1st Birthday Parties: Simple Suggestions

Those of you with babies will know that the 1st birthday parties are primarily more for the relatives than they are for the honored guest. You’ll need to focus on preparing a party that is interesting for the guests and won’t go so long that the baby will get cranky if they miss their nap.

Much of the time those at baby’s first birthday will have a chance to reflect on the past year, which is very important. Parents get time to think about the year’s development of their little one. Relatives get a chance to come over and see how big the baby’s gotten in the past year. It’s a time to bring out the baby pictures and sit around the table and eat cake. You may also want to give the baby a little bit of cake to snack on this time of year. Party favors at this relative’s dominated party might be pictures of baby in cute little frames. Or you could put together some smaller albums full of baby and family photos and memorabilia for the guests to put in their memory chests when they get home.

When you send out invitations for this first birthday party don’t just leave the ‘time of party’ blank or do something like, ‘12:00 P.M. to ?’ Guests will assume that they can stay as long as they wish at your party and this may put a damper on your baby’s nappy time. A good party length will probably only be a couple of hours. By listing a specific ending time on your invitations you can be sure that your guests will have some advanced warning of the ending time and that they will come to the party prepared to be considerate of your baby’s needs.

Those going to first birthday parties may be wondering what kinds of gifts to bring. At this age babies will be very into hand-eye coordination, so you can bring them toys that are very simple puzzles or even a set of large plastic building blocks. There are some especially made for little toddlers that don’t have sharp edges or small parts that could be choked on. You can also take some practical stuff to help out the parents. The baby will still be in diapers, so you can put together a little basket of diaper changing necessities. You could also pick up some jars of baby food and even a few packages of easy to eat finger foods designed for toddlers.