Celebrating Your Child's First Birthday

A baby's first birthday is usually a big deal to most people. It's the end of infancy, and the beginning of toddler-hood. It marks the end of the most exciting year, with the most growth that your child will ever go through. It makes sense that you want to celebrate this special day. However, since your child is still so young, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind to make the celebration go smoother.

The first thing you need to decide is who will be attending the celebration. If it will be mostly adults, your activities will be different than if it is mostly small children in attendance. You will need to decide whether this party will be mostly family, mostly friends, or a combination of the two. Knowing how many people you are expecting will also help make the planning stages much easier.

Once you have decided who will be invited, you need to decide whether you will serve any food or not. Some people choose to only serve snacks, while others choose to serve an entire meal. Do keep in mind that this is a toddler's party and serve food that is appropriate for small children. Don't serve food that your child isn't allowed to have. He might become jealous when he sees others eating it. If your child has a favorite food that is easy, you might consider serving it. For my son's birthday party we had pizza. It's quick and easy and a favorite among many children.

The next thing you need to consider is activities. Keep in mind that most children get bored and cranky pretty quickly. You won't want to include too many activities because a one year old child's party shouldn't last very long. If you are having a party that includes presents, you might want to break up the child's present opening time into two sections, or leave some left unopened if there are a lot. Most adults won't mind if you don't make your child open their presents during the party. They will agree that they would rather see your baby happy.

If there are going to be older children around, you might consider planning some appropriate games. If there aren't other children around, you won't need to include games. Just allow your child to have time to play to avoid the crankies.

Many babies get their first taste of cake at their birthday parties. Buying or making your child his own cake is a good way to introduce cake. You can also have a larger cake that you can cut for all the guests. The small cake is a good idea so that baby can feed himself, instead of having to wait impatiently for mom or dad or someone else. Because baby will be feeding himself, it's a good idea to put plastic or newspaper underneath his chair, especially if the floor is carpeted. Cupcakes can also be a good idea because of the mess factor, especially if your guest list includes several other small children.

Keep in mind that the party is to celebrate your child's birthday. As long as you plan activities that are appropriate for him, your party should turn out great. Just use what your child likes and go from there. Don't forget the camera!