Ideas for Son's 1St Birthday Party

you can have a party in the local park, my mom did that for me every year, my birthday is also in August and those are the ones i remember most. the chidren can slide and swing and have ice cream and cake in there favorite place.

If you go downtown to City Hall, you can reserve one of the parks with a pavilion in town for free. They almost all have play sets for the kids and two of them are near the pool so if there's older children there, cousins etc., they can go swimming. We had my son's going away party there when he left for the Navy and it was perfect since the weather didn't cooperate, we still had the pavilion. Good luck and Happy Birthday to the little one!

for our daughters first birthday, we had a bowling party! there was a quaint old bowling alley in our town with about 7-8 lanes. We rented it out on a Sunday afternoon, ordered in pizza, brought a cake, and had a blast! Bowling is the perfect activity because it's for little kids, big kids, teenagers, adults, etc. And even the birthday girl enjoyed toddling around and watching the bowling : )

Since his birthday is in the summer, you could have a backyard party for him and invite all your family members. Put up a tint and maybe order a bouncer for the kiddies. Maybe, have someone in your family dress up in a clown suit and do baloons for the kids. If your back yard is small, then you might consider going to the park and have his BD Party there. That way, you will have the swings, and other little things for the kiddies. Depending on where you live, maybe there is also a pool so the older kids can do swimming. I think anything you do for him will be sufficient. He is only going to be a year old and he really doesn't know anything about having a BD Party, so just kind of use your own judgement about things. Anyway, Enjoy (B.)

Hi K., my name is J.. Birthdays need to be fun for the kids and not a stress for the mommies, which usually means simple is just fine!! I had my twins' first birthday at the pool last summer,and we just had it mid afternoon with cupcakes and juice boxes at the picnic tables, the kids loved it and the moms loved me as everyone went home and napped!!!:-)
Keep it simple for the little ones.. then you can do more when they can tell you what they want! My six year old is already planning his party for next year!!!
Good luck!

you could do it at a park where there is bbq grills and grill out and have tons of grassy area to play games or set up voleyball etc and they ahve picninc tables you can put themed like baby einstein table clothes on and set up under the paviloion buffet style and have the cake there too. It is neat seeing all these people under the pavilion together while you sing happy birthday. The other younger kids can all just play at the park. it works out great as long as the park is close to the pavilion. you are lucky to have it in august! not dec!
J.

I just had my daughter's first birthday and we too have a very large family. Between my cousins and siblings children there were 20 kids under 4! I rented a bubble machine for $20 at a party rental place and it kept them occupied the entire 2.5 hours! Have fun!

K.,
One option that you have is your local park. Many of our friends have rented the pavlion/picnic area at our local prk for a first birthday party. Since it is part of your town the cost can be really reasonable. They are ofter covered too.(In case of rain.) Plus you get the added benefit of a park to keep the other kids occupied. If you look into it remember to check and see if the area has a grill nearby. This makes the food an even easier option. who doesn't like a good ham. or hot dog in the summer.
Hope this helps.
Allison
mom of 3 (7,5,1)

How about a picnic/birthday party at a park where they have a playground with swings, etc., designed for small children. At the ages of 1 and 2 (my boys were born 1 year apart) my boys loved playing with their big trucks in the sand box and the little slide at the park. I picked up extra outdoor type toys for the other kids who would be coming from a dollar store. I also asked the parents (since it was mostly family) to bring a side dish and we provided the meat for the picnic. We got a head count of how many kids were coming and picked up some mylar baloons for each kid plus a few extra for the birthday kids. Use them as decorations for the picnic tables in one of the pavillions and then as each child leaves give them one to take home with them (no lost balloons before they leave and the parents are happier going home without an upset kid who lost their balloon). It was a big success and soon became a family tradition for the small children in our families.

Hopefully the weather will be nice so most people will be able to be outside. Depending on other kids ages, you could rent one of those inflatables, or have water activities etc. You could rent a park pavillion but then if it does rain, there is no cover inside. What if you set up shop in your garage as well... this way provide more room?

K. my son turned one last July and to be honest with you for a first bday party i wouldnt do anything t ocrazy bc they dont understand it and naps also could interfer! i had my sons party in our backyard i had some food and a cake and of course drinks... as for the kids balloons are entertaing enough at that age! and blowing some bubbles =)

I would recommend a park...have a small bbq with a pinata for the kids to pull strings and make candy fall....

Otherwise, i'd look into a Sunday afternoon rental of somewhere like Everyday Discoveries, in Peoria.

They have an indoor play area, and outdoor play area, things for the kids to do and the parents have plenty of room to mingle.

http://www.everydaydiscoveries.com is the daycares site if you want to check something like this out!

Hi K.,

Any VFW hall is a great place. You can cater or make your own food.

I can help you if you need party invitations. I have some really great 1st birthday invites for boys. I have a mom-owned invitation business called Good Times Invitations. Send me an email if you would like samples sent to you. My business email is ____@____.com. Thanks
D. S

If some of the other kids are older, and you live in the Chicago area, the Caesarland way north on Harlem is a really great place. You can bring in your own cake, pizzas are $5 each and there is a huge playground for kids to climb in, with slides, etc. There are also two arcade rooms with video games and skeeball, plus a few ride ons that take quarters. My kids love the place and there is a ton of seating. You can reserve for a birthday party, isn't too expensive. There is so much for kids to do, that adults can actually visit! The games give tickets so they have the counter where kids can spend their tickets, which most kids find thrilling. Good luck!

Hi K.,
Mom of 6 here and of the 3 children, my husband and heck even the dog are born in Aug. It is hot out there then. One great idea and relatively inexpensive, is having it at my church. Most churches now have a gym and jump house for their families. There are plenty of tables and praise God you are in doors with lots of running room. I've seen a lot of people doing it. One tip though reserve the space early.

J.

We just had my daughter's 1st at Cosley Zoo. The zoo is in Wheaton. It's a small, free zoo with a lot of picnic tables. We had the party in the morning so we set up tables before everyone else arrived. Then at 10:30 my husband went to a Jimmy John's about ten minutes away and got a sandwich tray. Parking can be a problem at Cosely, so if you want to use this idea take a trip over there sometime over the summer first.

My second suggestion is what my sister in law did for my neice's 1st. She had the party at one of those bounce house places where you have your own private party room for the duration of your party. Her part was huge -- 50 people, I think. She used a place in Melrose park, but there's also a place in Minooka and a couple in Orland Park.

I definately suggest a hall! We did that for my son and it was great! No mess to clean up, plenty of room and you didn't have people hanging around your house for the rest of the day! Have fun! Remember, don't stress yourself out too much, its a great thing to celebrate so have fun!

I don't know how old the other children attending the party will be, but a friend of mine held her childs 1st b-day party at Pro-Putt there by Dairy Queen on mainstreet in Bloomington. They had about 8 long tables that could be reserved. They brought in cake, drinks and pizza, so apparently it's not a place that says NO to outside food/drinks.

Another thought for the time of year, look into renting the Pavilion at miller park zoo, or just go to a park. Only reason the pavilion is really going to be 'good' is if the weather is bad.

But one thing I do know is that with mobile children about, play equipment and toys do come in handy.

K.

Hi K.,

We had a similar situation and held our son's first birthday at a local park. We rented one of the picnic shelters (it was inexpensive) and it was close to the playground area for the kids, which came in handy. The park had small grills to use, but we went ahead and brought our Weber as did a relative and one of my uncles volunteered to cook for us, which worked out really well. Decorations were easy, too. Just some balloons really. Good luck!!

M.