Party Ideas for My Daughter's First Birthday

For different activities, you could have each guest draw a "portrait" of the birthday girl. They will be fun to keep and compare. We did a time capsule for my daughter's first birthday. I had each guest bring something to include. We received letters to her from my dad and sister, newspapers, magazines and more. She'll open it on her 16th birthday. Also do a search on line for 1st birthday ideas - there are tons out there. We kept things simple and just did gifts and cake other than the time capsule. We only had 1 other child there. But many of the other suggestions here would be great for the ages you have! Good luck and hope it is full of memories and laughter!

How long is your party? Ours seemed to go pretty quickly. By the time you eat, watch them dig in to their cake, open presents, we were at 2 hours. That is already a good chunk of time for them. Our nieces were there and they had so much fun watching my twin babies, that they did not need activities. They helped them eat their cake and open presents. As for favors, we too, only had 2 kids so I was able to buy them little individual gifts from the Party Store. I don't think you should worry about the adults unless you have a specific idea in mind. There is too much to worry about already. Have fun! I really enjoyed their first.

Go get a cute journal, put your daughters name, birthdate on it. Pass it around to all that are there to write down a special thought, piece of life advice or memory for your daughter. When she gets older she will so love reading what everyone wrote to her for her first birthday.
Also there is no need for favors. I mean it is a baby's birthday. With the kids being so young they won't even notice either.
If it is friends and family just enjoying gathering together and socializing. This time of year you can get bubbles really cheap, go get some for the kids to blow outside.
For my daughters and my son's first birthday it was about everyone being together to celebrate. Nobody expects favors or you to entertain them more then that! :) Good luck!

Keep it simple! Ring Around the Rosie, blowing bubbles, or just playing. If you go to a little neighborhood park they can just play! when they start getting bored, get out the cake, then do presents last. Don't do anything big for favors - maybe something from the dollar store.

This will only take up a few minutes, but it was fun. I wrote on cards how much my son weighed and his height at birth. As guests came in, they had to guess and write down his current weight and height. After we ate, I went through and declared a winner....who got a gift bag. It was fun going through all the cards and everyone had a good laugh...one Aunt guessed 30 lbs and my son was only about 19. My oldest is now 6 and I still have the cards as a reminder of his special day.

i would just socialize and have fun

blow bubbles for the kids to pop.

For my daughter's first birthday, I gave everyone a coloring book and crayon. I thought it's a favor that would accomodate both child and parent. I colored with my kids quite a bit when they were young and it was a special thing for us to do.. Just a thought.

A couple ideas would be to make quick hand-print or foot-print cards for the parents to take home. You can use face paints (my favorites are the kind that look like a tongue depressor dipped in paint) or finger paints and then put their child's print on a card or small poster board with the date and their name. Make sure to have some handi-wipes handy to quicky de-paint the hands/feet. Some wee ones (ittsy bitsy babies for example) respond better to having their foot print made than a hand print. White prints on black paper also look cool. It can be neat to get Mom/Dad's next to their kiddos too.

Another small idea would be to make them CDs of some of your favorite kid's music (or music you listen to). You can call the albums "So-in-so's Birthday Album". I always like getting to know about new artists since I'm kinda dorky and I don't buy music very often. (I still remember how much I liked getting mixed tapes from boyfriends.)

As for games, I think it's fun to have a bubble machine at this age, and if it's hot they could wear thier swim suits and splash around in the pool.

Also, you can spread out a big roll of paper or poster board and let them "paint" with using finger paints. Encourage them to use their hands, feet,elbows etc and paint the whole thing - and each other! Then hose the kids down. Ofourse the latter requires the swim suit attire also.
Have fun!

~J.

www.birthdaypartyideas.com is a great resource for party ideas!
You could have your guests write down things about 2008, or a special blessing for your child's future, a little letter they can open later or you could put in an album. Keep it simple and have fun! Target has some great items in their $1 section as well, and US Toy is always fun.

When our little girl turned 1 we did these for her & "frinds".

1) We got finger paint,2 plastic drop clothes & duct tape.
We spred out one of the plastic pieces , then we put all the paint on it towards the center. We then took the other pieceand st it on top. Then we took the duct tape and sealed the edges and taped it down to the kitchen floor. They crawled and walked all over it. They really liked the feeling of the paint under the plastic. As the move around it the paint will spread and mix.

You can find a lot of games on the internet for the kids to do. But mostly they will be playing and having fun with each other. I put out ballons and they had so much fun. For Favors, I would just give the little ones something (littlejourneysbabyworld.com, has little rubber ducks that are put into soap dishes. And they are squirt toys, for the bath afterwards). It's much better then candy. Hope this helps, have fun at the party.

Since you have older kids too...play games. sit with the younger ones in your lap, legs spread and roll the ball. Try red light green light with parents helping the one year olds. Try duck duck goose with help again and ring around the rosie.

Whether Lyla remembers it or not, it is a wonderful milestone that needs to be celebrated. Remember, your girl went through a lot to make it to #1 and so did you Mom!!!

I had party favors for the adults the first birthday party with my first daughter. I went to Big Lots and found candle gift packs that were on sale and were very inexpensive but made a nice gift. I did a Winnie the Pooh theme and gave Pooh favors for the kids. I had a Winnie cake, cups, plates, etc.

It was a perfect day as yours will be no matter what you decide to do.

Enjoy the celebration!!!

Honestly, at 1, whatever you do is perfect if it fits your family. I had huge over the top parties for my kids, and I have been to several small intimate parties that were just wonderful too. Cake is half the fun for the 1st birthday, and you have that covered. With such small kids organized games are unnecessary. All the kids will be happy just to play. As for favors, I would try to stay away from the throw-away junk that fills so many party bags. Instead get one really cute or practical thing for each kid, like bubble bath or a coloring book (both available at dollar stores). To stay cheap-ish, put favors in a plain brown sack with some curled ribbon to tie shut, then use a sharpie to write names. It looks cute and is easy. Over all, have fun! and take lots of pictures.