Recipe: Here are some Wonderful Ideas for a 1st B'Day Party!

Dear Kelley,

Your sweet Baby Reese's 1st Birthday Party is just around the corner - It's never to early to celebrate your baby's first year with family, fun and games! Below are some great ideas to make your party a memorable one.

Planning your baby's 1st party has special considerations.
Below is a list of favorite 1st birthday party themes,
as well as ideas to help you create your own theme. Also,
First Birthday Party Games and Activities for Grown-ups
and ideas to entertain the adults.

Birthday Cake Recipes - Create a birthday cake or cupcakes
to match your theme. Gather ideas from magazines or books that are related to the theme and show to the baker for making a special cake.

FAVORITE BABY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY THEMES
Choosing a theme will help you to coordinate invitations, paper goods, favors, games, a cake, and so forth. Here are some simple Baby's 1st party plans as well as a list of favorite themes.

Birthday Bears 1st Birthday
Care Bears 1st Birthday Girl
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Fairy Princess 1st Birthday
One is Fun!
Rubber Ducky
Sesame Street 1st Birthday
Trip to the Zoo
Winnie The Pooh 1st Birthday
1st Birthday Girl

CREATE YOUR OWN PARTY BABY'S 1ST PARTY THEME:

ABC & 123 - Use solid primary colored party supplies,
building blocks and children's sing-a-long music to create
a baby friendly environment. Lead a "circle time" or ask a
preschool teacher to help.

Mommy and Baby Tea Party - Invite a few special friends
to celebrate your baby's 1st birthday with a traditional tea party.

Take me to the Zoo - You can either go to the Zoo with
some special family friends or set the stage at home with stuffed animals, posters and solid colored party products.
Make masks with paper plates, play animal charades.
Zoo Trip Party Plan

Mother Goose Party- Have your guests dress-up as their favorite Nursery Rhyme character. Hang drawings or posters
of Mother Goose Characters. Decorate a sheet cake to look like an open book.

A Color Party
Bright colors and simplicity is in order here. Have your guest dress in all red or all yellow etc.- Color rainbows- Have a rainbow cake - Children can decorate your walkway using sidewalk chalk. Give a coloring book and crayons as a party gift. Serve cupcakes made in colored ice cream cones.

BABY'S 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY TIPS

When should I have my party?

Keep the party short 1- 1/12 hours is about the
most a one year old can handle without getting over
stimulated and possibly cranky.

Schedule around nap times. Late morning, allows for
a morning nap or late afternoon to allow for an
afternoon nap.

Weekend parties usually work better for parents
and other adults.
How many guest should I invite?


Most first birthday parties are for the adults in
your child's life (family and friends). Invite the most
special friends and relatives.
Keep it to a manageable number of guests for you
and your space. Keep in mind, that you will be
caring for your little one at the same time.

If you intend to invite other babies or toddlers
1- 3 guests is ideal with a maximum of 5.

Parents of little ones should be included as guests
so they can assist their children and you if necessary.

Should I serve food?
Although it is not necessary to provide a meal,
finger foods are always nice. Especially with babies.

Check with ALL parents regarding food allergies and
safety. Keep packaging fun but safe.
What else should I keep in mind?

Be flexible!!!! All parents know that children and their
behaviors are not predictable. Un-scheduled rests,
tears, accidents etc. are to be expected at a baby's
first birthday. Just relax and go with the flow.

To help you be flexible...arrange for help from a reliable
friend or family member who can watch your child or
entertain while you change a diaper, pick up a spill etc.

If you plan on having children at the party keep plenty
of toys and activities available to keep them occupied.

Baby-proof the party space.

REMEMBER - This is a day to celebrate the birth of your
child. Keep the party simple so you can do just that. Plan
some special quiet time at the end of the day just for Mom, Dad, and baby.

BABY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY GAMES & ACTIVITIES
Realistically, one year old parties are for the grown-ups to celebrate. Here are some game ideas that adults can enjoy.

