Birthday Party Dilema!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Grovetown,GA

can't give you much in the way of advice though I am in Hawaii.. hubby is stationed at Pearl Harbor so if you need any help once you get here feel free to let me know.

We just did a bar-b-que. Why not make it a bon voyage/birthday party. You could do a luau.

We had a teddy bear picnic for our daughter's 1st bday. Red and white checkered plastic table cloths and teddy bears with baskets for decorations and a picnic style lunch (sandwiches, fruit, chips, etc). We had mostly adults come...our friends that wanted to celebrate with us. We had lunch, had cake (a special little one for the 1 yr old to tear apart too) and opened presents. It was a very nice day and easy to do. We also got some balloons, which our little one LOVED! She also had her favorite 10 yr old there to play with her. Keep it fairly simple and just enjoy the time.

definately have a party.
Decide on who is coming- i would do family and try to keep it small although your circumstances might make it so you would want more,
send out invited Any place that develops photos can make postcard like invitations with the baby's picture on it and details like time place etc
Get some food for the grown ups
get a smash cake for her ( i like to make my own cakes because i think it's fun) get cake for the grown ups
Charge up your video camera and have fun
no need to plan games or anything Your Daughter will be the entertainment.
Happy Bday to her!!

First birthdays were my favorites, there is really no way you can fail to your baby expectations. Actually both of my kids fall sleep on their first party.
Why not a chunky monkey? Monkeys make everything extra fun :0)
The most important part of this party is to not get the little one over tired and take lots of pictures/videos

Whatever you do decide to do...DO NOT take the rubbish talk that the party is for the adults and not the child...you might get all kinds of, "they wont remember, they dont know whats going on..." I think that if YOU want a birthday party...HAVE A BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!
Have snacks, have drinks, have cake and ice cream.....HAVE FUN!!! Celebrate!!!!
I think what you are doing is a GREAT idea!!!

Margaret :)
BTW, Happy Birthday!!!! (to the little one)

We did it as a cook out. I scheduled it so that we ate and then she could go down for her nap.. The adults continued to party, Then she woke up and we continued to just hang out..

Take lots of photos..

First birthdays are so much fun with the child diving into their cake!
We did Elmo on my daughter's birthday and in all the pics Mom, Dad and baby were covered in bright red and yellow frosting :) My son's first was Pirate themed...lots of blue and black frosting. Both were family events where we did BBQ/picnic type food. The party can be overwhelming for little ones, so watch nap times. We had lunch and cake after morning nap, and then the birthday baby went down for afternoon nap and the adults and older kids partied on. Also, for both of our parties, the birthday child had their own small cake to dive into, and the other guests enjoyed cupcakes. Take lots of pics...the birthday kid might not remember the day, but both my kids love seeing pictures of their special day!
BTW - I love the Luau theme another poster suggested! :)

My daughter's first birthday was family and I did the whole "1st birthday princess party" theme - I would DEFINITELY do it at 10 months! With the mini cake for her to dig in and everything! :)

I think that is a milestone (even if a bit early) that your families will be glad you included them with! :)

Above all understand that the child could get overwhelmed easily. Actually is it likely. She may tire and get fussy. Keep an eye on the clock and watch her nap times. By two years old- a large gathering of people had my daughter in tears when we sang happy birthday. I think she thought we were yelling at her! i think your baby is still too young to understand so you will probably be safe in that regard.