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Original poster

birthday party

21 replies

Ellaroo · 14/08/2002 19:22

Dd's first birthday is drawing near and I would love to hear any views on what it is best to do in order to celebrate! Is it worth having a party for little friends or is this a bad move? I have never 'mixed' the two sets of grandparents before and am worried that it could turn into a bit of a 'pass the baby' day (dd is still not crawling/walking at all). Has anyone had any positive/negative experience of this???? Is one yr old too young to be allowed to eat cake? So many questions!!! Thanks in advance.

OP posts:

sb34 · 14/08/2002 21:49

Message withdrawn

threeangels · 14/08/2002 22:27

Ellaroo, A lot of parents make the 1st b-day their first time having cake. A small peice is fine. Go ahead and celebrate. Dont forget to give him a peice with lots of icing. Youll love the pictures afterwards.

threeangels · 14/08/2002 22:28

Ellaroo, Sorry just realized its your girl not boy having the party.

aloha · 14/08/2002 22:38

My ds (nearly 11months) LOVES cake! Won't do her any harm and will probably be the highlight of her day. Haven't decided what to do for his b/day so will be interested to hear views of others.

tigermoth · 15/08/2002 08:36

Yes, cake went down well with my sons first birthday parties, too. Generally, I'd say keep numbers small-ish and keep things simple. Choose a lovely setting that both adults and babies will like ie a child friendly garden (yours or a public one) rather than a noisy indoor playcentre (you'll see enough of the latter when your baby is older).

Also, obvious point, make sure there's a good place to change babies.

PamT · 15/08/2002 09:09

We've always just had an open house for the first 3 birthdays. Family and friends just call in and we generally have a birthday tea with lots of party type food. It is nice to see friends with similar aged children but a formal party doesn't really work at that age. I've also found that it is best to stick to the normal routine as much as possible with day time naps and meals otherwise the baby just gets upset and becomes hard work. Early birthday parties seem to be more for the benefit of grown ups rather than the birthday child.

bea · 15/08/2002 09:14

dd's just had her first b'day and like you i wondered what to do, who should we invite etc, and in the end i just took the opportunity to invite grandparenst and mine and dh's siblings... it was really lovely and very relaxed... very lucky that grandparents know each other quite well and get along!... had a bbq in garden and just generally spent it as a family day... very nice and relaxed!

have fun and remember to take lots of photos!

sparkle · 15/08/2002 09:55

Ds's 1st birthday was in July and we had about 40 people at the party, family, friends without children and friends with children, ranging from 3 months to 5years. Luckily the sun was shining, we stayed in the garden and had paddling pools, lots of party food, cake, borrowed push-along trucks and other outdoor toys to make sure there was plenty to go around and no squabbling!. Everyone had a great time and were here for about three hours which flew by. Did give little partyu bags with things like novelty ice cubes, balloons. Have fun whatever you decide to do.

emilys · 15/08/2002 09:56

on my ds's first we had a small bbq - just close family. Obviously, they will be none the wiser so they main reason for it is for grown ups to celebrate and for photo's to be taken and shown later!! I think the important thing is not to make too much of a deal of it as it will just be overpowering for a one year old that doesn;'t understand what everyone is going on about! and remember you are going to have more and more chaos and mayhem with b'dy parties as the years go on so this is one you can sit back and enjoy (low key!).

clary · 15/08/2002 10:12

Agree with most people here that low-key is probably best as it is for your benefit and not DD's - but still worth having a celebration. Definitely have a cake and let DD have fun smearing it all over her face...We just had family for DD's first b/day, but had just had big do for DS (3 a few days before). When he was 1 we just had a few friends/relatives with perhaps 3-4 other tinies - summertime so just sat in the garden, no need for party games etc, main thing is to be relaxed about it all. It's great having summer babies isn't it.

mears · 15/08/2002 10:46

My children all got their first taste of white chocolate buttons on their first birthday plus cake!
It always amazed me how they wolfed the buttons down - no gagging there

bluestar · 15/08/2002 12:06

I agree that an 'open house' is a great idea for 1st birthdays. We sent out invites, spliting the baby friends in the morning, with a break for lunch for sleep, mummy & daddy to tidy up, relax, and then asked relatives/older friends to pop by in the afternoon, no later than 5ish, so we could relax and let ds calm down b4 sleep. Worked wonders.

sjs · 15/08/2002 14:21

We did open house too for our dd from 3 - 5pm. No entertainment or party bags or anything (although we decorated the flat with baloons and each child got one to take home.)

Invited her little friends from the baby group we go to and their Mums and Dads, a few other friends with older kids and our very best friends who don't have kids but supported us brilliantly through the first year. (We would have invited family too but live overseas so it just wasn't possible.)

We did a grown up afternoon tea spread (little sandwiches with crusts off, scones with cream and jam, fruit loaf, biscuits etc) which the kids enjoyed too. And we had wine, fizzy bubbly stuff and beers for the adults. And of course the cake.

Our dd had a great time and even did her first unaided steps as her party piece!

sister · 15/08/2002 14:28

Ellaroo, I'm not quite sure what the best way is to celebrate your dd birthday as I slipped up for both my ds and dd!! We had an open house and invited close friends and family.
Both my ds and dd were completely overwhelmed at being the centre of attention and didn't seem happy to be surrounded by so many people and hated being passed around. So if I were you I'd keep it low key.

Original poster

Ellaroo · 15/08/2002 19:15

Thanks for all the advice. Still not sure what to do, but will definitely keep it low-key. Is it bad form to put on the invitations what time people should leave?

OP posts:

MABS · 15/08/2002 20:14

Definitely put what time you want it to finish ... there's always one that hangs on otherwise Keep it small, enjoy it yourself - they go downhill from here ( or maybe thats just me...) Enjoy

SB34 Enjoy the first Birthday tomorrow try not to worry about those hospital tests!

bossykate · 15/08/2002 20:38

Ellaroo, no! Tactfully suggesting a time people should make themselves scarce has been a lifesaver for us since ds was born! Have a great time.

sb34 · 16/08/2002 00:14

Message withdrawn

sjs · 16/08/2002 13:35

I agree, definitely put the leaving time on the invite. Our 2 single friends stayed on afterwards for a more civilized drink. They were completely shell shocked by the noise and needed valium!

lilly72 · 17/08/2002 09:51

My little girl is 1 on Sunday..we have arranged a big picnic by our local beach where there is a large green area...people are bringing there own picnics and we are going to have games of rounders and cricket for the older kids and adults. No mess for us then and we can leave when we have had enough! Also a piece of cake will not harm your little girl. What ever you do relax and try to enjoy, she won't be one forever!

Original poster

Ellaroo · 17/08/2002 21:16

Ah, that sounds lovely Lilly72. Oh to live that near a beach! Have a fantastic time - it looks like you will have the right weather for it. Thanks for everyone's advice.

OP posts:

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