Looking for an Infant Ball Pit or Other 1St Birthday Party Activity

Jumpers are a waste of money at this age. The ball pit is a good idea but 1 year olds tend to put lots of things in their mouths, as you probably already know, and you may want to reconsider renting one for that very reason. I had a hard time finding other ideas as well. So I got a bunch of different sized balloon, from water balloon size all the way up, and blew them up with a foot pump. I basically cleared a room out in the middle, took all breakable things out of the higher shelves, threw the different balloons all over the floor and let them have at it. Add some helium inflated balloons with long enough strings to be within grabbing distance of them. They loved the balloons all over the place and they really liked grabbing the strings and pulling on them and seeing the balloon come closer to them. You just have to make sure that if a balloon pops, that you have an adult there at all times to immediately remove the debris. Although it takes a bit of adult help and supervision, honestly - what at this age doesn't? They will have a blast and it is much less expensive then renting something that may or may not be sanitized properly. Have Fun!!!!

We just had our son's first birthday party two weeks ago. I was able to find a small blow-up ball pit at Ross for $14. It only came with 50 balls, which don't even cover the bottom, but the little ones loved it anyway. I put some plastic cups and bowls in there and they had lots of fun scooping the balls up. Three of them were able to fit in at a time. We also bought a pop up Thomas the Train tent and tunnel at Target. I think it cost around $50 for both, and they were a huge hit. They're kind of big, but fold flat for storage and can be used individually as well as together. We also pulled a few of his regular toys out (his music table, some trucks & blocks, etc.). When it was time for cake (cupcakes), I laid one of those plastic birthday party table cloths on the floor and the kids could make a mess with no worries. I know, too, how they say these parties are for the parents, but the babies really had a fun time. Make sure you have someone designated to take photos - you'll be so involved with things you won't have time, but you'll be so grateful to have pictures. We had people take some and wound up with nearly 300 pictures! Congratulations to you and your little girl!

We used a blow up baby pool and bought a bag of 100 balls at Toy R us for our dauhters 1st and 2nd B-day. it was perfect and JUST the right size for that age group...plus it is inexpensive and you can re-use the pool and balls again and again :)

If you find a place that will rent you a ball pit, let me know. I've taken our one year old in many bouncy houses. As long as the babies are supervised, all parties involved will have a blast. Grown-ups and one year olds like them just fine (well at least this grown up and one year old have liked them). Nothing to put in their mouths, post-partum mommies get a good cardio workout jumping up and down to get the "ground" to move for their little ones. If you really want plastic balls and one year olds DO love them, you could also go to Target and buy those little plastic balls and toss them in the bouncy house. One of our friends did that, the kids loved it. Then you have the best of both worlds for a fair price. Believe me, I have an MA in Early Childhood Education 0-8 year olds are what I do to earn a living. If you can't find anything else, go for the jumpy house and put plastic balls inside.

I wanted to create the same effect so I ordered the plastic ball pit balls on line. I think I paid $40 for 100 of them and then I put them in a small plastic blow up pool which was about $5 at the drug store. My partner and I used this in a day care play date setting for kids 0-3 and they loved it. Enjoy!

Bay Area Jump Rentals has a little kid jumper that you can add balls to for an extra price.

This is the link to the site:

http://bayareajump.com/standard-jumps.html

This is the link of the picture of the little kid jumper.

http://bayareajump.com/closeups/littlekidsjump.html

Hope this helps!

They sell some smallish ball pits at Toys R Us and the like. I imagine you could find one large enough to handle a handful of 1yo and it would cost less than renting one and be cleaner than going to a public venue.