First Birthday Ideas - Stockton,CA

HI W.
First birthday is always the most important. I think you should be a very big celebration with friends and family. I have 2 girls and the biggest party i had for them was their first birthday. Another idea.. you can get personalized m&ms as party favors. : )

good luck deciding.

I would recommend a family party. They're too young at this age to really grasp what's going on, and too much excitement can be overwhelming. You'll have plenty of opportunitiesto do the "regular" party thing! :)

Hi W.!
I am going throught the same thing right now.
So here's what I am doing.
We decided on the family and closest friends with kids for guests. I know he won't remember anything, but I want to make it very special!
Your guest list depends on how much space you have. We are doing it at my husband's work (he works in a private meeting center), so we will have a room big enough to contain everyone.
Then comes food. Since it's the baby's b-day, I decided on fingerfood type of food. (pigs in a blanket, small sandwiches). You can also get a sandwich platter from Subway for example, or pizza. And for older kids-cheerios, graduate puffs, crackers, fruit...
I want to make goodie bags for each baby who attends. My friend gave me an idea to look for something in the dollar store. you pick that depending on the age of the little guest.
me and my hubby's aunt are going to make invitations ourselves because she is good at scrapbooking. otherwise you can get them from any store, but i think babies are us have the best ones!
before you start planning, you have to pick a theme! I am going wiht the "1st birthday". It's easy!
oh, and the cake! we are getting a cake for the baby, and cupcakes for everyone else!
you can also go to any search engine and type in "1st birthday ideas" or something like that. and it will give you a bunch of sites!
sorry, if that was too much! :)
good luck with planning!

Hey W.! I had my daughters 1 & 2nd b-days at our house with all our family and friends and plan on doing it again for her 3rd. Do what matches your childs personality. If he is shy keep it low key and small. However if he is Mr. Social like my daughter go all out!!! What a great way to get friends and family together and let the child in all of us show for at least the day. Pick a theme that he enjoys. My daughters 1st was pink and purple galore!!! Balloons, streamers, cake, cupcakes and all bite-size food. For her 2nd we had a safari theme and had the house decorated like a jungle. This year for her 3rd b-day we are going all out with a princess dress-up party. I know she won't remember these parties but looking back on pictures will make for great stories. I also own Premier Events and Catering Inc so I would love to chat and give you ideas, find locations if you choose not to use your home, put together a menu and cater it if you need. Or just help you with ideas and things you can do yourself. My fees are reasonable since I am just getting started. However, if anyone has a party or event I have always planned them. Best of luck to you and your son and have a great time!!!

We did a family gathering only. I think first birthdays really are for family, as little as your son is, he won't remember it, and if he's anything like my daughter was, she'll sleep through a good part of it. LOL We're doing our first kids party this year for her third.

Have fun and happy early birthday to your son!

In my opinion a Family gathering would be best. When they are this young the party is more for you than for them. They have no clue whats happeneing to them it';s just another day. You can still decorate with balloons & stuff but there is no need to spend alot. Thats my opnion on the matter goodLuck & Happy Birthday to him.

You can do both. For my son's first birthday we had friends and family and a few little ones my son's age. We did a BBQ and had cake and ice cream too. We didn't require presents, but most people brought them for him. It was really fun. Just plan it around your son's nap schedule so he won't get over stimilated.

Hi W., I am a stay at home mom with two beautiful little boys, and my eldest's birthday is in March, and for sure we did a birthday party for him. We just had a get togeather with the family and friends. It is a nice way to be able to hang out with everyone, and kids still have lots of fun. We did a bar-b-Q for my sons first. It was nice. Everyone brought a side dish, and we just made it kinda a potluck bbq. Hope this helps...C.

I have 2 girls and I think that you dont need to go all out for the parties, i had 1st bday parties with both of my girls and I wouldnt do it anyother way. However I invited mainly my adult friends and their children if they had any. And my family came too. It worked out perfectly, we did little kids games like stick the tail on hte donkey but not blindfolded, and other fun games. Good luck with that

on another note, I make specialty cakes. If you are interested get back to me we can work on ideas and quotes. I am charging a fraction of the price most people charge, because i just started selling them and I am trying to build my portfolio. i can email you pictures of some of my cakes if you would also like.

