What Are Some Good Birthday Themes for a First Birthday??

All we did for the 1st was a theme cake and matching plates and napkins. lol I think I went to a bakery and picked out one I liked. Good luck.

The theme is all for you (and you family) since a one year old doesn't understand.

You could go with Sesame Street or snowmen (winter theme). It is really up to you until about 4 or 5, then they will let you know what they want.

You really don't need a theme. The party is for the adults - he is way too little to even know he is having a party. We skipped it entirely since DS's birthday is December 25 and we are always away for the holidays. The first time we did a birthday party was when he was 4 and asked for one.

For starters, a First birthday party is all about the adults, not the child. The child has no clue what is going on.

What are some favorite colors, books, etc that you might like to focus on? It can be anything at this age.

My daughter was born 12/27 and this year, she'll be 21. We've always had her parties on her birthday and never had an issue with attendance.. I think parents are ready for a break by the 27th and took us up on the invitations!! I realize you can't do a party on the 24th. Many people do around Christmas birthday parties a week or two before the birthday.

One thing I always did and still do to this day... EVERY gift is separated and EVERY birthday gift is in BIRTHDAY paper.

For our daughter's first, I found cute plates for cake and a few little friends. Then I made chicken Kiev, rice, vegetables and heavy appetizers for my guests along with cocktails. The bakery made her cake to share with everyone and then made a small 1st birthday cake for her to dig into.

Enjoy... time flies by.

A child under 5 doesn't need a theme - he doesn't understand it! In fact, a child under 5 doesn't need a big party - just a few family members and a cupcake and a few gifts. Kids get completely overwhelmed by parties and crowds and tons of gifts, and their little friends don't have any idea why one kid gets all the gifts and they get nothing. Meanwhile, parents go broke trying to make decorations and food and plates and invitations hang together! Scale it back, just have your immediate family or very close friends, keep it small and keep it short. No one cares about the theme except maybe you! Get a few paper plates with a "1" on them, and be done with it! If you do too much now, you will put incredible pressure on yourself for every birthday going forward, and in 2 years you will be writing on Mamapedia about how much this has taken over your life! (Look at the past questions on this topic if you don't believe me!)

welcome to mamapedia!!

Your son will not remember this. The party is more for the parents than it is for the child.

We had Open Houses. Why? Because it was for US getting through the first year....We did NOT DO NOT go all out.

What is your expectation here?? Your child will BARELY be able to open gifts. Have a cake for your son and a cake for guests. Appetizers - really do NOT over think this...

We didn't do a party for or sons first birthday.
Sure we had hats, had cupcakes, took pictures but it was just me, Dad and our son.

My birthday is Dec 26 - so I know about Christmas birthdays.
DON'T use Christmas wrapping paper and DON'T combine gifts.
I've seriously considered celebrating my birthday in June just to get it away from Christmas.

As for themes - what ever you want!
Teddy bears
Dinosaurs
Trucks
etc

I go along with the less is more theme. Get a few brightly colored pictures or toys and paper plates with streamers, a baby cake, and family members. Don't forget the camera. When my grandson turned one, they had a baby cake and an adult cake. He didn't really recall what was going on and just barely attacked the cake but enough for pictures of cake all over the body and needing a bath when done.

As others have said, it is a celebration of the first year of his life. There will be more and many milestones to celebrate with many people and the costs go up not down.

the other S.

I, too, have a December birthday and always wanted my birthday to be July 4 so that I could celebrate with a big bang.

I'm with Shannon, theme it up! I love doing themed parties for my kids. We just had 50 people at my youngest son's fifth birthday, it was a blast!!
Possibilities: gingerbread/candyland theme? You could have a cake decorated like a gingerbread house, gingerbread men favors, lots of decor available with gingerbread men.
Snow/snowmen would be really cute, obviously lots of decor available, you could do snowmen ornaments or little snow globes for favors.
Woodland winter with little foxes, cardinals, raccoons.
Have fun!! The first few years you get to do whatever you want, then you have to worry about what the kiddos like :)

Oh, oh, Winter One-derland!! :)

My friends did an Uno party for their daughter's first birthday. I thought it was cute.

