First Birthday Party - Austin,TX

A Mexican theme pinata party! You can serve nachos, tacos, rice beans! They have pinatas in every character or theme you choose. Let me know if you need recipes!

I would invite them all. I don't think she'll know the difference at this age. As she gets older, she'll made new friends her age.

Family party for a one year old is perfectly acceptible. Have the friends to a park, if the parents all want to get together for her birthday....... make it a bbq, type pot luck, and bring a cake. Tell them you aren't wanting them to bring gifts, but that you just want to visit and enjoy the kids and the cake thing!

I think that the McDonald's idea is a good idea.You don't have to clean up after everyone and it nor expensive at all. However, I had my first one at home and let the kids play in the back yard. The older kids there will help. They love running after the smaller ones.
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I dont have any ideas for "girl" parties bc i only have a boy so far but what i did for the cake was did cupcakes! I shaped all the cupcakes (about 2 dozen) into a "1" and iced and decorated. My sons theme was "I dig being 1" so I used dump trucks and crushed oreos-dirt- green dyed coconut-grass- and tube icing-road- It really turned out cute. You could do any theme you wanted on top of the "1" shaped cake. Check out the dollar store for toys that can go on top to go with your theme!

Advice: don't do anything for a one year old's bday party. I have seen many families go absolutely nuts over the party for a one year old. The babies don't know what's going on. All the fanfare and extravagance is for the parents, in my opinion, not for the benefit of the kid.

Have a couple close friends over for cake and then take all the money you would have spent and give it to a children's charity. This way so many children can be helped in honor of your daughter. Schedule a nice photograph at a studio for the one year, if you want the pictures. The pictures from a one year old's party---the ones I've seen-- are chaotic and turn out terribly.

We have always done a 1 yr old party for the kids. Plan for your baby to have fun and the other kids should just enjoy the cake and ice cream. I have used the following site to get great party supplies. They have clothes and presents too. Anyway just plan what you can handle and what your little girl can handle. Good Luck

Tystoybox.com

That's a big crowd of kids - I suggest a party place so there are things for them to do.

A one-year-old is too young to understand or enjoy a party with/for other children. Invite the adults who celebrate the child: grandparents, close friends, the minister who baptized her (if that's part of your tradition), aunts, uncles, baby sitters, etc. The only children who need to be included are the children those adults would bring.

Celebrate life, celebrate the child, celebrate the family, get the wonderful pictures of the child blowing out the candle on her/his first cake. Help her open her presents (people will want to give presents!) Don't force a child party on those who aren't ready. An idea... have the adults who are there write on pages for a scrapbook you will make with the many pictures you will take.

We did this when my son (now 27) turned one. He doesn't remember the party, but we still look at the pictures from it. As a gift that day, one couple gave him a piggy bank with two quarters in it. When he was in high school he took the quarters out and put them in a frame. A very sweet way to acknowledge those who truly celebrated and loved him.

Please check out my website. www.mypartystation.com. We are located is Schertz off of 3009.
Party Station is an indoor playroom/ party room. All parties scheduled here are private.
Thanks :-)

Dear CL,
When our four children were growing up, we always had at least one birthday party for them, every year. Sometimes we had two: one for the family, one for friends.

However, if I had it to do over.....
I wouldn't do all that!! First of all, it was quite stressful on me, and then I would end up being upset and yelling at someone. Second of all, the children got to where they expected all that!! And they would start telling me weeks ahead of time just what kind of expectations they had.

Here's what I would do. Yes, we would celebrate every birthday, but most of the time it would just be a simple party for our own immediate family. Perhaps a few more people than that for that first birthday. Then we'd have bigger (just bigger; not lavish) parties for certain ages, like, 5, 10, and 15. Perhaps age 12 would be a good year for a trip with the child and just one parent.

But to have big friend parties every single year...nope, I wouldn't do it. For my sake, and for theirs. Not if I had it to do over again.

J.

