1 Yr Old Birthday Party Activities

There really isn't a need for any organized activities at that age. They don't have the comprehension of what all is going on, so anything planned is more for the adults than the little ones. For my oldest daughter's first birthday, we had a combo party for her and my nephew, who is 2 weeks younger than my daughter. We invited family over, my grandma made them each a little cake, and we let them dig into it. They had a few gifts, and we visited with family. My son and youngest daughter's first birthdays were the same. They don't care what you do. They like a little cake and ice cream, maybe a balloon, and the room to make a mess with it all. Don't stress over it. If you are inviting other little ones, I'd do just what you thought of - set out a few toys for them to play with and call it good. Don't stess over a first birthday. That's what your kids will do to you when they get older and more demanding. :-) Good luck and just enjoy the day!

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ours was July but we had a baby pool and a ball pit (little one). The kids had a blast and we BBQ for the adults. Cake, Ice cream and presents. That is all that is expected at that age. Have fun.

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Sounds like our 1st son's birthday party. The adults just loved watching our little guy play and open presents. Everyone had a good time. Enjoy this easy birthday before it gets harder. I am currently planning for my 3yr old's party. Not as easy.
Have Fun!!

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You don't need activities, but if you wanted one a friend of mine had a great idea at her 1 year old's party. She made up a quiz for all the adults to take that included trivia about her little girl (i.e. what was her 1st word, what's her favorite toy, etc.). It was multiple choice and she passed out cards with "A," "B," "C," and "D" on them. The winner got a prize. It was fun and I ended up learning a lot about her daughter!

Hi B.,
Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!let the kids play!!

That sounds perfect. And having very few kiddos and mostly adults who will pay attention to your son is ideal. You want him to get all the attention! And just keep it really low-key so he doesn't get too overwhelmed, and have fun!

Hi B..
CONGRATS on your little ones birthday!! as for your question~~ yes!!! let the little ones play while the adults fellowship!!when they are little, the parties we throw for them are really for us. don't you think? they have fun and get nice gifts they enjoy(sometimes! never know what crazy Aunt Mary might bring...LOL)but for the most part it is for us. mainly us moms, who love the pictures,scrapbooking,entertaining..... When they get older it becomes more of what they are into and what would they be interested in playing. Anyway, that is my input for wdhat ever its worth! Enjoy~~you've made it this far!!!!!!

all 3 of my kids had more adults at their 1 yr old parties than kids. The first one we had a BBQ at the park. There were only a couple babies and they played in the playpen while the older kids played at the park. The adults played volleyball or sat around talking. We had a great time.

The other 2 had their first party at home and we again had a BBQ and cake with our friends and family. We had dinner, then after the adults talked and kids played for a while we had the cake and presents.

There really aren't activities to plan for unless you have a lot of older kids that you want to entertain like a party but won't be expected for a year old's party so relax and enjoy yourself as the future parties you won't get to sit for a minute as they get older and require more fun things to do.

I know what it is like to throw a party for the kids and have only 3-5 kids there. Yes it is perfectly ok to just let the kids play and the adults visit. If it is mostly family anyway they will not mind just spending time with you and the baby. She is only one so stay low key and remember that in a few years you will have those big parties with a gazillion kids to plan for. Enjoy the intimate parties while you can!!!!

I had this same question when my son, who just turned 3 on May 5th, celebrated his first birthday. Almost everyone (about 16 people total) who was at the party was an adult. A one year old is still too young to understand the jest of a party. They may get into the opening of the presents but most of the time they would rather play with the gift wrap rather than the gift itself. In actuality, a party for a one year old is a chance for family and friends to see how the little one had grown and to catch up on visiting. What I did was gather everyone in one location so my son could open presents. After that was done, I then served the cake and ice cream and allowed everyone to visit with one another. It was short, sweet and to the point. I felt that I rushed things, but on the other hand, a one year old's attention span isn't that long so it worked out fine in the long run. If I could make a suggestion regarding thank you's...I took a picture of my son playing with each gift, wearing the outfit, or holding the money each person gave him. I then printed them out and wrote a short note on the back of the photo and sent them as my thank you card. Several people contacted me to let me know what a great idea this was and apprecitated the time I took to do something personalized like this.
Good Luck!!

B., it will be fine to just have ice cream, cake and presents and let the kids play. You'll never get little ones to play an orginized game and you'd be suprised how much kids like to play with "new" toys when they are at someone elses house. The adults will have fun watching the little kids and talking. The time will fly by. For our kids first 2 birthday parties that's all we did and we have always had fun. You might give the kids that come to the party a little goodie bag with a couple of cheap age appropriate toys. After all if they are really small they will have trouble with the fact that your guy is getting new toys and they don't get anything. A goodie bag as they leave is fun for them. Go to the dollar store and get some bubbles or coloring books and they will be happy campers. Don't put to much stress on having to do somthing. Just have everyone come over and have a get together.

We have family gatherings pretty often with 11 kids age NB to 11 years. The cousins all just play together, they have a blast, and the adults just visit. We never have any organized activities, and everyone always has a good time.

Good Morning B., Yes it is perfectly ok to let the kids play after all the gifts and refreshments are served. Adults do not expect to be entertained. Beside most moms will gather in one place and talk about their little ones antic's and the dad's will gather and talk about sports or work.
Relax and enjoy your child's first year mark.

God Bless you and yours
K.