First Birthday Celebration

• A potluck birthday party, where all the invitees can bring simple dishes like chips and dip and veggies, is also a good idea.
• Children may feel claustrophobic in large gatherings. Small gathering of close friends and relatives, especially ones with small babies, of not more than twenty people can keep costs down, guests more manageable and your party more enjoyable for both you and your kid.
• Do not plan too many activities for kids so small. You can opt for either building blocks for kids, blow bubbles for them to pop or make a drum out of transparent containers that have beans in them and are sealed, so that babies can bang on it and see the beans jump.
• Fancy birthday cakes are expensive and difficult for the babies to eat, so just put the frosting and icing on cupcakes and cut it instead. Babies will love to have the cake that is just for them.
• Homemade personalized invitations will make a good impression on the guests and are cost-effective too. Write down your invitation on the belly of the teddy bears cut out of construction paper or the paper balloons with a ribbon for a tail. You can also pick up a close-up photo of your child and glue it to the paper and write party information and specifics on the cartoon bubble as if she is inviting the guests to her event.
• Thank-you notes can be made by dipping baby’s hand in washable paint and let her stamp plain stock cards and then you can add note on it.
• Throw the party in the evening, preferably between 3 to 5 p.m., so that tea and drinks and snacks are all what you need for the party and you won’t be overloaded with doing all the cooking for lunch or dinner.
• Use baby’s toys, bright and colorful baby blankets, streamers and balloons to decorate the birthday room for the baby. They are inexpensive and look good too.
• Use bath toys bought in bulk for party favors or use Polaroid camera to click a snap of each child guest with your baby, put it in inexpensive frame and hand it out as party souvenirs.