Inviting Other Babies to Birthday Party

I think it's a great idea to invite babies and their moms to a birthday party. Just try to keep the numbers to just one or two babies and have it be very low key, a simple mom and baby bunch of games like mama held- duck duck goose, or hit bubbles from a bubble blow toy, hide a toy that makes a song and have them find it a bunch of times, mom and baby hand traces. Birthday parties are great ways to extend invitations to get to know people better. My son in elementary school gets invitations from kids I don't know and as long as I can attend with the people I don't know, I think it's a great way to reach out to others. Classes like that are great to get a chance to talk to others moms/parents and invite them over sometime for a playdate, the kids play toys and the parents chat. It's simple and fun and so nice to get to talk to other parents with kids the same age. Have a great party!

In that situation, I would take a treat to the gymnastics class, close to her birthday....sort of like sending cupcakes to school with your child. I think of it as a win-win-win. Your baby gets to celebrate with friends, you don't have to worry about who will and won't show, and the others don't have to worry about buying a gift, etc.
M.

I think the treat idea is a good one. Just have family and close friends to her party. I think if you invite the class it looks like your looking for more gifts.

this would be a realy good time to get to know one and other and june is still 2 months off.

we moved into our neighborhod in may and had a party on june for our son and we invited new people as we had just moved back to the us.

if necessary tell the parents that you are not expecting gifts but if they wish to bring some thing that would be great.

but baby parties are usually for adults to meet other adults in the same situation.

hope this helps

I would try scheduling some playdates between now and then. If you and your daughter "connect" with anyone in that time, definitely invite them. Otherwise, if its just an "in class" socialization that I wouldn't recommend inviting everyone, especially since the economy is tough right now and people feel obligated to give gifts when they are invited to bday parties.

You could always put a "please come help us celebrate, but no gifts!" type of thing on the invite.

Hi,
I think it would be ok to invite the other kids. There parents can choose to bring them or not. These are the first kids your child is really around so in order to forge friendships why not. True the first birthday party is mainly an adult affair, but after all it is actually the child's party.

I had my son's birthday at his preschool. I didn't feel comfortable asking the parents to bring the kids over for a party, but I still wanted him to have a party with his friends.
It went great. They made time during the day for it and I brought in cake and had a couple of games planned. Each child also went home with a small party treat. Maybe you could do something similar before or after the class. Then have a family gathering at your home on her birthday.

Maybe in lieu of inviting them to the party, you could ask them all to have a lunch date to celebrate after cass one week.

Hi, J.S. --

First birthday celebrations are almost always limited to family and close friends of the family.:)

In fact, it would be safe to say that the first birthday celebration really is more about the parents of the child than the child! You get to choose the theme, and who is invited, to suit your interests, your schedule and your lifestyle...Enjoy that luxury, because your little one will be 5 years old in the blink of an eye, with definite interests and preferences! You may dream of giving her a small but lavish princess party that year, only to discover that she is dreaming of a bowling party for 20! LOL

If you are forming friendships with one or two of the other moms in the class, and hope to nurture those relationships over time through play dates and coffee get-togethers, by all means invite these moms and their children to join your child's first birthday celebration. It would be thoughtful, however, to tell them you will not be accepting gifts since your child is so young.

But if you are not yet close to any of the moms in the class, it probably would not be a good idea to invite them to your daughter's party this year. By age 2, your daughter should have a few little friends from classes, school or playdates, and you might want to consider a very small party. Age 3 is typically the year for the first real "party" with more than a couple of children -- but to be successful, it does not need to be very large. Generally speaking, parties grow a bit each year, along with the child -- up until the early elementary school years, when party size begins to reverse itself to contain costs and/or to accommodate the request for a coveted "sleepover" party. :)

At 10-12 months of age, any party in any venue is actually a party for the adults.

I would only invite family or close friends to celebrate with YOU at your home in some simple fashion. Taking cupcakes to your daughter's gym class is a cute idea which includes the moms you have met there and (theoretically only)is a party which includes the kids for the birthday. They probably won't understand what is happening in their usual gym environment, but they will all enjoy a tasty sweet and maybe their parent receiving a balloon each could take home to play with after class as a 'token' from your daughter marking her day and their inclusion. Have fun!

only if you really enjoy the parents, cuz that's what 'baby parties' are about. i think the idea of taking cupcakes to the class and celebrating at home with family makes a lot of sense.
:) khairete
S.

You can invite any one you want for her party; they can choose to come or not....not your decision.