First Birthday Ideas/Recipes

Hi S.. They grow so quickly, don't they? My baby started kindergarten last fall and turned 6 in February! Anyway, for her first birthday party, we did the same theme as her nursery. It was Winnie the Pooh. She still loves him so much. =) I considered making a cake for her but ended up getting a Winnie the Pooh cake made for her at one of the local grocery stores. As for the theme, if you want to buy table cloths, plates, etc I recommend going to Party City. We always find such good deals there!

Most of all, don't stress out over it. Your baby girl is going to smile because you're smiling and relaxed! Don't stress, just enjoy the moment. Happy birthday to your baby girl!

M.

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Well..you can go and get a free cake from most supermarkets..ask for sugar free if you go that way. Many of my friends kids got sick after eating their birthday cake because of all the sugar. But if you want to do a homemade one I dont have many ideas. We did the free one for my older son and then for my 14 month old we did a mash potatoe cake..he doesnt like sweets so we mashed up potatoes and formed it into a cake. Then we had an Ice cream cake for the guests. The other thing is I personally wouldnt spend a bunch of money of a theme (because you will pay through the ears for that stuff). Theme parties aregood i have found for older kids but the only one who benefits from them at one is the parnets and guest. So by all means if you want to do it and it is important to you go for it but dont do it for your daughter she wont remember it. And make sure i know this is pretty common sense but plan the party around naps...i made the mistake of not doing that with my younger one and he cried through most of it. we didnt do any games and made most the food adult food because his brother was the only other kid at his. But if you plan on having little ones other then your dd there make a table of finger foods the little ones can eat..cheerio's crackers..cheese you know the kiddo staples. I dont know i was pretty laid back after the first !st bday with the older one. I did a theme for him Thomas the train and i spent alot of money and he liked it for all of five minutes before he was over it. I know this is not alot of advice on what to do but just make it simple. easy for you so you enjoy it and dont stress out over it.

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I might try introducing cake to her before hand. My son freaked out because he had never had cake before, wouldn't touch it for the world (mostly because of the icing). Still hates it so for his second we stacked a couple fig newtons with a candle.

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Definately keep it simple to have a relaxed Mommy.
Child #1 I made a pot of soup for the relatives and asked her what animal she liked. She said snake. I just made a yellow cake recipe and cut a circle out of the middle and used for the head and the rest for the tail. She is a unique girl.
Child #2 loved carrot cake. I just did the Betty Crocker cook book recipe. I put some princess toys on top as big sister was an influence there.
Child #3 hates cake and wouldn't even try it. He screamed for grapes, so we gave in and gave him "birthday grapes" and took pictures of the whole thing for the scrap book.
I always subsitute apple sauce I've made for the oil. It is better on the tummy.
Have fun!

I used a banana cake recipe for both my kids birthdays with a cream cheese frosting. The recipe is just from the Better Homes and gardens "NEW COOK BOOK" the red and white one that has been around forever. Both my girls loved it. I went with that kind because they loved banana baby food so much but it is also just good. it is very easy to frost and decorate. as far as a theme that is up to you this is the one year you get to choose because by the 2nd birthday they are usually into something and you go with that. so you do what you want and think is cute or reminds you of her.

My daughter turned one at the end of Feb and we had a very low key party/cake. It was basically and adult party (adult food & beverage) where we focused on my daughter. It was great social time for the adults and just a fun celebration in general. Hung streamers, had balloons and party hats, but that was it for decoration. I was able to do shopping and get decorations up the morning of.

As for the cake, we did a homemade carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. It wasn't a sugar laden cake and my daughter loved it. It was also a fun project for grandma to do while she was visiting. No fancy cake decorations needed.

The party lasted 2 hours - just long enough to open presents, socialize and have cake. Daughter was able to hold it together until the end.

My advice is to keep it simple -- she won't remember it, but you will. Take a ton on photos and have fun!!!

If you have the book "What to expect when you're expecting", it has a great 1st birthday cake recipe. I used it for my son's 1st birthday. The only thing I would have don different is made cupcakes instead of a cake.
We were all sick for my daughters 1st birthday, and all I had in the house were blueberry muffins, so we used those to put the candle in. The first birthday is more a social celebration of the parents surviving the year.

Have fun!!!

My Mom simply gave me a cake with one birthday candle on it dressed me up and captured the black and white photo for my enjoyment as an adult. That is what I have done with my three other children. Being so young they don't really know what is happening yet with birthdays, so keep it simple and low cost.

hi S., My son will be will 2 in July. His first birthday was huge. Maybe 50 plus people, all family. It was also kind of a wedding party for me and my husband. We didn't have a wedding reception because we got married on the spur of the moment. It had a very patriotic theme. His birthday is July 2nd. I bought him his own cake and made about 70 cupcakes. This year I am doing a LEGO cake. Albertson's will sell a 1/2 sheet unfrosted for only $7.00. I make my own frosting and filling. Also this year it is only Grandparents and our brothers and sisters. I would never have a huge party like that again for a first birthday. I spent almost $700. I provided all of the food and almost everyone camped out at our house so I also had to provide a breakfast. Our next one's first birthday will be very SMALL. I was stressed and didn't get to enjoy his birthday as much as I would have liked. The plus side was I got about 500 pictures of his birthday party. Everyone made me copies and sent them. Hope this helps with your decision.