We had a one yr party for my son a couple of weekends ago. There ages ranged from my son 1 to 3,5,7,9,10,11, 13 and I probley missed a few ages. We had a pinata which all the kids enjoyed except for our son. They mostly played in the back yard. They all said they had fun. You can still do pin the tail and fun games like that. I do something special and write with side walk calk on the drive way and side walks happy birthday. The kids can do some of that if the weather permits. Good luck have fun.

I am big on celebrating each person. I would suggest the party that YOU feel comfortable with, don't let others change your idea-especially on the first birthday that is marked with pictures and probably a video if you are anything like me. Your child will be excited about the day and may not remember it in a year, but you will! Look around your daughter and see what she likes. Is it her butterfly toy and blanket, zoo animals, baby dolls, Elmo? Work from that idea. This is her day so make it all about her! I have a birthday planning business and would be glad to help you or give you more suggestions if you would like some help. Give me some basic interests of your daughter and we can go from there.
-M. Huber ###-###-####

Winnie the Pooh these is cute for a one year old... and the older kids will understand that the party is for the one year old. They have cute "one" year old ideas at Party City for themes. But, yes. I agree... keep it simple.

S..
http://ohsobella.com
beaded jewelry designs

I just had my 2 year old's birthday yesterday at McDonald's they provided goody bags, cake, ice cream and food for around $75 for 14 kids. The ages were pretty much in the same age group you have and all the kids were playing. They provide a host or hostess to do everything even games if needed. They kids at our party didn't need games they were to busy entertaining themselves

The smaller the party the less stress, they are one they aren't going to remember it and too much stimulation may add to a crying/tired Birthday girl. I say invite the children that are around your daughters age, 6mo, and 2yr old and call it a day. My kids had a handful of children their age and I kept the party short and sweet. I focused mostly on capturing the moment with alot of pictures, decorated one area for cake cutting time, and did not bother with goody bags until they were older. My kids loved balloons and 3-4 balloons made it festive and they seemed to focus on those the most. I agree having mostly family is important to capture this moment and then they don't have to be entertained, we had ours at the house with snack food tray, cake and maybe about 5 kids total which was nice, mostly adults.

A child's first birthday is not actually for them as they are not really fully able to participate at that age. A one-year-old's birthday party is for the parents to show off their adorable bundle of joy.

Keeping in mind that the 6 small children willnot likely be able to interact as much do a simply fun activity. In this weather (provided it stays nice) plan a picnic with hotdogs for lunch (your one year old should be able to eat them if you cut them up) and cupcakes for the "cake". Many stores will create them and decorate as though one whole cake That way you can do the whole pretty/cool scene and still have no worries about bringing a knife to cut it with. Use paper plates/cups napkins, etc for easy clean-up afterwards. If you want to add another dimension get a fun shaped pinata filled with small toys and/or candy for the kids (just make sure the small toys go to the age appropriate children or find some small toddler-friendly toys).

It's a simple, fun way to celebrate teh bundle of joy you have...

Good luck and have a GREAT time!! ;-)

We just did hotdogs and hamburgers with all the trimmings, juice, soda and tea for the drinks, and some chips. We also rented a moon bouncer, we had kids ranging from 1yr to 11yrs and it was a blast. It was a inexpensive way to celebrate his party.

1st birthday parties are mainly for the parents/adults. The birthday girl really won't know what is going on and won't be all that interested in opening presents for an extended period. Children this age don't really play with one another, it's not in their development yet. They may sit beside each other and play, but it really won't be with each other.

When my son turned 1, we invited all of our family and friends and their kids no matter the age. We got a moonwalk (always a hit no matter the age of the kid (and some adults)). He's a May b-day, so we had a kiddie pool for some to play in. We did hamburgers and, since it was peak of the season, crawfish.

You have to get her her own cake, just a small one. The best part of the 1st birthday is filming and taking pictures of the b-day girl/boy digging into their cake. I made my son's (something I had been waiting my whole life to do). I used red coloring for the frosting. He smeared it all over his face, and, poor baby, it stained it. It took a couple of baths to get it off.

I would say just invite family! or just the women and have her open presents the whole time while the girls help you do a scrapbook of the years pictures you've taken. Just serve sandwiches and a fruit/veggie tray. Great memories. Good luck.
For our daughter we invited family to the local pizza place and ordered our daughter her own little cake. It was more fun for her older cousins, but she had fun opening her presents!

