Hey moms!
My little guy is turning one on July 2. We have a ton of friends and family that we would love to invite for his birthday party, the problem is, we are on a tight budget. We are getting ready to move, so my home would not be the ideal place for a party. My in-laws have land where we could possibly set up a tent or something- but I'm afraid it will be too hot or the weather wouldn't cooperate. I hate to ask someone else to host his party since we would be expecting quite a turn out. I could always just have immediate family over for cake and icecream...but I want to do something special with all his church friends too! He was a preemie, so for me, his birthday is a big deal! Any ideas would be great!!
Hi, for my son's first party (July 16th) ahhh it was soooo hot. But, nobody noticed. We did set up a tent, several cheap baby and child pool, told everybody to wear their swing suit and had a few gentle missers hooked up ( I think they are like 12 bucks at Home Depot). We served ice cream, and cup cakes (which I made). We had 50 people over it was great!
I personally would keep it just immediate family. I've been to quite a few one year birthday parties and they ALL get overwhelmed with so many people. The parents just ended up stressed and the kids were grouchy by the end. But that's just my opinion!
I would do it at a park. If you are here in Olathe, I know that you can reserve Shelters fairly cheaply. I would recommend Cedar Creek. Their have bathrooms, a fishing lake, and a playground, which has good tree cover.
To keep it cheap you could make the cake and ask people to bring potluck items. If you provide the meat. I think that people are more than happy to show off their cooking skills and bring something to share. To keep drinks cheap serve water, kool-aid, and tea.
Enjoy yourself. Your boy will never turn 1 again!
We are planning to have an "ice cream bar" for my daughter's first so if it is hot it will be fun way to cool off. If you buy the big 5 gallons of ice cream they are only $5-6. Plus chocolate or carmel topping with banana's, whip cream, sprinkles and cherries. If you can do it at your inlaws then it may be easier to keep the ice cream frozen until it is time to eat or keep it on ice in a cooler. I know that a shelter in a park in Olathe is only $30 for 1/2 a day(4-6 hours)
My son's first birthday is also this July. I am planning on having a snow cone party. I bought small plastic cups and I'm having the kids decorate them. Then they can use their cup for their snow cones and for their party favor. I was just going to crunch up ice in the blender and I bought snow cone syrup at Walmart. It could be messy but hopefully lots of fun!
We are planning a big 1st birthday party at a park shelter for the end of July - crazy in KC heat, I know. Because of the timing, I decided to have the party at 10:30 in the morning. I've been reading that 1st birthday parties should only last an hour anyway because the kids get overwhelmed. So hopefully (crossing my fingers) it will work out to be cool enough that we aren't all miserable, and short enough that if we are, it won't be the end of the world. We're just going to have a few snacks - pigs in a blanket and fruit - and then cupcakes. Since I haven't done it yet, I don't know if this is good advice or not, but it's an idea!
I don't know where you are located but Deana Rose is a wonderful place to take kids. It's a petting zoo w/ lots of activities and it's also free. It's in O.P. @ 135th & Switzer. I don't know if there is a charge to have birthday parties, but there is a little area for parties. We've been taking our boy there before he could even walk. He loves it!
