Hi mamas! My daughter is turning one soon - I can't believe it! - and I'm planning a couple of small, low-key parties. One will be the week before her birthday when my mother and stepfather will be visiting. That one will just include us, them and a couple of family friends. The other will be a week later on her birthday with my dad, a few in-laws, and a couple of friends. In general, I would welcome any suggestions for a successful and fun celebration that is still low-key. I'm also curious about your thoughts on cake. My mom is of the belief that all babies should have chocolate cake on their first birthdays, 'cause they're "just so darn cute" with all that cake and frosting all over their faces. However, my daughter has not yet had any sweets (and primarily only organic food) and I don't think that I want to start now. What do you think about cake and do you have any ideas for other "celebratory" food for baby?
Thanks!
i did carrot cake for my daughter but i made 2.
i made a small one for her exclusively with no nuts in it and one the traditional way with everything.
as far as the frosting went i just did basically a skim coat(just enough to cover the cake and have it look like there was frosting on it) with regular frosting on her cake and on the "adults" cake i used traditional cream cheese frosting.
it was a hit with both
I wouldn't put too much into the party because your daughter won't remember it. I think if you go to Whole Foods you can get cake mix that is organic. My son didn't even touch any cake for his first birthday- still hasn't touched it and he's 3 years old.
As far as any get togethers I'ld have a bbq or people over for dinner or lunch and have a few decorations. Good luck and have fun and don't stress out about it because it's about spending time together with family and friends that are important.
Hi L.,
My niece just had a first b-day party and it was outside. She really enjoyed herself and it was low key. We had sandwich makings and little things to snack on. For a cake my sister made a yellow cake, she poked holes in it and poured strawberry jello in it, then refrigerated it. For the frosting she used pudding and whip cream. It was really delicious and so much better then the typical cake with sweet frosting.
We had a red velvet cake for A's first birthday... b/c I like red velvet cake :-) I don't think she had any, though. A. actually doesn't like cakes, she'd rather have ice cream, so we've had ice cream cakes since her 2nd birthday.
How about [carrot cake] cupcakes? We made those for A's daycare friends for her 3rd bday, and those were a hit.
I'm with you - if you've been this conscientious about the food you give to your baby, it doesn't make sense to suddenly load her up with chocolate. However, a simple mildly sweetened banana cake (or cupcake) could work. It doesn't have to have frosting, and you could skip the egg white and just use yolk if you're concerned about allergies. You could put frosting on the grownups' servings, but I doubt your one-year-old will miss it.
Good luck!
