Throwing Baby's 1st Birthday Party

Your baby's 1^st birthday is a big deal. It's only natural that you want to throw a fantastic party to celebrate this milestone in your little one's life. Before you start sending out dozens of invitations, however, take a few minutes to consider the following tips. You may spare yourself, your relatives and friends, and most importantly your baby an unpleasant experience.

Less is more. You're proud as punch of your little one and probably want the whole world to come celebrate his or her first birthday. Around the first year of their lives, however, many babies become anxious in crowded situations and want to stick close to Mom and Dad. You'll have a much happier birthday baby if you restrict your guest list to a few close friends and family.

By the same token, the first birthday is not a good time to go all out with clowns, Harry Potter, dinosaurs, or any other heavily themed party. A one-year old is simply too young to understand the theme and may become fussy at unaccustomed decorations or people in the home. Of course, a few posters or balloons to mark the occasion are fine.

Invite adults. Socially, a one year old hasn't learned to form close relationships with and play with other children. Two one-year-olds placed side by side will almost always play independently of each other once their curiosity about each other has worn off. Thus, a first birthday party shouldn't function as a play date for your one-year-old.

Instead, invite the adults who populate your baby's world. Invitees might include grandparents, aunts and uncles, favorite babysitters, and close family friends.

Don't stray too far from your baby's daily diet. As your child grows, birthdays will become days for throwing good nutrition out the window and feasting on candies, cakes, sugary punches and colas. But your baby doesn't know about all that yet. By all means, give a little slice of birthday cake, but save the wild indulgences for future years.

Shorter is better. Babies have fairly short attention spans and may become fussy if they find themselves the objects of attention for long periods of time. If you want to spend several hours celebrating with your friends, why not have them come over and play with the baby for an hour or so? After that the baby can be tucked into bed for a well-deserved nap and the adults (minus a trustworthy babysitter) can go out to dinner or happy hour.

Keep an eye out for inappropriate gifts. The only appropriate response to a guest who brings a gift is, "Thank you," even if you know the present is not suitable for your child at this age. After the party is over, however, take a close look at the presents. Set aside the ones that have small parts or are otherwise dangerous to your one-year-old. Ditto for the presents that are not meant to be played with, like a silver bank or an expensive piece of heirloom jewelry. Slowly introduce your child to the gifts that are age appropriate, allowing him or her plenty of time to enjoy one new toy before focusing on another.

Most parents want their children to have happy, memorable birthdays. Your one-year-old, however, will appreciate a party that is more low key. Keep yourself in check this year and next year, when you have a busy two year old, you can go all out with planning an unforgettable birthday bash.