How to throw a successful first birthday party

Having your little baby turn one only happens once and you want to make this birthday special. Where do you begin? I have learned a lot about this topic this week and I thought I would share some basic steps to walk you through the planning process.

1. Start with a theme
The theme is like pizza crust you can’t start adding all the delicious toppings until you have your crust. The theme can be as simple as a color, number or letter. You can also go with characters from movies or books. Look through party stores or catalogues for inspiration. Sometimes the theme ends up being whatever was on the clearance rack.

2. Pick your time and location
The most important part here is to go with what you know works best for your child. If they’re bedtime is early have an afternoon party on the weekend. If your child is uncomfortable in unfamiliar places stay home.

3. Enlist helpers
You cannot do this alone! You should be enjoying this special event and you can’t do that if you are running the whole show. Here are some jobs that you may want to assign to close friends or family
The food and drinks, cake, decorations, music, photography/ video, MC’ing, someone to watch the baby during set up, and someone to keep a record of what gift is from whom for thank you cards.

4. Come up with a schedule
You don’t have to stick to the schedule, but it is better to change it as you go than make it up as you go. Given that your child is turning one, short and sweet is going to be your best bet for this occasion.

5. Make it your own
More than likely you are going to sing the birthday song, have cake, and open presents. There are other things you can add to this to make your party memorable. Some ideas include, special photos, a poem , time of sharing funny stories, photo albums and baby book, a slide show, or video.

6. Consider the age you are dealing with
Working with a one year old will be different than any other birthday, so ask yourself how you want to approach the activities before hand. Here are some questions you may not have thought of
*Who is REALLY going to blow out the candle?
*What will the baby wear before, during, and after the cake?
*Is the party going to be after naptime and how long will it last?
*Who will help the baby open presents and how much will they assist?

7. Last but not least, enjoy yourself
You can’t control if your baby cries through the birthday song, or is disinterested in the presents. Just be prepared for whatever happens, the more relaxed you are the more your child will be. Have a good time and be sure to write about it on your blog or baby book so that you can always remember how special it was.

*also check out my blog about how to create your own invitation