1St Birthday Party

I would definatly invite the mothers day out kids and ask around in the neighborhood. It is more than just a birthday, it can be a fall get-together. I don't know who doesn't like to come together for food and cake. When you meet with other moms, as I have recently discovered, I think you will also find that you have more in common than you think. They will probably be glad that you invited them!

For my daughters first birthday we did a teddy bear theme..I made teddy bear cookies for party favors, teddy bear cake and served teddy grahams along with a fruit and veg tray, crackers and cheese. I invited mostly adults and they had a blast playing with her. I think it would be great to invite kids from his mothers day out and mops class. For her second birthday we had the party at at park...for one reason or another none of the kids I invited could come so we ask some of the kids at the park to play games and have cake with us...that was a mistake!! We ended up with a handful of very greedy much older kids taking balloons (that were ment for my daughter)and opening her gifts.

Good luck!
D.

We only had family and a few of my friends for my son's first birthday. It was also a bad time as my mother had JUST passed away and it was all done on short notice. We had a blast, though!! He had his cousins there and that was enough. We went outside and he had his very own cake- NOTE** he WILL make a mess- so go shirtless, outside, straight to the tub after, etc... Just a warning!! Whatever works- know that he will get messy! We did "Little Einsteins" and my brother made a "Rocket" cake- but nobody touched it because it was so pretty. I can't remember what we did for food- he's 3 now. But something like a fruit or veggie tray, maybe finger sandwiches, pretzels, etc... should be good enough! Whatever you decide, the only way he'll know is by pictures!! Just have fun and enjoy your little one!!

I would give invites to the kids in his MCO class. At least you know the children and have probably run into their parent/s when you dropped your child off. It doesn't have to be a big party. As far as food goes and depending on how many teeth your child has or the food that he normally eats, I would consider serving hotdogs (chicken or turkey just in case someone is allergic or picky), ritz crackers with apple slices or cheese slices, pizza (cheese and pepperoni never fail) for the kids. Pizza is universal for kids and adults and most kids just take the cheese off. But again the menu depends on what your child already eats. I hope this helps.

Oh, you have to have a first birthday party for that little sweet one! I had one for my son and I invited friends that I had had forever, friends from work, family, and my best friend who had kept him for 4 1/2 months when I went back to work so I didn't have to put him right into daycare at 8 weeks old. You can invite whoever you want. I did put on the invitations that gifts were not necessary, that their presence to celebrate the first wonderful year of many was all that was required.

It will really depend on what time that you are doing the party as to what kind of food that you should have. If you do it in the afternoon, you could just do some 'finger' type foods since they would have already had lunch. That is unless you want to do a meal. I had enough to do, so I did a 3 o'clock party and had things like nuts, chex mix, party platter to make small sandwiches, etc. And of course, you have to have a cake for the guests and one for little bit!!! That was the best part for me was to watch him try to figure out what exactly the cake was and then tear into it!

It is definitely a day to remember, so enjoy it, take lots of pictures and enjoy putting them in an album to relive it forever. You will be glad that you did.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

I would say, sure invite the kids from MDO, that is totally appropriate-then you can get to know the parents of the kids he is around at MDO and you could make some friends. As far as food goes-adults like cake too-and brownies-don't go too overboard, just remember the clean up that will be invlolved! Have fun with it-and maks sure to ask for RSVP's.

Definitely celebrate that sweet one year old party, but if you don't know the names of the children of the parents, don't invite them - that alone means you don't know them well enough. Honestly, friends without children don't usually enjoy a 1 yr. old party either. It's awkward for everyone. You mention that he attends a MDO program. Celebrate his party mid-morning at the school with cupcakes and take lots of pictures. The one yr. old party (and actually even years later) should be reserved for guests that you consider a friend of your childs (we always need to remember .. it's your child's party not the adults). Please don't put a sign in your yard inviting strangers .. you don't want to invite anyone in your home that you don't know well to be around your child, and you. Birthdays are always special ... you can decorate the house with balloons and streamers and make the special girl/boy feel like a PRINCESS/PRINCE! It doesn't take a lot of strangers around to make this happen. When he enters school, you'll meet more of his friends and their parents. That's the time to plan bigger things IF he would enjoy it. Some children LOVE big parties, some LOVE smaller things with just one or two friends. The key is to take pictures of that sweetie playing in the cake and having fun!

Check the Mamasorce files, there are all kinds of ideas there, or you may have already gotten it all together. Have a ball with your son.

Usually the first couple of birthday parties are for the parents and not for the children. I would certainly invite the Mother's Day Out group. It would give you an opportunity to make some friends -- I would not invite the neighborhood children! You will have too large a disparity in age group abilities, what they want to do, what they can do, and what they want to eat! Your one-year old will be overwhelmed along with you!

Have you seen the commercial where the mothers are all eating chips and the babies are asleep in their carriers? That's what this first birthday party will probably be like.

Good luck. My son's first party was small -- one friend from his "group" of the same age. As he grew, so did the party size and activities!

Does he go to daycare if so hten maybe you can do it there. Or do it as a community affair because at 1 they dont have any friends. My daughter just had her first real birthday party she is 7. She had many friends to invite. The other times we just did cake and ice cream at school or daycare. She loved it and it was shared by her friends.

I think that it is just fine for you to invite adults to the 1st birthday party. Inviting the children from mothers day out is also ok. I have a home daycare and alot of parents invite the children that are here.

For a 1 year old, I would recommend family and close friends only. They aren't really able to play with other kids and it would be overwhelming. In my opinion, wait until 2-3 to start inviting friends, and then only invite a couple of their best friends.

