it lay down. everyone loved it.

Try the dollar store, you find great stuff for a buck. That's what I did with my son for his 2nd birthday. You can get the bags, balloons, plates, cups, forks etc. Plus cute little toys, bubbles, noise makers, candy. Also walmart has great stuff for cheap but you have to look carefully and scan the isles for stuff. Publix supermarkets have great cakes for girls too. Just start early and look around you will find stuff that you like. If you don't want to make alot of the food you can either go to Sam's, b.J.s etc they have party appetizers that are easy to prepare.

Birthdayinabox.com and other similar things (Google search on 1st birthday parties) have great ideas from themes to games to goodies. They sell things too, but you can get some of the same things at Party City.
I made chocolates for the adults (just a few pieces in a cellophane bag) and did a little crayon set, coloring book, and small toy in the kids bags...

A popular website to try is www.familyfun.com. They have tons of great advice, very creative and frugal. Good luck and I hope it turns out wonderfully!!

what are the ages of the other children attending???
sippy cups {dollar store}, with boxes of raisins, teething rings, and as much other similar stuff as will fit {and you can afford}...
mom's appreciate that kind of thoughtfulness {i know i did}...
if there are older children... just upgrade the idea...
the first years makes "take and toss" sippies in sesame street, pixar's cars, and disney princesses...
maybe a small {4} box of crayons, stickers, ect....
bigger kids maybe get cartoon tumblers...
filled with pencils, erasers, maybe {if you can find it} a pencil sharpener too

me

I applaud you trying to keep it light and non-stressful. I did the same. We just had a few friends and family members. My daughter loved snowmen at the time, so it was a winter theme. But, by theme I mean the cake was a snowman and the gifts for the other children were great warm hats for the boys and scarves for the girls. They weren't that expensive...at Target... and the parents were so happy to have something they can actually use.
Exactly one month from today, my 2nd baby turns one. She loves balls, so I will make a small cake into the shape of a ball and give balls out as gifts to the kids.
It's key to find what your kid really loves, and as long as it's simple, translate that into a party.
I hope this helps! By the way...it's the first birthday, if you have time...and I know that's hard to find...I'd just make the cake and save the money. Only my opinion of course...do whatever you think will be special for you all.

I am not too good with goodie bags so how about books. I saw at Target that they have Elmo paperbacks for $1. My son loves Elmo and with books you can't go wrong..you could also add some finger paints but I wouldn't add too much considering the age group..I hope that helps. As for the cake I do know if you order your cake from Publix bakery and tell them that it is for a 1st birthday that you get a free mini cake for the birthday girl..the icing isn't as sweet..and it will give her a cake to "play" with..Good Luck!
J.

You might be placing a little too much stress on yourself!! If your child is going to be one, have a party, but goodie bags aren't a necessity - they're not even aware of it at this age. When my daughter turned one, I took a white cake mix and separated it into 4 bowls and dyed each bowl a different bright color. Then I put the cake mix in the pan a spoonful at a time. The result was a very bright, colorful cake that the kids all enjoyed. The diaper was quite interesting too :(.

If there are "older" kids there, maybe take a picture of them with the baby and print it right then to give them. Kids absolutely LOVE this. Or maybe give them some silly putty if they're a little older.

Celebrate getting through a year!! Maybe give all the moms a little bag of soothing bath powder or something like that?

Have fun and don't stress over the mechanics! Cake and ice cream and enjoy the friendships that you have :).

Hi A.!!
I know what you mean about having that awesome 1st birthday and making it memorable. Just to let you know (in case you are interested) I do FIRST BIRTHDAY plates ... take a look if you'd like :

http://dejaroomgifts.com/item_9/Hand-Painted-Ceramic-Birt...

ALSO, I have done a plate for a birthday where every guest signs the plate (like the outer rim)...makes for a great memory and centerpiece.

I do party favors as well... just let me know what you are thinking (only if you are interested...I sure don't want to bug you if you already have this figured out!!!) oh, and fingerfoods are great for that first birthday!!

THANKS,
B.
www.dejaroomgifts.com

Well, I guess the first question would be: what are the ages of the children who will be coming to the party? That's going to play a major role in the activies you plan, as well as the goodie bags you hand out. First of all, don't set yourself up for disappointment. Your child is going to have no recollection of this day. Furthermore, if you plan too much, she will find it overwhelming, and you may end up with a very cranky birthday girl. For my daughter's first birthday, we had just close friends and family over to the house for a cookout. The special event that I planned just for my daughter was her own birthday cake which she got to smash, smear and nibble on to her hearts content. The ensuing giggles became contagious. We have hilarious pictures of her smearing her green St. Patrick's Day birthday cake all over her head. Just remember that birthday parties for kids under the age of three are really for the parents. So plan the party that YOU want for her now, because by the time she turns four, she is going to have her own ideas, and you won't neccessarily agree. Good luck!

Are you doing a theme party and if so, what's the theme you're going with?

For my grandsons first birthday, my daughter did a beach theme. It was really cute. She bought sandbuckets and filled them with snack foods for the little ones. Puffs, crackers, etc and used the shovels as serving spoons. She bought several beach balls at the dollar store. We blew them up and left them around the back yard. The kids all played with them and when they went home, they got to take a ball with them.

This year she's doing a construction theme using dump trucks as the serving dishes for the snacks. I think she plans to have little tractors and bulldozers from the dollar store sitting around the yard for them to play with and they'll each get to take one home with them.

HI A.,
My Husband was deployed during my second daughters 1st B-day, so my friend and I made invites that looked like a bear with all the info in pink and had her face as the bears face! They were way to cute! I made a standing pink bear and a small cake just for her! I had small finger foods and bought bath toys for teh goodie bags! The whole theme was Baby Pink Bears and I believe I bought all the plates at Party City.
I had toys laid out so that they children could play.
Good Luck!

Hi Amanda, My daughter turned one last July and we did have a huge party for her. Her theme was the #1 first Birthday. We had many kids of all ages come so I rented a water slide for the kids. That was a huge hit and it basically kept the kids busy the hole time. For a craft I had party guests (anyone who wanted to)make scrapbook pages for my daughters scrapbook. I love them. I really didn't have games because I had the water slide. I did have 2 guessing jars. I made 2 jars full of 1-starbursts and the other of skittles (can be anything you want) and the guests had to guess how many was in the jars. Have the guests write down their guess on a piece of paper. No 2 guesses can be the same.I was in shock with how much fun everyone had with this. The one that got the closest amount won the jars. Big hit... I had a lady that makes cakes in her home copy the design from the napkins. So pretty. Alot of stores can do that too. As for the goody bags I did different ones for the different ages. I did bubbles, punching balloons, side walk chalk, play dough, shaped dough cutters and fruit sncks. For the adults (one per household) I did a pot of flowers. I had ribbons made with may daughters name and birthdate on them and put them on the pots (you can find the ribbons on ebay). They came out very pretty. And everyone really liked them. Good luck and enjoy the party!
S.