First Birthday Ideas - Novato,CA

Just a thought: if you feel that gifts for the baby aren't needed and you're wondering what food to serve, maybe you could make it a "finger food pot luck celebration" and invite the guests to bring a dish (appetizer type thingies, crackers, cheese, fruit, etc.) instead of a baby gift?

J.,

My daughter just turned 1 on Dec 7th and her party turned out GREAT!! We had it small, immediate family and God-parents, around 15 people. We had an Elmo theme and bought a 5 foot wall decoration, streamers, 2 Large Birthday Balloons and 12 regular size, table cloth, napkins and cake plates. We had a brunch party around 11:00 just after her nap and for her next feeding. We had a breakfast casserol, Mini sandwiches (rolls, ham, salame & cheese), juices & coffee for adults and for kids it was Chicken Nuggets. It was great because my daughter loves them and the kids were ages 2-7. I made cupcakes instead of a cake and made 1 King-Size cupcake for my daughter. She loved it and it was a perfect size :0) She got some winter clothes, education toy, and money to put into her future account. I bought small toys for gift bags and put fishes in a baggie, fruit snakes, and rice cakes instead of candy. Gave each kid a balloon to take home as well. The party was over around 2-3 just in time for her next nap. She was not cranky at all through her party and had a great time with all her cousins.

We have pictures of her eating her cake, walking to her balloons, open presents and group pictures in front of her Happy Birthday wall decoration.
T.

People will likely bring gifts anyway.

We served finger foods, cheese, crackers, dip, veggies, etc.

One thing that I started (and still do) was this:

I would have my son "open" his gift with the person who gave it to him. When he was younger, he needed help and encouragement for unwrapping so the gift giver could provide that. As he got older, it helped him to make the connection of who gave him the gift...and it allowed the giver to participate in the activity more. It also was great for taking pictures (and helped me to remember who gave what when Thank You time came around).

Enjoy the first b-day!

We blew up a lot of huge balloons (50 or so, thanks teenagers) and put them on the floor (and kept an eye out for popping so that no one could eat the popped balloons) and just let the little ones play to fun music. We put up streamers, too.

We wanted it to be fun and uncomplicated. At a restaurant the kids would have to behave and the adults would be stressed. And it could get expensive which brings up all sorts of uncomfortable problems (do we pay? accept contributions? have everyone pay for themselves? would it stop someone from coming if they didn't have money?)

We served simple healthy food and birthday cake. We told people not to worry about bringing presents, but that if they wanted to, to keep it inexpensive. I would advise against the college fund idea except for close family. It seems like it would make people uncomfortable.

Everyone had a great time. We had kids ranging from 2 mos to 4 yrs and even a couple of teens. Clean up wasn't a big deal. We rented the event room at our synagogue ($20 donation), so there was minimal furniture to get covered in cake.

For my daughters birthday I asked my immediate family to bring food rather then gifts (although they brought gifts anyways). When people asked what she wanted I told them that she's spoiled and doesn't need anything =O), but if you want to get her something you could get her (fill in the blank). I made a point of telling everyone she really honestly doesn't need anything and I invited them to the party because I wanted them to be a part of the celebration of her first year, not get gifts. Everyone brought a gift! I have a friend who put in the invitations, "please no gifts" and her daughter had more gifts then I'd ever seen at a party. My point, people don't' listen and like buying stuff =O) Since your sons bday is in December, I would ask for things in the 18 month range, so as he outgrows the 12 month stuff, you'll have back up. Or to make a donation to his collage fund. Or even return or donate the gifts he does get.
As far as activities. My cousin has two boys, 12/22 and 12/27. Every year they have a party and decorate ginger bread houses. My cousin makes the houses (they use to be really nice, but as the years have progressed they are now gram-crackers held together by frosting), puts them on a tinfoil covered pieced of cardboard and has bowls of candy on a table. The kids & adults decorate them (which can take a couple hours) and then that's their party gift and the candy is most of the food they eat. She also orders pizza.
Don't forget to ask for a massage for you, the first birthday is for you and dad, not really your son =O)
Sorry my response is so long =O)

For my son's first birthday we asked guests to bring a hardback copy of their or their child's favorite childhood book. He has a wonderful book collection now and many were books we'd never heard of and enjoy immensely.

