Daughters First Birhtday Ideas

We did a "cupcake" themed birthday party and it was adorable! We were at the bay and had a company come make steak/chicken tacos for everyone-it was so much fun!

So far you have gotten great advice!!! My onlny advice for a successful party is to base party times around her sched.!!!! Then any party is a great party!
For my sons birthday we got a picture of him with every guest and then asked the guests to write down on a 3x5 card a birthday wish or thought for him. When we got the pic's developed we put them in an album with the pic of my son and the guest with the card the guest wrote for him underneath it. (we got one of those 2xphoto per page albums). Since he wasnt going to remember it we thought it more important to have his friends (mostly adults at that point)enjoying good food (and cake)and time with him. He loved it! Have fun and dont stress too much!

I LOVE planning my sons birthday parties, and can sometimes go a little overboard! I have never done a girls b-day party before but I can say that www.wilton.com has some great cake pans that you might love enough to build a theme around. Everything from carousel horses to a cinderella carriage..very princessy if thats what your looking for, but also some just plain cutesy ones as well. We also do foods that matches the theme of our parties, and even once had a guy come out and do caricatures of everyone at the party for a "take home" gift. I had a friend who once had a person come dressed as cinderella to her daughters party and do party games with the guests. The kids loved it. There are businesses that speacilize in this and will send people dressed as almost anything and can be found online or in the phone book. Hope this helps!

I found a woman who provides complete parties in a box for your kids. I threw my twins girl and boy a spa/spiderman party using the rented items from Party Pax and it was relatively inexpensive and when I was done I packed it all up and took it back to her. I wasn't left with the mess and wondering what to do with all the nick nacks left over. There was no running around from party store to party store trying to match up theme items. She had it all. Check it out. So worth the amount I would have spent in the end. Think about it. The website is: http://www.partypax.net/

Good luck!

I just went to a party this wknd with a cute picnic theme--red & white balloons, red/white table cloth, egg-carton ants (painted black and pipe-cleaner legs), cupcakes like bugs (chocolate frosting w/eyes and chocolate licorice for antenae), and favors were little basket/boxes (like chinese food but w/o the top) with red/white plaid fabric glued around the outside to match the theme.

But my bigger advice is this: keep it simple and not too many people! I had WAY TOO MANY people (80 adults & 30 kids) at my daughter's 1st and it was just stressful crazy.

WOW! A first birthday. That is exciting. When both my girls turned one, we had a family birthday for them. We asked each family member to make a birthday card for them, but not for this year. They were to pick a special year in their life and write a birthday card for that year. For example, my mom made a card for them for their 26th birthday, the year she had me. She told them of how she felt having me etc. It was great. My Baba made cards for their 60th birthday with a list of what she was doing when she was 60. It will be a nice comparison for them.

The first birthday is more about you than the child, they are truly too young to grasp it. So make it special so that when you baby is older they can really appreciate it.

B. Family Wellness Coach

www.birthdayinabox.com
www.orientaltrading.com

These sites have cute birthday things/party themes and accessories.

At this age, a birthday party is usually timed around baby's nap times. Lasting only about 1-2 hours max. As the other's said, its mostly for the adults and for taking photos for sentimental and scrap book purposes.

At my daughter's 1st birthday, we had "tea" type party... just simple finger foods and beverages. Not a "meal" type party. And we had a Clown... but my daughter was scared of the Clown (which is natural at this age), and she didn't want anything to do with the Clown. It was mostly for the older kids, anyway. At this age, they can also get over-stimulated, and over-tired/fussy with all the people talking to them and or/wanting to interact with them. My daughter had limited patience with all the people around at her party, even though it was a small party. Just a handful of people.

So, go according to your daughter's disposition. Not all kids, at that age, take to a crowd of bustling people.

Mainly, just do what is comfortable for yourselves and your baby and budget. Also, www.kodakgallery.com is a great place to make "photo" products with your daughter's 1st Birthday photos, AFTER the party. You can even make a great photo-book scrapbook. That is what I do every year. Its real cute and a great souvenir.

All the best,
Susan

There's SO much to do in SoCal... I'd start by picking a theme http://budurl.com/spinvites then check out http://budurl.com/amoms for activities.

My grandaughter's is in a couple of weeks and my daughter has been trying to come up with a plan as well. She went to Buddies, Bears and Toys in Santee (in the Target shopping center) and found a tape with her name on it and has decided to use it with the older kids for either a cake (cupcake) walk or musical chairs. Of course, she will go until all of the kids have a cupcake/prize.
Happy Birthday to your precious little girl.
K. K.

Schedule the birthday around HER best time of the day.....after nap for example. So that may play into what every you do. Then, KEEP IT SIMPLE. She is not going to remember it but you will, so give yourself a break. Some moms think that they have to go all out, invite every relative and friend and all their kids just because it's her first birthday. And when do you get to enjoy the moments that will be gone in a heartbeat??? Stressed out with all the preparations (which by the way your little girl will sense) that you don't have time to actually BE AT THE PARTY!!

Now to the creative part..... Pick an idea that comes from her. Has she become attached yet to some toy, stuffed animal, etc? Build your theme around that. For example, if her favorite night time comfort is a stuffed bunny, go with that. You can download bunny graphics from the internet all during the year and use them as decorations. Then tie in your streamer colors and pick out your cake design. You can even make your own computer generated invites with something like "Hope you'll hop on over for......."s First Birthday!! Serve some "bunny" food (vegies for adults and some cute cookies or whatever you come up with for kids) play pin the cotton tail on the bunny, cut the cake, open gifts and you're done. This can be adapted for just about anything. I was also thinking you could expand on a child's nursery if you wanted in much the same way. The most important thing to remember is that it's not about anybody else but your little one and her parents. It is YOUR day!!

Not sure how unique it is but I was just looking on 1stwishes.com for my son's 1st b-day and they had a cute ladybug 1st b-day! Here's a link

http://www.1stwishes.com/LadyBugs-Oh-So-Sweet-1st-Birthda...

I did a brunch at home in between naps for my son. It worked out very well. I made a bunch of things that could be done the night before and popped in the oven the next day. All I had to do was listen for the timer and pull them out. It lasted about 2 hours, which is enough for this age... it's more for the parents than the kid anyways.