I agree with Megan Q, and even think that the first birthday is more for the parents to celebrate surviving their first year than for the child. From there on, it'll be all about him, so make this one something adults can enjoy. My son's first birthday was very big (more like a coming out party, introducing him to out of town family/friends): we rented the ampitheater at a local park so we had the stage area for the party (tables, chairs included), a pretty enclosed area for other children to play in, the playground nearby, and water fountains nearby. We made a jambalaya (how else to feed 40+ guests without breaking the bank?), white beans, french bread, vegetable/fruit trays, and cake. We set up a couple tables for food (buffet style), a gift table, and tables for guests to eat at. We had music and just visited, doted on the baby and passed him around, oooohed and aaahed over his learning to walk, but it was mostly adult conversation and lots of laughing. We had a pull-string pinata with a big #1, but his part of the party was mostly riding on grandparents shoulders, eating chocolate cake, that kind of thing. I had a friend be the designated photographer so we didn't have to worry about it, and had lots of pictures for the album. I agree that you can concentrate more on having some awesome keepsake(s) instead. I had different colored papers, cut cute, on a guest table with things written like "Meeting you for the first time was...." and "You make me laugh when you..." and "What I like best about you is..." (stuff like that). Guests could fill out whatever they wanted and slip it in a decorated shoebox (think Valentines Day in elementary school). I later put those papers, along with photos, into a first birthday scrapbook for my son. We bought him a plain white Tshirt his father's size, people signed it and dated it, and we took a picture of him wearing it. Every year we'll pull out the birthday shirt and take a picture of him wearing it, to see how much he's changed. Those are more the fun things to do with a 1 year old, I think. (Though there's nothing wrong with an Elmo cake and Elmo decorations!)