1st Birthday Party Ideas

Planning and hosting a 1st birthday party can be overwhelming. You must have a love and hate relationship with social media. Everyone posts the most beautiful memorable pictures of their little ones. So, the first thing to remember is that this is a celebration of your child and yourselves. You all had an amazing first year and that is worth celebrating. When people start asking about the first birthday party, smile, take a deep breath and know deep down that the celebration that you plan will be the best celebration for your little one. It is not a competition, it is a memorable time that you will remember fondly.

Planning and hosting a 1st birthday party can be overwhelming. You must have a love and hate relationship with social media. Everyone posts the most beautiful memorable pictures of their little ones. So, the first thing to remember is that this is a celebration of your child and yourselves. You all had an amazing first year and that is worth celebrating. When people start asking about the first birthday party, smile, take a deep breath and know deep down that the celebration that you plan will be the best celebration for your little one. It is not a competition, it is a memorable time that you will remember fondly. 

First Birthday Party Invitations

There are many ways to send out a first birthday invitation. There are digital, verbal or the traditional physical invitation. They often will represent the theme of the party. For instance, a saying like “Come celebrate ___’s first trip around the sun.” for a celestial party, or “We are roaring with excitement that ____ is turning one” with an animal theme. You need to include all pertinent information of dates, times, etc. Also you may wish to include any minor requests that you have of your invited guests.

• If you wish there presence not their presents (more detailed ideas under presents)
• Create a time capsule and have guests each bring one item to add. Make sure you set a size limit to the items. This would be so much fun to open on their 18th or 21st birthday.

Consider the guest lists. You may wish to have multiple smaller celebrations or one large one. You don’t want your little one to feel too overwhelmed. 

• Family is always a natural choice. If there are going to be lots of family members, consider making a family tree photo album. Talk to your child about all the family members at a night time storytime before the party so they will recognize the familiar faces at the party.
• Their friends from playdates, library clubs, community groups or daycare.
• Your friends 

1st Birthday Party Decorations

• Display memories from the first year. These may be monthly growth pictures, milestones that your child met, and of course pictures with family and friends. 

1. There are many that have a simple wooden frame with twine stringing across. From the twine there are small clothes pegs to hold pictures.
2. There are others that have a material background and ribbons criss crossing. With these you can either pin the pictures or tuck them behind the ribbons.

• Hang a birthday banner. This can follow your color theme of your choice or follow your party theme.
• Create a photo backdrop with a calm backdrop, a balloon arch or helium balloons, boxes stacked that say “one” and a child sized chair or rocking horse
• Make a poster size picture of your guest of honor in black and white. Guests can write birthday wishes around the picture and this would make a great keepsake. 

1st Birthday Party Themes

Well of course your little one is the main theme of the party. You may wish to have a second theme as well. Some trendy ideas would be…

• Wild one
• First trip around the sun
• One happy camper
• Numero-uno
• Hole in one
• One-ce upon a time
• First bee-day
• Miss or Mr W-one-derful
• One-der the sea
• Winter One-derland
• Some bunny is one
• Catching a big one
• Berry first one

Time for a First Birthday Party

Choose a time that will suit the needs of the guest of honor and their guests. The party could be in the morning, afternoon or evening. It all depends on what works best for the individual. Every party is unique and you know the best time for your party.

For a morning party time - Choose a time that fits your child and their guests' napping schedule. Mornings from 9am to 11am is a great time and long enough to host a gathering. Again, this avoids feeding an army of adults. Put on a pot of coffee and have a fruit tray, a few cookies or donuts. 

For an afternoon party time - you may have guests coming and going at different times depending on napping schedules. This would be more like an open house if you wish. Very relaxed atmosphere where activities are always available and flexibility is the key.

For an evening party time - your guest of honor may sleep for some and you can also celebrate your triumphant year. It is a celebration of changes and personal development for both yourself and your child.

Where to Host a 1st Birthday Party

There are an endless number of places that you could host a first birthday party. What did you envision? Go with your gut and you will love the outcome of the event. Some ideas to consider… where does your child feel most comfortable? Where would you feel comfortable hosting? What would be most enjoyable?

Some places you may wish to consider: your home or backyard, another family members home, a park, a zoo, a music center, a library, the beach, a ski lodge, a restaurant, as mentioned the location possibilities are endless.

1st Birthday Party Activities

Always remember your guests attention span. For a first birthday party many of your guests will also be young, so think of this as a mini playdate and have numerous activities.

• Bubbles and lots of them. All kids love bubbles. This is easy and can be done both inside and outside. They love to watch them float around and older kids will try to catch them. If you make your own bubbles you can make the kind that don’t pop easily and they are able to land and stay in bubble form.
• Set up a music station with lots of mini instruments. Kids love making noise. Try to sing some songs and have them play along. 
• Trucks and dolls
• Sensory items like a water placemat, a water table to splash and move water through toys, fishing toys, etc.
• Stackable toys
• Make your own ball pit. We had a blow up boat we would set up inside and fill with ball pit balls. This would also work with a small blow up pool. The kids will love to toss these balls and can practice crawling in and out of the “ball pit”.
• Set up a tunnel. We got a tunnel from Ikea for a great price and it was hours of entertainment. It folds up easily and this way we could store it easily.
• Set up a simple craft station

First Birthday Party Food

• Finger foods are amazing at a first birthday party. Think charcuterie boards with kid friendly foods. Cheese, crackers, animal cookies, fishy crackers, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, pinwheels, veggies and dip.
• Premade mini sandwiches
• Mac and cheese 
• Have a smash cake - a smaller cake that your child can break apart for pictures.
• Muffins or cupcakes for the guests. Muffins are a great alternative for young children whose parents may wish for their child to not have a sugary treat.

First Birthday Party Presents

Gifts are a tricky time at any party. Many people are including in their invitations that no gifts are required. Not all guests like this idea, so a few alternatives to consider for the generous guests could be donations to local food banks and shelters, a gift card to an activity like the local zoo, museum, or an offering of babysitting. Opening presents is optional at the party. This sometimes causes grief when an older child wants to help. One year olds are usually more interested in the wrapping paper anyways.

Gifts are a tricky time at any party. Many people are including in their invitations that no gifts are required. Not all guests like this idea, so a few alternatives to consider for the generous guests could be donations to local food banks and shelters, a gift card to an activity like the local zoo, museum, or an offering of babysitting.

Opening presents is optional at the party. This sometimes causes grief when an older child wants to help. One year olds are usually more interested in the wrapping paper anyways.