1St Bithday Plans

Hi C.,

I just started making cakes as a hobby and I am always looking for more practice. I charge less that any grocery store for a beautiful home made cake. I can email you a few of them if you would like to see. I am proud of my work! I usally charge around $20-30 depending on the size of the cake. Here is my email ____@____.com I live in Port St Lucie.

I hope I can help!
M.

for my daughters 3 year party, we only had a couple kids over. But 20 adults. I had Publix do a cake (they can do some awesome ones, but we were on a budget) that she would like. Aside from that I would just consider it a get together and do food for the adults. You are going ot have pics of her eating her cake (i had pics of cake all on her hands and face), that is what you will remember... not the food. Just take it easy and tons of pics of people that came to celebrate.
S.

Many good ideas posted so far so I will try to be short. I made a butterfly cake for my daughter's 1st birthday which turned out very well. I used 4 9" round cake pans (requires two boxes of cake or a doubled home recipe). For her smash cake I just cut it in the shape of a butterfly and used sugar free banana flavored pudding as icing with slices of bananas for decoration. Cutting the round cake into a butterfly was easier than it sounds. For the adult cake, I used the remaining 3 round cakes and cut them to shape the butterfly. One for each large wing and the remaining one will make the smaller wings. Additional scraps made the body. I used tin foil to make a pattern which helped tremendously! Decorations were strawberries, bananas, and berries. It turned out very well! I bought a shaped cake pan for her 2nd birthday though... but the homemade butterfly was a little more original and fun.

We had my daughters first birthday at my sister-in-laws house and there were mainly adults. I got lucky b/c my bro. and sis-in-law paid for most of it. It was a Disney Princess theme, so all the plates and things were the princesses. I orderd a princess cake from publix and if it's the first birthday, you get a free little cake for the birthday baby:) We had hamburgers on the grill and chips and things. All we did was sit and talk, opened presents and had cake. It was a great party and I didn't have to stress the games thing, b/c she was only a year. Everyone said that it was a wonderful time. Just relax, and have a great time! Hope all goes well:)

I know it's been said before, but I would definatly go with Publix for your cake! You will get a nice full size cake for the adults, and an adorable little cake just for baby to play with!

I went to party city also, and bought a bunch of '1st Bday' decorations. They were not that expensive, but maybe a tad more than walmart. This year (my daughters 4th bday) I found that Targets stuff was a little more expensive than Walmarts, but tended to have more in it (for example the Invitations also had coordinating Thank You cards in with it). I found this out too late, lol. But really the 1st bday party is for you. She isn't going to have clue #1 what is going on. It was important to me that it look nice.

As far as games and activites go, if it's all adults you probably won't need any. But for the other child, maybe you could buy him/her a little something to open so he doesn't feel left out (depending on his age, older children might be used to parties for other kids). Maybe find out what his/her favorite character is and buy a coloring book and a pack of crayons, and maybe wrap them or put them in a little gift bag, to keep him occupied if he gets bored with the adults?

For food I just had chips and dip and little things, I didn't serve dinner, my party was mid-day.

Good Luck, and Happy 1st Birthday!

For our daughter's 1st birthday, it was pretty much all adults too. That's basically the way it is I think until maybe the 3rd birthday. I'd just do casual and simple food (maybe a bbq or some finger foods) and if the kids need something to occupy them, maybe get a bucket of chalk or some crayons and coloring books at the dollar store or something. Keep it simple- you will remember this day, but she's too young to remember-so just be sure to take tons of pictures and have fun!

My Daughter just turned one this summer. I ended up getting decorations from a local party store and walmart. Walmart has like Baby Einstein First birthday deco. But I got alot of 1st birthday girl decorations from a local party store. If you have a coupon it is not too bad. She had about 15 adults and only 2 other kids. The first party is definitely for you and family. I really liked all the decos that said 1st birthday because it is that special event, and I figured when my daughter got bigger, she will be picking her deco like princesses and such. For cake I got a publix one for the adult and when you tell them it is first birthday they give you a free small cake for your little one. We gave that to her in the high chair and she went to town.

