1st Birthday, to party or not?

[Gonzo33]

My daughter is going to be 1 this month and I am debating whether or not to have a "party" for her.

I am not really into the idea of it because at 1 I doubt very much she will remember, or care really.

My family are coming over for her birthday and I was planning on having a quiet birthday "tea" with a cake and such like for her but no "little friends", what did you all do? I only ask because my friends daughter had a massive event that I feel unnecessary to be honest.

We just took the grandparents out for lunch to celebrate DS1's first birthday - I didn't see the point of a big jamboree for him.

For DS2 we meant to have a party (mostly because DS1, who was 2.7yrs at the time, was really keen on us doing it), but every weekend for a month one or other of us was ill, so in the end we didn't.

There's plenty of time for proper parties when they are old enough to understand what's going on - don't let yourself feel intimidated into doing one now if you don't feel like it.

We had a party for dd's first birthday but it was entirely for mine and dh's benefit, for our friends - although our friends who happened to have children did bring them and they may have even played with dd.

If you don't feel like it then absolutely don't bother. Your daughter won't care. I think up to the age of 3 most children probably prefer to do something with grandparents than with other childen tbh.

I was going to type exactly what alarkspree wrote!
We did a party but it was more for DP and me because we didn't have a christening (or a wedding, for that matter!) so it was a chance to get all the family and friends together and celebrate DS.
Don't do one if you don't want to. Your DD won't mind either way. Cake and tea with grandparents sounds lovely.

We had one as it made up for the lack of christening. Few babies, few friends, few family - lovely way to remember it, even if DS won't.

I think what you have planned sounds good. I do think it is nice to mark the occasion for the little one and also to give yourself a pat on the back for surviving the first year!

Birthday tea + cake + happy birthday song = a party for a one year old.

For DD and DS1 we celebrated their first birthdays with morning coffee and birthday cake for grandparents and godparents. I'm not sure that DS2 even got that?!

I didn't do birthday parties proper till they were 4 and children could be left. Can't face the prospect of running a party with a whole load of spectators.

Do whatever will create happiness and least stress for you. You're right, she won't remember, but you will. All the fuss about parties will come later. Remember, it's her birthday, but it's the first anniversary of your 'giving-birth'-day. It's for you, too!

We had a cake for DS at DH's grandma's birthday do the day before, then a joint party with my 2 yr. old nephew with my parents. TBH, both events would have happened anyway, and if not, we'd not have bothered doing anything.

Gonzo, your plan sounds lovely.

DD is going to be 3 this weekend, and we will be doing exactly the same as the last 2 - great granny, grand parents, uncles, aunties, cousins and some friends with their kids, will come to ours for a very relaxed afternoon of buffet lunch, cake, running about with balloons (kids), sitting about drinking tea (adults).

There is plenty of years for 'proper' parties once DD is bigger. I've been taking DD to organised parties recently for her wee pals who've been turning 3, and some of them were bigger and more lavish than my 18th!

Have a lovely time.

Thank you ladies. That makes me feel less mean about not inviting the world and his brother! :)

We weren't planning on doing anything for ds1's first birthday but it turned out to be quite a nice weekend weather wise so we got a few babies over to crawl round the garden and we adults had a BBQ.

Turned out to be quite nice day actually.

We had an adults party- plus DS!- with champagne and canapes. DS loved it, as did we and all the family :) There are no other kids in the family otherwise we would have invited them too of course! Just do whatever you fancy.

We did for ds1, as we lived so far from extnded family it was the first time a lot of them had met him. That and his birthday is 4 days after Christmas, so it was a good excuse for a get-together (and a piss up!).

With ds2, we actually had a big family gathering already booked, even before he arrived! His birthday was the first day of the break, and as such he got to spend 4 hours in the car (joy!). When we got there though my folks and dsis and her family were there, and we did the cake and birthday song thing.