Daughter's First Birthday

Updated on February 03, 2007
D.D. asks from Beaver Falls, PA
18 answers

Hi,
My daughter will be turning one in a few weeks and we are having a party for her (about 10 adults and 6 kids). Does anyone have any suggestions for it? There isn't really anything she is "into" yet (like Elmo), so it is hard for me to pick a theme. Also, we are going to do the traditional balloons, streamers, smash cake, etc. But I'm looking to do something different, too. We will be staying at our house and we don't want to spend a lot of money!

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C.J.

answers from Harrisburg on

I had a theme...I called it,"Huggs and Stitches"....Every adult who attended the party brought a piece of fabric about 12 x 12, and pinned it together with other fabric that others brought. I then took it to someone who knew how to sow, and had a blanket made for my daughter. Pull string pinatas are great too.NO BATS!!!!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.Y.

answers from Washington DC on

The fiest birthday party is more for adults I find. My niece had an ice cream parlor theme for her 2nd birthday which was a lot of fun. Kids had their own bowls with spoon, she ordered but you can find pretty cheap. Then had all the fixings. Let the kids make thier own sundae, they loved it!

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R.D.

answers from Allentown on

My daughter just turned one two weeks ago and we had a Labybug party that turned out very well. Her invitations, outfit, cake, napkins, plates, thank you cards and much more was all Ladybug. If you like the idea I can send you pics and more ideas.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hi, my son turned 1 today and his party is this weekend. We also are having about 6 kids, all 1 years old. We are doing a rubber ducky theme since he seems to have some attachment to ducks! But we have a baby pool that we are going to put cheerios in the bottom and then "float" the rubber ducks on top. I will put a plastic mat under the pool and let them go to town with the cheerios! oriental trading company is a great place for accessories that are not too expensive. Then we of course have toys for the kids to play with and then one other thing we did was to draw a large duck and cut a hole in the head so that the kids can stick their heads through and take their pictures! Finally, we have some shoe boxes that we taped the lids on and cut a slit in the top and filled the box with pieces of fabric, they seem to love sticking their hands in and pulling things out! You could make it a game and put little toys in or something! Good luck and happy birthday to YOU and your baby girl!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.R.

answers from Washington DC on

Hello, D. I am as while planning a birthday party for my son. What I did was I held two (my 1st birthday) themes and pick. Have you maybe thought of a pineta this days they make them safe they have strings to pull instead of using a stick to hit it. I am also doing treat bags but with kids having allergies. Mini coloring books,bubbles,cayrons,pencils. I have varied of ages coming to my son's party. I hope I give you some ideas.

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T.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Hi D.. I have an idea I use all the time. Kids love helium balloons. Hundreds of them. Most stores have helium balloon kits, but I go to the local bottled gas refilling station and rent a bottle of helium. I buy the balloons at Wal-Mart, and it takes about an hour to fill a hundred balloons, and put ribbons on them, but they hang all over the house and look so great. It cost about thirty dollars or so for everything, but to me it's worth it because the kids love it so much. Have a great time!

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C.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

cater more to the adults the kids never really remember anything....set up a big card like poster board and have everyone write something special for the birthday girl that when she gets older you will let her read...then she can a least have a memory of her first birthday besides the cute pictures of cake all in her face

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D.P.

answers from Philadelphia on

My daughter's first word was DUCK so we had a Duck theme to her first party. We did Chicken fingers from chicken wings and other things on ridge pike in conshy they were a big hit. I made up baggies with rubber balls and bubbles. Gerber chews are also a good thing to add. I would do animals as the theme if your daughter is into them. Does she talk yet>? What does she say?

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N.M.

answers from Scranton on

I feel your pain!!!
I have a 7month old and am thinking about the same things. She loves Elmo, Wiggles and the color red.
I think you are on the right track, staying traditional and I love the fabric quilt/blanket idea from another mom.
Why not just have your cake match your traditional birthday decor and build from there, because your 1 yr old won't really remember it anyway.
Make sure you have enough food for everyone and games for older children if there will be any and just relax and enjoy the day with your daughter....