I like your idea of the KIDS WELCOME sign. I have moved a lot and once we used the excuse of the dog's birthday to hold a small party to meet the kids in the neighborhood. My kids were older than yours but it turned out to be a great idea! My children still talk about it and it has been 35 years or so! jjj

Its a great idea to celebrate first birthday. On our twins first birthday, we invited our close family friends (we don't have family here) who helped us during my pregnancy or during the first year of our boys - about 40 adults and 12 kids of all ages. We got a cake for the party and also two small cakes for the boys to enjoy! The theme was jungle animals because at that time the boys enjoyed animals. We had lots of food (pizza & macaroni & cheese for kids, lasagne, sandwiches, appetizers). Since this celebration was about saying thanks to our special guests, we spent much on the party favors (they were individualized for all). We had a teen girl paste temporary tattoos on other kids. We also played a few games for kids. It was a memorable birthday and the animal theme was colorful ... worth all the effort. Wish you fun planning!

Since you asked... I invited all of our (mine & my husbands) friends with children around the same age to our son's first birthday party. I made sure to have all the neighbors feel welcome also, on top of that... while niether of us have our parents in town, we have extended family (grandparents, step-parents, and my husband has 4 brothers with families) that we included.
It was more than overwhelming! I was excited to do it & had a great time... but by his 2nd birthday I invited 3 of his little friends and then included family and some of the neighbors.
Both of the parties were themed & fun but I think it was more fun with less of a crowd...
His 3rd birthday is coming up & we just mailed out the invites for this one... I actually included 6 of his friends and minimized the family invites. It does start becoming more about the child than the event. You'll get it all figured out after this one!
Good luck and have fun!!!
V.

Hi S.! My baby girl is also turning one, November 17! I think we are going to have two get-togethers: one for family/friends/acquaintances with children and a smaller get together at a resturant for close family and friends. I have the mindset that this is a huge milestone for not only our kiddos but us as parents for surviving the first year! I say do whatever you and your husband are comfortable with. Inviting the MDO kids is a great idea to meet other moms that have kids the same age as you.

Food ideas, I think I'm going to keep ours pretty simple: finger foods and I will probably get a fruit arrangement from Edible Arrangements. I know that there are probably hundreds of websites but we got a catalog in the mail for 1st birthday party decorations. Their website is firstwishes.com and it has some really cute stuff!

Good luck and congrats :)

Dear S. go ahead and celebrate it like you want to we always regret it when we don't. I did and I love looking back at the pictures of their first birthday. I bought a cake just for them and one for the guests and let my baby just have at it. It was so much fun. My mom used to give neighborhood birthday parties for us and they were so much fun, of course we were older but do what you feel peace about and you won't go wrong. As far as food the simplier the better because you aren't going to want anything distracting you from your one year old. Hope this helps.

If it were me--and it has been--I would invite whom you know,
and anyone whom you think might enjoy it--whether a grown-up or kid. The baby will love it either way ; )
You might use a differnt future opportunity to have a get-to-know-you gathering. Some people who do't know you well and get invited to a birthday gathering might take it as you were using them to get gifts! haha Most people probably woulnd't, but you never know : )
HOWEVER-- if you put that cool sign up, it might be a very non-intrusive way of meeting are kids and their folks.
The sign might be a great plan : )
Hope the party is wonderful.
Blessings,
H.

The Rule of Thumb for the amount of children invited to a child's birthday party is equal the age of your child. So it is perfect timing that you are new to people around here! You just need one kid!:) I would pick a kid and a mom that you know and love and invite them on over! AND/OR You also could just bring cupcakes for the birthday boy to MOPS to celebrate that way.
If you want to have a party for him on his actual birthday then invite that cousin of yours over!!
As for the neighborhood party and getting to know them...Have a "It's Fall Y'all" block party and everyone might have a ball and think that it is a fun idea and you could get enough people that want to bring food and make it an annual thing!!

I lived far away from my family too for 10 years and had to fly my mom and dad in for my oldest boy's first birthday. We just had the hotel my parents were staying make a cake for him, get a private room had our dinner there...they cleaned and we just relaxed and had fun!
Don't stress...Have fun!

A first birthday party is more celebrating this milestone rather than having him play with kids. So invite your friends even if they don't have kids. If the guest list isn't too long then invite the kids from MDO. This will give you a chance to meet the other moms and maybe even make new friends.

As for themes, I got the plates and decorations that were for a first birthday. For food we had fruit and veggie trays, finger sandwiches, a deli meat and cheese tray, chips and dip. Soft drinks for the adults, juice boxes for the kids and water. Our parties were outside so I didn't worry too much about a mess.

Buy or make a small cake for the birthday boy to "smash" these will be the best pictures. Also kids love cupcakes.

Also, if you have a couple of close friends, ask them to help out so that if your son gets overwhelmed, you can take care of him. Your friends can make sure there is always enought food out, help with the pictures and videos and pass out the favors.

Have fun and get lots of pictures.

My MDO let me have a small party at the school. I brought a bubble blowing machine and a bouncy ball (the big 12" type) for each kid. They crawled and danced and squealed with delite. I took lots of pics. We served juice and a frosted cookie and sang. Since I didn't know the moms well, I didn't know if they would bring their kids to a party at our home. This was the perfect solution. My daughter felt like she had a party with her friends and it was easy. We did a family thing later.

I think you will be more comfortable as a hostess with just the people you really want to have there on his special day. He's not really old enough to care one way or the other about kids being there. Our daughter hit one of the guests from her age group on the head with a whisk from the kitchen, I remember. If you know who's coming, you can plan better. Also, I think a large party can easily overwhelm a one-year-old.