Hi CL!
Congrats on your daughters milestone! My baby girl had her 1st birthday party last Sunday. I invited our close friends & relatives & of course their children. Altogether we had 20 adults & 10 kids (including my daughter). We had her party at a local pizza joint (Padre Pizzeria on Padre Island, Corpus Christi) & it worked out great! I just made goody bags for all the other kids (ages ranged from 3-12). I did not put any candy in them, just little toys from the dollar store....kazoos, play-dough, little puzzles, things of that nature. It worked out great - the kids had some things to occupy them, we all had pizza & cake & shared a wonderful time! Hope that helps/gives you some ideas. Good luck & above all - have a good time!!
Always,
H. B

At one year, your child is still a baby, so it really doesn't matter to her what happens. She won't really even understand about the gifts, so the party is basicly for the adults and any other children attending, so keep it short and simple. Serve kid food (hot dogs), come up with a couple of games, maybe a penyata(sp?), then let them go home.

Keep it simple! Cake, ice cream, lemonade. Save your big effort for when she will enjoy it. Make age appropriate goody bags for the older kids and keep it short. Babies have a VERY short attention span for parties and just get cranky and bewildered if it goes too long. Enjoy the day and get lots of pictures.

My opinion, keep it simple. I think parents go way over board these days. i went to a party yesterday and they had a clown. She was not the best kid clown but the idea of one is a good,traditional one. You cannot please everyone and it is your babies' b'day. Again, my opinion, keep it simple and it shoul dbe about family, don't worrry about friends.... she is only one.

I think the more the better. I say invite them all. I just attended a birthday party with my son and they had children from newborn to teenager and the little girl was turning 2.

Also, something alot of people don't think about is a photographer. As a gift I provided one for the party so that the mom could focus on the party and not the memories.

You can get info at www.farroutphotography.com.

Have a small celebration with a few friends and family. Take lots of pictures. That is what we did. My daughter actually ended up taking a pretty long nap right in the middle of the party so she really was not there for most of it. Of course we adults had fun just visiting.

Not to be a downer here or offensive, but the first few birthdays are really for you and not your child. Your child has no clue what is going on and will not remember them at all. I certainly understand you wanting to have a party and to expose your child to the traditions of what parties entail, but I would do what you would be happy with. If you cannot afford a huge party then keep it small. I had just my parents over for my son's first and second birthdays. We had cake and sang "Happy Birthday" and my son had presents. It was very nice, low key and not expensive. Children really do not start getting the concept of parties and presents until maybe 3 years old, so I would not go to too much trouble to invite a lot of kids unless it is what you want. They will be your memories afterall.

We just had my daughter's first bday party. I will admit it was mostly for our family and friends but I added some fun things for the few kids we had.

I borrowed my friends bouncy house for the younger children. As for my daughter, she was busy getting passed around or she played in the yard with her walking toys.

I lit our chimnea and put it next to our patio furniture. It was in the low 50's that day. Also, I borrowed my father's fire pit and I had all of the kids roast hot dogs and smores. This ended up being fun for the adults as well. FYI: On the fire pit I used charcoal instead of wood.

I had several dips and cheese trays with fruit. I had a warm soup in the crock pot to warm everyone up. I did have one alcoholic punch. It was a mixture of sangria and sprite. Then, I had the typical cake and ice cream.

Her birthday party lasted from 2:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. It was lots of fun.

Keep it simple, invite the list of people you named if you like, but make your list where your still able to relax and have fun. The baby won't remember it but I have lots a pics of the events for proof 21 years later that I did it. My kids enjoy looking at the pics from their first 3 parties, but thats it they are feeling the love now, they don't remember a thing from those days. Don't get me wrong you can tell by the smirk on my oldest daughters face in the pics from the first 2 parties that she knew it was all about her and felt special and had fun. I only had lots of loved ones, finger foods, cake and icecream . My two daughters love looking at the pics of their cake and all who was there.