Have you thought about cupcakes? My little one was overwhelmed by her 1st cake (we got a little one just for her and then a bigger one for everyone else). I just went to a party for a 1 yr old and they had a cake but also had cupcakes for the little ones. The kids loved them!

I had a Seasame Street theme for my one year old in January. It was both nuetral and fun. I have a five year old daughter and invited our friends who children are a little older then my one year old. I gave all the kids goodie bags with Seasame street activite books and for the one year olds I got pacifiers,toys and one year old stuff that the kids could use. Oh and instead of candy for the one year olds I gave them like snacks like cherios, and gerber puffs.
I hope that helps.

First birthdays are more for the parents and family, as the one-year-old doesn't get it yet. Make a small cake that you can give to the bday girl to have at it. Make sure you take off her clothes, except her diaper and put newspaper on the floor under her high chair. When my son was little I did carrot cake to keep it healthy. I don't remember the recipe. I made carrot juice and used the pulp for the cake. It still had alot of juice in it. I use apple sauce in place of half the oil. Keep it simple. Have fun.

Hi S.. For my daughter's first birthday party I made a carrot cake (I'm sorry, I don't remember which recipe I used, but I did cut the sugar in half, and added some beet juice and raisins for color and vitamins). I made a cream cheese frosting, again cutting the sugar and adding beet juice so it would be pink. My husband did simple lettering. It was a great cake, and everybody was happy since it was relatively healthy (parents) and tasted great too (parents and kids)! Some of the parents had two or three helpings :)

We kept our party simple, a gathering of four of her friends and their parents and 4 or 5 of my friends and "honorary aunties" down at a local park where it was easy to get a picnic table and there wasn't a lot of traffic. At one year, my daughter was more interested in taking off the paper from her presents than the presents themselves, and it was great for the kids to be able to run around in the grass and play on the play structures in between party activities.

Good luck, don't stress, and have fun!

I baked a separate cake for my boys on their first birthdays, a small one just for them, and then a large regular cake for everyone else. They loved it and made a huge mess! (Great for those pictures!)

What I have done is to make a small cake for the little one. I have gone so far these days to buy a small dog, or cat type cake from the store. And then I have a larger cake for the rest of the family and friends to share.

As for a theme? I would say pick something girly, or just pick colors.
And take lots of pictures, because they grow up all to fast.. Mine are now 22, 19, 17, 14, and 11.

Congratulations S. on one year as a mommy! We just celebrated our sons one year on the 5th. it does go by way to fast! As far a recipes I tried a few (banana cake) prior, and ended up using the wilton #1 Cake mold, and a box recipe-it worked out pretty good. The theme I used was the #1, after all, you only get one first birthday-and you will be the one who remembers it. I tried to keep it simple with friends, food, cake and ice cream-bubbles and balloons. One thing I did, that made it really special for me, was I picked out a picture from each month of his life and had it blown up to an 8x10 size at Walmart. I took ribbon, and hung it on the long archway in our living room and used clothes pins and put the pictures on the ribbon in order from NB-11 months. I love looking at it, such a great year of milestones! I think that was my favorite decoration that I will always keep, and the guests enjoyed it too! Good luck and remember the day is really more of a celebration for you and your spouse so take time to enjoy it.

Hi S.! For my grandson's first birthday, I made him a cake out of cup cakes, and I formed them into a #1, it was really cute, no cake cutting, and easy to clean up and store for leftovers. We just gave him one and let him go for it, it was messy, but made for good photo op's! Then, just stay simple, they don't get most of it anyway, and you don't want to try something and find out too late it scared her! Have some food, and a few people, too many can overwhelm them at that age, and limit your time, she will get tired! Remember, if you have it away from home like at the park, you have to transport everything, both ways!! Good Luck and hope you have the perfect day!! R.

Go to the Family Fun magazine website and look up parties. There are tons of themes and matching recipes for cakes and cupcakes. It is a great resource.

My twins just had their 3rd birthday on monday and They wanted to share a cake. my family's favorite cake is a jello cake. Take a yellow or white cake mix. make it as per instructions on the box. then when it is done and cooled poke holes all over it with the end of a wooden spoon. Make a small box of jello, any flavor will work. After you mix in the cold water pour over the cake. put it in the fridge until set. a great frosting with it is 1 can of any frosting you like and 1 small container of cool whip. mixed together to make a light wonderful frosting. you can then decorate as you wish. this cake is soooo wonderful and is great anytime. It is much lighter and a nice cool treat for a summer dessert. My husband and all my kids ask for it all the time. another I have done when there are alot of people coming for the birthday. I look at the store for small toys in the theme they want and then buy a costco cake. Have costco do nothing but the writing and then I decorate it with the toys and some gel frosting for added decorations. Good luck and have fun.

Hi S., I suggest going simple. I went all out for my daughters 1st Bday and she slept through the entire thing, screamed when she got cake all over herself and I was devistated. My advice is go simple and have the ones around her that are closest spend the special day with her.

You're very right, they do grow fast. My daughters first Bday seemes like yesterday and now she is almost 8 :-(

Good Luck and have fun!!