Baby Bottle Bowling - also a good baby shower game!
Fill Fill ten baby bottles with water or rice to make them more stable. Arrange the bottles on the floor like bowling pins.
Mark an "X" a reasonable distance from the "pins".
Players will take turns trying to get a strike using a ball.

Baby Monitor Madness
This is similar to a treasure hunt.
You'll need a a baby monitor that can travel some distance.

Before the party, write two lists of clues about areas or items from around your home - 5-10 object per list.
Hide a fun object or candy at each location.
Clue Example:
POP Too dark...POP Too light I never seem to get it right
(toaster)

To play: The teams start the game in different locations.
One team is assigned to the the transmitter and the other
will carry the receiver. The transmitter team has a list of clues. They read the clues through the monitor to the "receiver" team. They have only 1-2 minutes to solve the
clue and collect the object at that location before the next clue is read. When the clues have all been read, that round
is over. the teams switch and there is a new list of clues.
The team that solves the most clues wins!

You Are So Special
Place a current photo of your baby in a cardboard mat
frame with a wide edge. Place the photo with acid-free
markers or gel pens on a table. Throughout the party
invite guests to write a message to the birthday child.
You are special because...Happy birthday, Why we love you etc....After the party place this special keepsake in a
glass frame and hang it in baby's room!

Take a Guess
Fill a jar with dry Cheerios cereal, a babies favorite!
You'll need to count the cereal before placing it in the jar.
Every guest will write their name on a piece of paper and
make their guess as to how many pieces of cereal there
are in the jar. Closest guess wins a prize.

Baby Gym Relay
Have you ever noticed much much moving your
little one does. Most adults would find this exhausting!
This relay race will give your guests a workout.
Place two baskets at one end of a room and a pile
of toys at the other end. Divide the guests into teams.
they will start the game at the pile of toys. Players take
turns picking up a toy, crawling (or walking on their knees)
to the basket, drop the toy into the basket and return to
their team. Next player takes their turn and so on. Until
all of the toys are in the basket. First team to finish wins!

Portrait Time -
This is supposed to be fun and with no artistic pressure.
Give every guest some crayons, paper and hard surface
or play at a table - hold the baby where everyone can see him/her.

When you say "Go" players have 30 seconds to draw the baby. When the time is up...switch drawings to the player next
to you (clockwise) -- Say "GO" draw again. Keep this going
for several rounds (or as long as your baby can handle sitting) the pictures are quite entertaining. Remember, no artistic talent is necessary. Stick figures, abstract ...anything goes.
After the party you may want to make a collage using all of the pictures and frame it - talk about an original work of art.

Baby's First Guessing Game:
Before the party, collect photos, mementos, and hand
drawn pictures of your babies milestones. Tape them
onto construction paper and then mount them on the
wall chronologically, but without dates.
Examples of milestones: left hospital, first shots, 1st bath,
first trip, slept through the night, 1st smile, met grandma,
first solid food, first babysitter.

Give each player some "sticky notes" and a pencil.
Each player writes their initials and the date that they
think the milestone occurred. Place the sticky note onto
the milestone picture. Whoever guesses them most wins
a prize!

Our Baby Can...
Before the party write a list of tasks your baby can and
can't do; clap, eat with a spoon, walk, use the potty,
count to 20, throw a ball...Can your guests guess correctly.
To play designate one side of the room to be the "CAN"
side and the other, the "CAN'T" side.
All players start in the middle.
When you call out a task, if a player believes your baby CAN do it - they move to that side of the room and vise versa.

Time Capsule -
Before the party decorate a coffee can, oatmeal or
tennis ball container. Provide pen and paper.
Encourage your family and friends to write special notes
for your child to read when they get older. Good topics are...
My hopes and dreams for you are...
How you've touched my life.
What I like about you.
I love you because...
Store the container to be opened at a later date.