I went to a super cute one this weekend that was all centered around The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Get thee to pinterest right away and look it up, I'm sure that's where the mom got all her ideas from. She even had all the different foods from the book, and gummy worms with a wind-up caterpillar for the take-home. So cute. It was for a one-year old.

I don't know why everyone is telling you to skip the theme. Some of us party planners love to get creative and have fun with a theme! Of course it's for you and your guests and the baby doesn't know any better. But someday the baby will grow up and enjoy seeing pictures of his first birthday. Theme it up all you want :)

Even at 1 my kids had their favorite things, toys, shows, whatever. We went with those themes. So what does your son like? Does he like certain toys or colors? Go with whatever makes him happy - and then do what makes you happy. You can go as simple or crazy as you like.

How about a "less is more" theme?? :)

with all 4 of my boys? The party was for me and Tyler. The first year is the hardest.

We did have trucks or their favorite toy(s) around. Basically we thought since they are NOT going to remember it? This is our time to celebrate! Cute little one year old cake, you know those tiny 4" found cakes? Then a cake for everyone else. We did have a banner made that we hung behind the high chair.

My best advice is to keep this one very simple. It's a one-year-old and he won't remember it. This is your big opportunity to keep it simple, because the pressure will be on after that once he starts having friends. I'd limit invitees and just stick to a "1" theme, if you have to have one at all.

whatever YOU find fun and cute. he won't know or care.

we didn't have a theme for my boys' first birthdays, just lots of balloons and streamers, bright paper plates and napkins. but if you want a winter theme there are tons, right? you could have a blizzard party, or a polar bear party, or a snowman party, penguins, sledding, you name it. or take it from whatever your nursery decor is. or his favorite stuffed animal.
khairete
S.

I have a December 27th boy. We have always had his party the first weekend of December. We had no theme for the first year, just bright colors. When he developed favorite characters is when I used themes.

i picked out the invitations that were at the 1$ store, bought a few other party accessories to go with it, made the cake match and rolled with the 1st brithday primary colors theme.

I like to go to Pinterest and get ideas. You can google first birthday Pinterest. There is such a range in creativity and price. You might think Mickey Mouse is the sweetest thing, or Dr. Seuss. I like regular carnival style party themes. Whatever make you think of your son, should be a good theme.

We did a monster theme for our October boy's first birthday. If you want you can do a winter "beach" party theme. Many will already be up to here with snow and holiday stuff.

Best
F. B.

Invitations, balloons, a cake.
Something simple like Clifford or Cookie Monster?

Horse drawn hayride with a bonfire and hot chocolate.

My son's first birthday I made a truck cake because he loved pointing out trucks, garbage trucks, work vehicles to us. I got truck plates and all red balloons. It was festive. :) My daughter's first birthday didn't have a theme...I just made a homemade lemon cake and put up streamers and balloons and we had some friends over for dinner to celebrate with us. Winter baby themes: Sledding. Penguins. Polar bears. Ice skating. General winter theme and decorate with snowflakes. Or just go with something he likes: fire trucks, construction trucks, mickey mouse, elmo, doggies, trucks, winnie the pooh, dinosaurs, monsters, etc.

I wouldn't stress over a first birthday. The kid isn't going to remember it and doesn't even know it's his birthday.
Elaborate first birthday parties serve only to feed adult egos.
For my daughter's first birthday, I got her a couple of new toys and we had cake and ice cream with immediate family. One cake and she got a slice just like everyone else. Not a whole mini cake for her to destroy, smear everywhere, and that I would have to clean up after. The idea of pictures of my kid covered in frosting just wasn't that appealing to me anyway.

But good on you for keeping his birthday and Christmas separate. My ex father in law's birthday was Christmas Eve and he recalled getting one present every year when he was a kid with a tag that said, "Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday" on it.
My niece's birthday is Dec 26, and my nephew's birthday is near Halloween, so when they were younger (they're both teens now, so they don't care as much), my sister had an un-birthday party for them in the summer - rented a water slide, boiled crawfish, barbecued, shot off fireworks, the whole nine yards. They got their birthday gifts then, rather than having their special days subsumed by the nearby holidays.

I have thrown six parties for first birthday's. All my children. I don't do big parties #1 pet party.
#2 ladybugs and butterflies
#3 just a small party at my house
#4 a nighttime firefly
#5 a Disney party
#6 a mickey mouse clubhouse party,just some ideas.