1st Birthday Party Ideas and How to Get Started

It has been a long, exciting, rewarding and stressful year, but now it is time to celebrate baby's first birthday! You and your child have come so far and changed so much during this first year, and now you want to commemorate the occasion with a birthday party. However, if this is your first child (and even if it isn't), you might be at a loss when it comes to planning this first party. Fortunately, it's really easy to plan and put on a baby's birthday party.

The best advice to make things easy is to choose a simple theme. For example, choosing a color theme is great for a first birthday party because small children like bright colors, and it is very easy to find all the things you need. Also, a theme based off a favorite cartoon character is another fairly simple idea.

Once you have chosen a theme, you will need all the basic supplies to have a successful birthday party. First, if you want, you will need invitations. The invitations are important because they hold a lot of information about your party, including when and where it will take place, and the general theme. You can include extra information as well, such as bringing a change of clothes to a spend the night party. However, if you do not want to buy paper invitations, you do not have to do so. You can find a number of cute e-invitations online, or you can simply call the people that you would like to invite. Invitations also let guests know what the theme of the party is going to be.

After you have invited all of your guests, you will have to buy the supplies for the party itself. Consider what kind of food you want at the party. Most people will buy or make a birthday cake, and you also want some finger food. Remember that kids don't always like everything adults do. When it comes to the cake, you might want to stay away from very brightly colored icing, which might stain clothing, especially if you plan on letting the baby eat his or her own slice without help. When you're planning on what kinds of food that you want, you should also remember that you will need cups, plates, napkins, and some extra garbage bags for cleaning up. Sometimes it is easier to buy disposable utensils rather than using your own, especially when children are involved.

Once you have picked a theme, invited everyone and gathered your supplies, then you are ready to celebrate! See, that was easier than you thought it would be. If you have a slightly older child, check out our page of toddler birthday ideas!