Take Care
S.

Hi W.! I didn't plan a 'real' birthday party for my son until he was 4, actually. Here's why: when he was an infant and a toddler, it's so easy to get overstimulated or tired or overwhelmed by too much activity. A birthday party packs some serious stimulation! My son, like most kids, would get tired, crabby, or teary when tired/overstimulated. Because his birthday is supposed to be an enjoyable event, we chose to keep his birthdays low-key with just us, or with a few family members, and cake and presents. He enjoyed himself and felt special without a meltdown. Success! :)

My husband and I really wanted to make our daughter's first birthday memorial, for everyone, so we decided on Fairytale Town, it had something for all ages. Our daughter is very social so we decided that we would have a party on the larger side to help us celebrate, and she enjoyed every minute of it.
We made it really simple, we served hotdogs (with all the condiments), individual bags of chips, juice boxes, goldfish, and cupcakes with bright colored frosting. It turned out great and everyone had a great time. Our daughter may not remember what it was that we were celebrating, but she knew we were celebrating her.
Hope this helps!

Hi W., my daughter is almost 16 months old, so I just did the 1st birthday party thing. I would definitly recomend doing a nice "at home" party with your family and friends. I chose to rent a spot at a park and it was difficult. My daughter couldnt really play on the play ground with the other kids and then the weather gave us some trouble. I wished that I had just saved some money and had a nice event at home. You know, besides the photos, their first party is really for us! Enjoy the simple parties now before they get older and you REALLY have to put on a great party. Good Luck!!!

For our 4 yr old son's 1st birthday, we had cupcakes for all the guests. We asked all the people there to make a wish for our son, explaining that since he was so young, he needed help making wishes for himself. This ended up being SO cute! One of our friends 5 yr old daughter said " I wished that he was a girl!" So now we always have that incredibly funny memory from his first birhtday! Good luck! A.

I heard once that the childs first birthday party is for the mom. It sounds a little selfish but I think it's true. I also think that's okay. You have spent the past year and 9 months putting all you have into your child. Not only do you deserve something you want to celebrate that but also to show that you are proud of what you've accomplished in that time. So I guess short story long... do what you want. No, your child will not remember this. You will. If you feel you have spent enough time and money already, make it a short but sweet party...or none at all. If you want everybody to be a part of it, get them there. Either way, your child has many more to come. Good luck and enjoy.

Whatever you do...make sure there is a bounce house. It's not a party with out a jumper.

Just invite everyone, get sandwiches, chips and drinks, pinata, jumper and some balloons and streamers. It's nice to have the first one be a nice one.

Dear W.,
The year my daughter turned one (last summer)we were going to quite a few one-year birthday parties with lots of kids, parents, family - the whole nine yards so to speak. Well, in my opinion it seemed that the birthday kids at these parties were totally overwhelmed and stressed out by all the commotion etc. When my daughters first birthday came around, I invited only the immediate family, baked my daughter a birthday cake, arranged a mellow barbeque in the backyard, that I had decorated with a few balloons. She had the best day, very low key, we just sat and enjoyed the afternoon, celebrated her first year gone by. She was totally relaxed and happy. So, bottom line is that you do what you feel is right for your daughter. But I had a good experience with a low key, intimate first birthday. Good luck

I had my youngests son first 2 parites at 5 mile pizza. It has a ball pit for baby's only and there is plenty for everyone to do. I thought it was fun, delicious, and he wasn't really ready for Chuck E Chesse's like my 10 and 7 year olds. Happy B-day. B.

hi W. =)

my son's first birthday is also in march. i'm having a semi-big 'everyone' gathering and his theme is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I was bummed out that mickey didn't have first birthday supplies, but i'm incorporating the #1 in everything and everywhere.

i think that the first birthday is more a celebration of the parents getting through the first year- cause really, our kids have NO idea what is going on. at the same time, you celebrate his life and with everyone around, it makes it that much more special.

i don't intend on going as big for the second birthday, though. lol

i hope things go smoothly for you! if you wanna chat about it let me know!

