Baby’s first birthday is a big day for the parents though the baby would know little about what is happening. However every parent tries to make it special in their own way so that once the child grows up there are some great memories with the big day. We had hosted our daughter’s birthday party for close family and friends at a hotel close to our house. The plan was to do it at home but space constraint and considering the fact that Tishya is a rainy baby we did not want to take a chance. Listed below is a 10 step guide for planning your baby’s first birthday party from our experience.
10 Step Guide for Planning your Baby’s Fun Filled First Birthday Party:
1. Decoration:
For the first birthday, keep it simple with just lots of balloons; preferably color coordinated. If you don’t want to stick around the balloons on the walls ( if you are doing it at home ) just leave them randomly on the floor. Kids and especially the birthday boy or girl would love the balloons.
Avoid having those balloons which you burst on cake cutting ( with chocolates or glitter filled inside ). This could scare the baby. Also avoid using any sprays or musical candles for the first birthday.
2. Cake:
Look out for a unique cake. These days any bakery gives you 3D cakes customized design at a rate for which you would get the other cakes.
We had a doll cake for my daughter’s first one. She absolutely loved the color and the whole feel of it. Choose fresh cream as it stays softer compared to a fondant .
3. Dress:
The most important thing in the baby’s birthday dress is the baby’s comfort.
Choose a fabric that will keep the baby comfortable and is apt for the season during which the big day falls. The last thing you want on this special day is a cranky child due to the discomfort. You could color coordinate with the birthday and the decor.
- Read : How we celebrated our daughter’s first birthday?
4. Photographs and More Photographs:
Request someone to be the official photographer for the day.
If you or your husband volunteer to click the pictures, then in most likely case, there wont be a family photograph clicked.
Request a friend to click solo pictures of the baby, family pictures, pictures of the guests and of course the cake
5. Birthday Hats / Masks:
Just to add to the birthday atmosphere, keep some birthday hats and masks which are available in bulk at local markets. The kids could use them and if extra, even the grown ups get a chance to get back to their childhood
6. Food:
Choose your food wisely. In most cases there is a lot of wastage of food because a lot is served and guests tend to come in late.
You could plan the dinner wisely by avoiding too many sweet dishes since the cake is already going to be served.
Minimize on the starters. People tend to come in late. Instead you could have some wafers and cold drinks served or placed in trays so that the guests can help themselves.
7. Return Gifts:
Keep it simple. If there aren’t too many kids coming and you are not sure of the count and age group of the children coming, its better to give chocolates as return gifts.
Children of all age group will be happy. Even grown ups would relish on the chocolates.
You could handpick some home made chocolates of different shapes and group them into packs of fours and hand it over to the guests.
- Read : 25 birthday return gifts under 100 rupees
8. Music:
Don’t play too loud music. Keep the volume low.
If you wish to have a dance party then ensure that this is post the cake cutting. Loud music can scare the baby if he or she is not used to too many people around.
9. Events:
Avoid having any magic show or any such events for the first birthday.
Your child is too small to understand this. Also the idea is to keep the baby happy and entertain the guests.
You could instead have a small slideshow from your baby’s first year or videos which you have captured. You could play this in a loop in the background.
- Read : 14 fun and unique birthday party themes for kids of all ages
10. Treasure the Memories:
Last but not the least after the party is over, ensure that you keep the birthday dress and some memoirs (maybe some unique gift that your baby has received) in a treasure box. Once the baby grows up you could give this to him or her.
Also its better to get the hard copies of the pictures clicked on this beautiful day. You could a create a personalized album and keep it safe to be gifted to your bundle of joy when he or she grows up.
Hope this 10 step guide helps you plan the perfect day for your little one Share with me how did you plan or intend to celebrate your little one’s first birthday party.