For food we served chips and salsa, veggies and dip, and pizza for the main course. Soft drinks for adults and plain apple juice or apple juice with a little sprite added to give fizz for the kids.

For our son's 1 year b-day we kept it pretty simple. though we had many people there, it was simple with no theme and good food. we provided meat and two dishes and the guest brought the rest. we bought some balloons and paper plates and a friend made the cake. i sent out an e-vite and said gifts were not expected. this worked out well because then people only gave a gift if they wanted and we didn't receive any crappy gifts. all thoughtful gifts that he still plays with today. the party turned out great and we had a lot of fun. just keep it simple: a gathering of your family and friends to celebrate your baby (and you!) making it through that first important year of life. enjoy!

HI! Congrats on your son turning one!
My best idea for you is maybe do it potluck. Have everyone bring a dish. You can provide drinks and cake and ice cream. You can also get a frozen lasagna (spelling?) and have those if you don't have enough food to serve. I did this and it works great for me. Of course, we were able to do it at a friend's studio. Also, as for gift ideas, maybe they can buy an outfit or some clothes for him. If they have some toys that they would love to give him, maybe suggest donating it to Toys for Tots. A donations sounds good. I have never tried it before, but I hope the birthday party is a great success!
J. in Pacifica

Hi J.,
Have a quiet first birthday with friends and family at home. Serve cake and ice cream---finger sandwiches if people are traveling from afar. Be sure to time it so your little one is wide awake, and take lots of pictures. As for a gift---I would add a little note to the invitation asking that each invitee donate to their favorite charity in honor of your little one. Explain that this is your wish as charities are hurting this year due to economics. Enjoy the day and your little guy--they grow so quickly! N.

After reading some other responses, I must add this--DO NOT celebrate his birthday at another time! It's important that a child realize he and his birthday is special whenever it is! My birtday is 2 days from Christmas. My folks always made sure I had a party and it was celebrated as a birthday. Two things that still bug me (and I let it be known to family LOL)is getting birthday presents in Christmas paper, and having Poinsettias on my cake---I want roses like everyone else!

We had a very small, simple celebration with only a few family members and friends (I think there were 6 adults plus our daughter), but everyone including my daughter had a blast! We made homemade pizza (cheap and fun!), and my husband made a large one for the adults, and a small individual one for our daughter. We made white cake with homemade whipped cream, and strawberries, so the cake was fun but relatively low-sugar and cheap. Honestly, my daughter had much more fun playing with the ribbons and wrapping than the actual presents! So wrapped boxes with tissue paper, and bows would probably be fun for him to play with, plus you can take pictures, if you don't really want many actual material gifts. So you can definitely have a low-cost celebration that is lots of fun. Good luck!

My nephew has a birthday very close to Christmas. As he got a little older we have celebrated his birthday on April first. Kind of an un-birthday :) This helped everyone recover from Christmas both physically and financially. First birthdays are fun and the baby is so cute with that first cake. Just keep it small and when he gets to be 4 or 5 suggest the un-birthday idea to him and the family. They key is making sure everyone remembers April 1st and the big trick is your son's b-day!

Hi J.,

For my son's first birthday we had very simple food, like fruit, fruit snacks, cold cuts, rolls, fishy crackers, etc. Most of the snacks were foods he and his cousins would like.

When people asked and still ask about what to get him, I always tell them clothes and books. For grandparents we suggested savings bonds or college fund donations, but for the most part we said clothes and books.

It was nice because they gave various sizes and more books to add to our library.

D.

My kids first birthdays were always held at home. Nothing big, just a potluck with various foods. As for gifts, I just let the gift giver decide. That way no one felt obliged to spend too much money. If you have enough toys maybe you can ask for clothes. Kids always outgrow them too fast.