Definitely just make it simple and enjoy this special event! I agree with the other people here, dont stress about the food/cake.

Keep it simple, this 'party' is more for the adults than the kids. We had a hard time even getting my son to open presents because he wanted to play with the first one he opened all afternoon.

Just do a simple cook out or something and takes lots of pics of your little one enjoying the cake.

Don't feel bad- my son was the only child at his 1st birthday party! The first party is much better with a few close friends or family (grandparents)- too many people can be overwhelming for little ones. If you're nervous about taking on a cake project, cupcakes are a great alternative. This way, everyone already has an individual serving and there's no tricky decorating (many craft stores sell inexpensive cup cake picks and toppers). Don't feel obligated to feed your guests a full meal unless you are comfortable with it. Pizza is a quick and simple option if you choose. Offer simple snacks- veggie or cheese platters from the grocery store deli work great and don't involve extra prep work. Try to make sure you have a few snacks to put out that your little one likes too (ie goldfish crackers, pretzels, fruit). At one year old, games aren't a necessity. But having a few grown up activities besides watching how cute your baby is are nice. Fill a small dish or jar with brightly colored candy and have a guessing contest (winner takes the jar of goodies home). Play a quiz game of who knows baby the best (fav food, toy, book, how many teeth, weight, first word, etc). The important thing is to focus on the birthday child without overwhelming them or yourself! It should be a fun and relaxing event. Good luck!

My son's first birthday went great because I kept it real simple. The cupcake cake worked for us and Publix can do that for you. They can decorate to look just like any other cake so you can get whatever designs they have, plus you get the little cake for your daughter too.

I was worried about giving my son the little cake as he had not had any sweets before then, but when I gave him his cake (by the way, stripped her down to just a diaper, and put her in an area where it is easy to clean before giving her the cake) he mainly played with it in his fingers and got it all over himself. Not much went into the mouth. Keep in mind you WILL need to give her and maybe even you a bath after this, it won't wait until your guests leave.

As far as decorations, I just got one banner and a packet of the decorations that you can just tape to the walls, all generic so I can use them again. But spent my money on 3 or 4 mylar balloons that were specifically for 1st birthdays. I just got a few because they were more expensive and did not want to have any latex balloons just in case they pop. With my little one crawling around, I did not want to chance not finding every piece of the latex balloons.

We kept the food simple with bbq, corn and garlic toast on paper plates and plastic flatware. I got the 1-year dinner and dessert plates and cups but skipped the napkins. People look at plates and cups more but just bundle up the napkins so I just got a coordinating color. It was cheaper so I could get more and I didn't feel bad when people got a bunch and only used them slightly. Everyone could serve themselves and once we sang the Birthday Song, everyone could just help themselves to a cupcake.

I splurged and got my son a birthday outfit and a cloth hat. I spent my money on him instead of getting hats for everyone -- most adults aren't thrilled to wear the elastic paper hats anyway.

Try to keep everything as simple as possible for you. You'll be busy enough being hostess, talking to your friends, opening presents and watching your child. And remember, you're also clean up crew at the end of the night.

Save your energy, money and ideas for birthday #2!! You'll need it more then and your daughter will be much more aware about her special day then.

My son turns 1 on Nov. 21 and I went to www.birthdayexpress.com. They have all themes and everything that you can order from there, ready made! I am doing cupcakes and got a heart shaped baking pan (small) and a star shaped one (small) for doing his cake. That way he doesn't have a big cake that he isn't going to eat anyway! Good luck and congrats to you and your husband on the new upcoming one! Take care!

H.

hey C., happy birthday to your one year old...If there is more adults then children and you want to cook i would make a nice simply bake ziti with garlic bread the cost of the food is about 20 dollars not including your drinks and there isnt to much need for junk food because i am sure your one year old is limited to what she can eat right now being so young.. good luck and let me know how it turned out.oh and maybe a nice garden salad?

