Birthday Party Entertainment - Any Recommendations?

Honestly, his first birthday? Save your money: he'll never remember it. Have a cute little cake, have your relatives over or the neighborhood Moms and kids, but just don't stress out over it.

I know a lot of people are doing big fancy parties for the kids these days, but I always did the old fashioned sort of party. # of Guests= child's age +1, home made cake. simple games based on your theme, invitation stated from 1 to 2 or similar specific end time. When the kids got older (the 8 and 9 yo range) I got more creative, but I never spent much money on them, and never hired entertainment... I always felt that there were so many other things to spend that money on: theater camp, swimming lessons, Y membership, bikes, dance classes, soccer, football, the sports equipment....
your mileage may vary, but I always used the decision and the planning process to teach about making decisions, and opportunity costs.

congratulations on your son's first birthday! At this point, your son obviously has no recognition of the fact that he will be turning one, so do whatever YOU will find enjoyable. I had a lovely brunch for my son's birthday. If older kids will be attending, you can organize some party games that are age-appropriate. Good luck!

First birthdays are about the relatives and a smash cake. We would undress the child in just their diaper and give them their own little one yr. cake. We let them at it and its a great photo op. They don't really care about presents and stuff. Ours had more fun playing with the paper, waving it around.
When you get to older kids parties, then you can think about face painting or glitter tattoos along with other stuff like a bounce house.
You can see my website for face painting/glitter tattoos (temporary, waterproof) www.hennybulten.com

R.,

I would go for anything that involves music! Music captures the attention of young children and provides a lot of entertainment.
R. M.

Hi R., my in-laws have a company its called corprate bounce. you could go to their website its www.corpratebounce.com They have tons of stuff to chose from. hope this helps.

S.

First birthday parties are so not about the child. Your son is not going to have a clue or care about the entertainment. His most fun time will be everyone making a fuss and giving him attention. Unless you have a large group of older children that you need to entertain (cousins) don't worry so much. Lots of balloons, good food, and people that are close to your son, that makes it special. Don't worry, you'll have the next 8 or 10 years for the bday party entertainment dilemma. Good luck!

Hi R.,

I rented my neighborhood clubhouse to avoid the chaos in my home, that definitely was worth it. A few things first everyone has a different opinion on first bdays, to do it big, not to do it big. It depends on how much you want to spend, we had about 45 people. I did not have any specific entertainment, but the clubhouse has a children's playroom, playground and pool. That seemed to work out perfect with food and drinks it still cost us around $2,000 with party favors and all. This age does not not understand yet and can sometimes be very weary of characters. The party is technically for the parents and guests. So you can consider a bounce house or something geared towards the other ages that are attending the event. Most of my friends thought it was a waste to go big on 1st bdays because the child doesn't remember or enjoy it fully yet, they feel you should save it for when they are asking for special things at their party. Like I said before we wanted to have more than just a cake for our son. It was a lot of work for a few hours of fun. Good Luck just make sure it is what you and your husband want, not what everyone else tells you to do. Also check with the my Gym places and your local parks for ideas. www.DiscoveryToysLink.com/LisaRyan LisaM