1St Birthday - Charlotte, NC

Please contact Lety Campbell for ideas and help. Lety can create the perfect birthday celebration and the perfect cake for you toddler. She is a gifted planner and organizer and is very resonable. I have used her in the past and have been the talk of the neighborhood. This is her e-mail address try her out,
____@____.com

Sincerely,

N.

When all of my 5 turned one it was a tradition at our house to give them their very own cake.My mother always had the job of making the cakes.She made a large one for the party.Then she made a loaf size one for the birthady child.They kind of look at you in an odd way when you put the whole thing in front of them in their high chair but after a min the hands start digging in! It is fun to watch and fun for them to destroy it and eat it also.If you can handle watching the mess they really enjoy it.Just have fun!
M.

Hi M., I hope you have gotten alot of responses. 1st birthday's are great. Can be a bit overwhelming, remember he's turning 1 so he's not going to really know or care too much about presents or whats going on!! I am a planner within my family, work events. I could give you tons of ideas. You can go online and find 1st birthday ideas. Mainly pick a theme and go with it. Invite close friends and family. I am just starting a photography business so if you are interested in someone other than grandma or aunt taking pictures you can email me and i'd be happy to take pictures of you sweet little boy. Thanks and hope you have a great time!

My son just turned 1 last week and we took him to Chucky cheese. He likes to ride the rides (cars). They have an area just for toddlers at the Awhatukee location.

We gave him a pice of regualr old birthday cake, of course he got most of it on himself and not in him mouth!

We had a birthday party for him at our house. Remember, you are really celbrating for you and your husband(you survived your first year!)

Hi M.,
They offer party's in a box at a lot of websites just type "first birthday" in your search engine. That way you know it would all coordinate. They generally contain plates, napkins, plasticware, tablecloth, and a few decorations at the very least. Mylar balloons were a big hit with our son on his first birthday. I would suggest an individual size cake for the birthday boy; whether it is sugar free is up to you. Then get a sheet cake for the party guests. For our son, we put him in a diaper cover and a cute party hat while he was eating his cake so he didn't ruin his special birthday outfit. Also, put a plastic tablecloth under his highchair for when he makes a mess with his cake. I would also suggest wrapping his presents loosely in tissue paper so he can open them himself. Hope this helps!

H.

Hi M.,
It depends. You should do a little get together to celebrate. If there won't be a lot of other children, just have an adult get together to celebrate your little boy. For our childrens 1st birthdays we always got one cake for everyone and then a special cake for the birthday child, for them to dig into themselves (and take lots of pictures of that). My daughter turned one in February. I got the cake from Fry's with her picture on it, they can put any picture on a cake. Then they have these colosal cupcakes for only a couple bucks and they are huge! They decorated it for a birthday and she loved it. It's fun to watch them dig into their first cake!! The Frys on Tatum and Bell has a good bakery (a lot of Fry's bakery's suck)Hope this helps. Have fun for his big day!

D.

well whats so nice about a 1st b-day is you get to pick everything!!! By the time they are 3 they decide what they want based on what they like! My son we did Chucke Cheese cause he is a JUly b-day. You can do a park or a house party. If you are in a apartment and they have a clubhouse you could do the party there. He really doesn't need to be fancy the kid is just 1 they won't remember! For my son we did Thomas theme and Winnie the pooh for my daughter. My daughter we just did a small home gathering. You can even make a cake and put decorations on it or get those shaped ones. I did a elmo one of those that took forever one time!

Good Luck

Hey there. What we did was just invite a few family members over and I went to a party store and bought some Blue's Clues decorations. You know streamers, plates, napkins, Happy Birthday sign. I don't recommend buying balloons, though. Too dangerous. I ordered a cake from Albertsons with a Blue's Clues theme as well. For their First Birthday, in addition to the cake you purchase, you get a free 8" round cake for them! I gave Natalie the cake and she just had so much fun with it! I recommend vanilla whipped cream topping and white cake. It's less sugary and babies shouldn't have chocolate anyway. Just be prepared for a bath and lots of cleanup, but well worth it!

I love to plan birthday parties and my first suggestion is to pick a theme. Once you have a theme, you can go anywhere with it! Keep it simple, since it is only his first birthday and definitely do a small cake or cupcake for the birthday boy! I know there are conflicting opinions on the whole sugar thing, but I say, go for it!

Some themes that are easy, especially with summer approaching.
Beach Party
Under the Sea
Down on the Farm
Jungle or Safari
Trains

Hope this helps! Once you pick a theme, I would be more than happy to give you some ideas, etc. to go along with it!

My son's 1st birthday was family and friends. We invited a bunch of his friends from a playgroup that were apart of. If you go to Safeway, I know for a fact that they will give you a free first birthday cake. Do not order anything with red icing/frosting on it. If it gets in the baby's eyes, it will cause problems. Or if you want to try something less sweet, try banana or apple muffins. Just stick a candle on top, dress up your son, get some cheap decor at the Dollar Store or 99 cent store. If you want to serve food for family/friends, ask if they can potluck or just serve muffins/cupcakes/cake and drinks.

For my son's 2nd birthday, we rented a bounce house and inflatable slide (that was when the backyard was just grass.

Now for my son's 3rd birthday, we went low-key since must husband got laid off, and just had a mini-bounce house, playground set in the backyard, and let the kids sing songs and dance in circles, paint with water and stencils, draw chalk on the concrete, and do some foam crafts. Plus the goodie bag I made was for "preschool theme". I included a fat piece of chalk, two foam sheets with stickers, a crayon, coloring page or two, a toy (random stuff collected from fast food restaurants or little party like toys you can find anywhere), box of raisins and bag of Mott's Real Applesauce Fruit Snacks. They loved it..no major junk food like candy, gum, etc.

But for my son's 4th birthday (he's a Dec baby so it's hard and this time I think we'll do it like the 2nd week of Nov). But we might step it up and do Way 2 Play Cafe.

There are tons of places in the area like parks (but you have to reserve a ramada), even the gyms such as gymboree, little gym, and other fun play places are expensive. Since you're son is only one go simple.

Good Luck!