W.-

Your best bet for a first birthday is to keep it simple. Your son won't have the patience to deal with a large crowd and he's too young to really appreciate a party. I kept both my boys' first birthday parties to just family and a couple of my close friends (who knew my boys really well). Remember that at this age, too much exitement can make for a very cranky little one. Try to plan the party around his nap schedule, a tired toddler is an unhappy toddler. If you keep things simple, you and your son will be a lot happier for it, I promise!

And if you're looking for special themed partyware try BirthdayExpress.com - you'll find a lot of ideas there.

I just went to my friend's son's 1st birthday party and it taught me a lot about what I should (or shouldn't) do for my son's birthday. Something I think is important is your child's disposition. Is he social or shy? The kid whose party I just went to is very shy, so he cried through most of the party because there were a lot of people invading his space. I don't think I'll have that problem with my son (his 1st birthday is in a couple of weeks). He's very social, and always is making friends at the grocery store, etc. Also, if there are going to be lots of kids there, you might want to have some gift bags or something that they can play with because all the kids at the party I went to were "stealing" the birthday boy's presents/toys because they didn't have a lot to play with on their own. That contributed to the kid being upset, I'm sure. I do think that having the 1st birthday at home is a good idea in case your son gets tired, upset, or just wants to have a good time. Being in his own environment will help to make it more fun for him, no matter who else shows up.

I hope this helps! We're planning a gathering with about 10-15 friends and family, but we're doing it at home for a limited time. Oh that's also important -- make the party for a limited time, say 1-3 p.m. or something. Otherwise, your child can get really overstimulated and have a hard time staying on schedule (eating and sleeping-wise). Good luck!

When my daughter turned one we did a family birthday party and a friends birthday party and found that it was way to overwhelming for her, so when my son turned one last year we had just a family party and even that was a lot for him. But my family consits of 22 people up here. Both of the kids parties I had at home and that seemed to be enough.

I think at one years old the smaller the better so they dont get too overwhelmed. I remember being so excited about it and wanted to do so much but they cant handle all of it that young.

I hope all goes well and that your son has a great first birthday!

Kind of depends on the child. I did a HUGE party (combined with 2 other one year olds) and my daughter was overwhelmed by the number of people and amount of attention. and you cannot always tell ahead of time which kids will react what way. my daughter is normally very social and friendly. The other 2 one year olds did just fine and they are usually much more reserved.
this year, I am doing just a family gathering.

Hi W.!! I think first birthdays are mainly for the family. For my daughter's first birthday, we had a huge party with all our family and had BBQ and lots to eat and drink while our daughter was pretty much doing her own thing. Another thing we did, which everyone enjoyed, was showed video we had taken from the first year and had picture collages up with pictures of our daughter with all the family and friends that attended; that was a special touch to the party. The second birthday was much more for our daughter and her friends and cousins. Good luck to you and have fun!
L. =)

Hi W.! Oh! I just went through this. I had to make my son'd first B-Day specail. I made sure he was the little Prince of Day. We planned a huge event at first...then I thought a nice old-fashioned party was the right way. We invited our families (close relatives from both daddy's side and mine, we got him a special cake for him, and one for everyone else to share, and brought him presents. All the kids played games and won little "door prizes" ( you can also have goody bags) and we held it outdoors in a big open place (our's happened to be in a back yard since their was so many kids- safer to keep them corraled lol). You can do something different but this is what we did. He had a ball playing ith all the big boys. And I recorded every second of it with my cam corder. I hope you have fun with this. Don't get stressed out! Enjoy every second of your child's first B-day. Do whatever you want, and just ENJOY!!!! I hope you have. W/B and let us know how it goes!!!

The first birthday is all about what MOM wants for her little one, so live it up! At this age, there are a bunch of different themes that are appropriate only for the first birthday.... my son's first party had rubber ducks as the theme... it was soooo cute, and 1 is the only time you get to get away with rubber ducks... :)

Home parties are best because most of the time, the birthday child falls asleep before the party is over. Plus if he's home, it's easier to clean up the giant cake mess that was your child..... :)

The most important rule to follow is to do what you are comfortable with. some people don't like having a bunch of people over at one time because they feel overwhelmed. I can't even begin to remember who all came to my son's party, but we have an extended group of family and friends and are used to large groups.

Hope this helps...

PS a good place to get ideas is online at www.birthdayexpress.com They have ALOT of party themes! Have fun!