Planning Son's 1St Birthday Party

Sounds cute!! I love "Preston's 1st Down"! For my son's first birthday, the theme was "Camo"!! I even found a lady to do a camo design on the cake that looked like a present and spelled out his name Kole on cake baby blocks. Dang, it was so stinkin' cute!! His birthday is in October, so the bigger kids at the party decorated mini-pumpkins, acted as something for them to do and as a party favor. I was thinking maybe you find little footballs for each child to decorate with stickers and such! I did get him a camo birthday hat with his name on it from etsy.com, needless to say, he would not wear it!! Since you still have awhile, practice blowing out candles, and by the time his party gets here, he will know what to do!!! Have fun!

The first birthday party is definitely for the parents, not the child. So, do it however you like. We did a big one for our son and a small one for our daughter. I played hostess all party for our son's and didn't really get to enjoy it. So, I'd not do that again.....hence why our daughter's was small.

The must haves for a first birthday (in my opinion) are photographs, video and a plaster/painted hand print. You can buy plaster kits just about anywhere or go to a make-your-own pottery place and slap some paint on their hands.

It's all about the memories, so enjoy the time and make sure you're doing it for you and Preston - not for everyone else.

Just a thought, my daughters first b-day is tomorrow so this has been on my mind for awhile. I love to cook so wanted to make all the food, after some thought... I decided on ordering pizza, no prep and easy clean-up. Last time we had a cookout, my husband was stuck at the grill the entire time and I was in the kitchen keeping drinks and sides full. So - I love the football tailgate idea, just have someone else man the grill. You 2 want to be there for your son and guests. Enjoy the day!!

Pinatas are always fun, especially if he is walking already, a small round cake for him (maybe a baseball would be cute, with chocolate cake) to dig into makes great picture memories. If you cant get a pinata locally you may find something small online.

Just a suggestion, but with all of my children's first birthdays, I had "the cake" and then I made a cupcake just for my child. It was obviously smaller (although I put a lot of icing on it to make it look bigger and be messier), but it was her own "special cake".

I think you have everything planned. While I agree you cannot really go by nap time, yes 2 or 3 hours will somehow interfere, you can have a pack and play in the yard to put him in. My kids took their nap a little later than usual and had no problem settling down. they were acually falling asleep by the time the cake was overe, plus they had a nap before dinner so they were good. I didnot have any activities for parties until my kids' 4th.

Sounds like you've got a great plan! I love the "Preston's 1st Down" - never heard that before! :)

We didn't have many kids at my daughter's 1st birthday party either. We did have some age appropriate snacks for the younger ones - goldfish, etc. Then I think we had some little prizes for the kids as well, again, age appropriate.

You can look at Party City or similar store for football-themed decorations if you want. Our Party City has a lot of stuff w/ themes. We got a few baby Elmo things & then just got color-coordinating napkins, cups, spoons, forks, etc.

Dont forget a smash cake for him! And otherwise I would just pull out some toys for the kids to play with. Maybe fill up a pool since it will be August. He will have no idea whats going on lol, so dont feel too much pressure! Buy a bunch of $1 footballs for the kids to throw around. And have fun!

I have 3 experiences with a 1st birthday- 3 SIL's, 4 boys (1 set of twins). The first one did a similar theme- at the park, with a bbq and chips and dip, but there were a large number of kids- only because alot of their friends have little ones, so they were welcome to bring them. The kids ran around the park, went down the slides, etc. It was a family affair. The only things that were specifically for the baby were a pinata (he was a walker early on) and the cake, which was done with a cool whip frosting so it had less sugar. The 2nd sister did a smaller family venue at her home and there were only 2 other kids there. We had burgers and salad and sides, the kids had a kiddie pool to swim in, and then we had cake. He opened presents (mommy opened most of them) and mashed cake crumbs all over the floor (put a sheet under the kid, you'll thank yourself later for only haveing to wash the one thing).
The 3rd sister, because her kids were also being dedicated by a local minister, had a huge party. The boys had their dedication between morning nap and lunch. Then there was afternoon nap while we set things up in the backyard. Now, this sister is also much more socially a butterfly, so there were LOADS of people there. Plus her husband is a professor, so they know a lot more people. ALl of these people came, with their kids. We had a bbq, ate, lounged, watched sports, and the boys ran around the backyard with their toys until it was time for bed. The one thing I will say is that some guests over stay their welcome and were there until after 10:30. The boys went to bed at 7:30. I am not saying all people are like that, but some just don't know when to go home, so you may need to prod them along. But the party for a 1 year old (great theme by the way) is about the family and friends seeing the baby and enjoying your family's company. They bring a few presents, let the kids run around and play, and have cake. When they get older and can remember more of their birthdays (take lots of pictures of this first one, too), then go all out with more games and details.
Good luck and have fun!
-E. M

... you are planning to keep the party to 2-3 hours tops, due to his naps.
But, don't plan the party AT his nap time, either.
And, there will be added time, before the party and after... for clean-up, putting away, winding-down etc., before he ACTUALLY can nap. So that window of 2-3 hours for the party will actually be longer... for him, because by the time the party really concludes and you are free to wind him down and actually put him to nap... it will be much later. Unless you have help, for cleaning up etc. To free you to put him to nap etc.
And he will probably possibly be over-stimulated.... or over-tired afterward.