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J.W.

answers from Washington DC on

We recently had our son's first birthday. We served heavy appetizers (chicken wings, veggies and pita with hummus, meatballs, etc.) and cake and ice cream. We didn't have a "theme" but the simple decorations were Baby Einstein table clothes, bright colored streamers and a hat for the birthday boy.

I'm not sure what the ages of the kids are, but we let all the kids kind of play whatever they wanted. We have a play room with all kinds of toys and games and it was nice out so the older kids could play outside while the younger kids played inside.

By the way, congratulations!

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N.R.

answers from Pittsburgh on

FYI
They won't remember a thing! Mine is 3 and is finally into somehting.
For my son's 1st bday, I did the primary color thing with cake and balloons.
If you wanna "wow" your guests it's the adults you'll be trying to wow. Kids don't care unless it's toys or sweets.
Get mini cakes for the kids to decorate and let them have their own smash cakes too. All kids eat with their hands. Moms might be mad but SO WHAT

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B.L.

answers from Jacksonville on

hi D.,
i have been thinking about the same thing, as my son turns one in march. they are still too young to really even know what is going on, or be into anything, as you said. i received this great catalog yesterday that has tons of birthday stuff in it, and they are pretty good prices. they have a website too, so you might want to look on there. it is: 1stWishes.com
good luck!

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R.P.

answers from Philadelphia on

Most party stores have a set that is for first bdays. It is either pink or blue and has a big 1 on everything. There is an arrow sign to put in the yard (so guests can spot your house) and plates, napkins, and everything else you would need. This is the set we used for my daughter, it had butterflies and flowers. I know that she won't remember the actual party, but things like the sign can be kept for her as a keepsake and be sure to take plenty of pictures - my daughter loves to go thru her photo albums (she's now 2 1/2). The cake we got just had flowers on it (and of course the little cake for her), just be sure to stay away from red icing, I have seen so many little ones have a reaction on theor skin from the red dye (or dark purple, etc). My friend's son and my daughter both broke out in a whelted rash everywhere the icing ended up (and the one year olds wear more than they eat!) Check with your local grocery stores, they usually have a free cake for first birthdays. We didn't pay for either one of my daughter's cakes (the big one for the guests or the little one for her). Just be sure to plan the timing around her nap so she's not cranky or falling asleep! Good luck!

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L.W.

answers from Scranton on

ok the first party is always parents choice but after that the child will always want to choose as far as theme goes pick something cute that you will always want to remember i chose elmo for my son but there is also winnie the pooh and dora and all that nice stuff but go with something you want to do

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C.G.

answers from Philadelphia on

A musical birthday. I had this idea after my daughters birthday due to how the kids ended up using what was around my house as well as the empty boxes/giftwrap. They all ran around playing "drums", shaking ice in cups and scrunching up paper. it was really cute but would have been better if i had made some things ahead of time: maracas, drums, rain sticks. its age inclusive and danger free. except to your ears, it can be a little loud.

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C.V.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Hi D.....My daughter is turning 3yo on Super Bowl Sunday...smile...so we did the 1yo party not long ago! Not sure how good you or your husband are on the computer but as a special treat we made a slide show put to music of our daughter's 1st year....we copied her birth certificate, baby photo's at the hospital....etc....up to her 1st birthday. It turned out GREAT and everyone LOVED it! It showed how proud we were of her and most important it didnt cost anything to do! Smile...hope that helps...and have fun at the party!

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M.M.

answers from Washington DC on

Sorry no great ideas for you.... Just sharing my experience!

My son loved balloons, so for his first we thought it would be a good idea to tape balloons to the wall (since we were going low budget)... Come to find out the balloons taped to the wall just terrified him!!! To this day he's still a bit leary of all balloons except the mylar ones!!

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H.

answers from Pittsburgh on

For my little ones' first birthdays we basically just let the kids loose in the playroom instead of trying to do organized games. They are overwelmed by everything and don't really get games yet anyways. We basically used a "1st birthday theme" I guess - again, they weren't "in" anything yet. I like the patchwork blanket for a 1st birthday momento - fairly simple, but a neat keepsake.

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