Hey C....I read your posting this morning and just had to respond....there is this site that I go to for ALL my parties...Bday...Halloween ...Holidays...EVERYTHING!! It gives you ALL kinds of GREAT ideas for party's from the decorations to the food to the cake....EVERYTHING!! I have been using it for a few yrs. now...my oldest is almost 5..middle son is 2yrs. and baby is 10mos. It's great too cause you don't have to spend so much $$$...just gotta have the time to do some of the crafty stuff. Anyways...I hope it helps you out and congradulations on your new baby soon to come. Here is the link....http://www.coolest-kid-birthday-parties.com/index.html Best of Luck!!

K. xoxox

i hope i am not too late! the first birthday is almost more for the parents than the kid! get the cutesy decorations from your party store, and get grownup foods for you guys! Get a camera for each set of adults, kinda like a wedding, and ask then to take pictures of your little ones big day. you will be so busy you might not have time to catch all the good momentS! my little girl was born in january and we did a "snow theme" since we're here in florida it was different. I got a cake that looked like it was dusted with snow, and got a bunch of snow decorations and made it look like a winter wonderland! just have fun, and try to relax, this day is for you too!!!
Ps i am starting a party planning business. i would love to give you a FREE consultation, if you like my ideas I will help you and all you have to pay me with is a good reference! email me and let me know! ____@____.com Good luck!

For both my kid's first birthday we had a small gathering of family and a few friends (mostly adults). We just had cake and ice-cream, and presents, but we did get a tiny individual cake especially for the baby to demolish. We took lots of pictures. I think we got a happy 1st birthday sign and some matching plates, hats, tablecloth, and cups. We got a special dog for my son's 1st that everyone is supposed to sign. One of my favorite things we did was get a special candle from the party store. It is big and comes in pink for girls, and blue for boys. It has a number for every year they have a birthday up until 21. So, each year we set it out at the beginning of the party and light it. We let it burn until it has melted down to the next years number. That takes a while; we trim it a little as it melts, to help it go down a bit faster :) The first year lighting takes a bit longer because you have to wait for it to burn down to the 1 and then to the next number. Maybe it's intended to be started when they are born. I don't know, I just let it burn a little longer that first year. I think it is a nice thing that we can use each year to make that day just a little more special. We didn't really do activities that year. I would suggest just having a small plan for what order you want to do things, so you can keep everything rolling along smoothly. Our only concern was if we would eat first or open presents first. Either way the first birthday is quite fun (for the adults at least), and you can get lots of pictures to remember it.

V.

Congratulations! My daughter's 1st birthday is Saturday and we're very excited. I've ordered sandwich trays, munchies and I'll be making the cake.
I thought I'd make up a page for her scrapbook that guests could sign and offer her their best wishes. I think that this will be nice for her to read later on.
We've also been video taping DD at various stages during her first year. We will set up the video to play to our guests so that they can see how DD has grown.
I have invited family and a few close friends (it's around lunch). We will only have three other children under the age of 4 there. (I'm putting chicken nuggets, cheese cubes and cracker sticks out for the wee ones in addition to the more adult fare.)
I like the candle suggestion from the previous post. I received a Special Occasion plate from Pampered Chef as a shower gift to use for DD's birthdays and other special occasions. There's a journal page to record dates it is used. I thought that would be a nice tradition, too.
Best wishes to your family on your daughter's first!

T. B.

Happy Birthday to your litle one! We did a butterfly cake for my daughter's first birthday, and the guests loved it (I've actually made several others for folks who requested them since then :-) They are very easy to make, and with the leftover cake batter, I made a cupcake caterpillar. But for my daughter's "own" cake, we used one cupcake and made a mini butterfly. I'd be happy to send along pictures and directions if you're interested. I had fun making the cakes!

We had over 40 people at our party, crazy, I know, but we had a great time with hot dogs, burgers, chips and a couple of easy salads I threw together (pasta, cole slaw, etc). The kids had fun just running around outside, and we adults had fun socializing.

Good luck with bebe number two! We're expecting our second in February and looking forward to watching our daughter (now two) and the new baby interact.

Hey C.,
I once made a butterfly cake out of cup cakes. Just position them together to form a butterfly. It was easy and clen up was easier too.
She'll never emember it but pictures don't lie. Just relax momma.....
It will be just fine. In the future there will be more children and then you'll have to plan games and all.