First birthday party - stressing!

[RockChick1984]

It's DS's first birthday next month and I'm so stressed about it! I've got no room at home to have people round, so I've hired a hall which means we have got family, friends and DS's friends all coming at once!

There will be total of around 50 adults and 25 kids aged 1-8 but mostly under 4. I have no idea how much I need to entertain the children or what I can do to keep them happy!

Was thinking about a buffet but we are utterly skint trying to save money, would it be really bad to have snacks for kids and tea/coffee and biscuits for adults?

Only 'entertainment' we have decided on is hiring someone to dress up as Mickey mouse as DS loves him so party is Mickey themed, visit will be for 30 mins, will this be long enough? Do I need any other entertainment, if so what? Can I get away with just having music on and letting the kids entertain themselves?

Also not sure how long party should last, I'm thinking 2- 4 hours? does this seem about right for all guests?

Sorry for all the questions, I've never really organised a party before never mind a children's one!!

4 hours would be way too long for a kids' party. 2 hours would be more like it. The kids get overexcited, then tired, then more chance of meltdowns.

They also have short attention spans so 30 minutes of Mickey (doing what? If he's just hanging around for a hug I'd suggest less than that even) would be plenty.

Ask people to bring a dish of food rather than a present
Keep it to 2 hours max
There must be a website of party games, but under 10s still do games like musical statues.

Try to get a bouncy castle or soft place for that, maybe a craft table for the older kids? You'll need a cd of kids music - if you can not afford an entertainer then you will have to be very imaginative with organising some pass the parcels etc!

Rope some family members to serve tea & biscuits on platters when everyone arrives. You will probably need a buffet though - if not maybe lay out a place for each child with their portion already on a plate then just leave nibbles in between and in the middle of the table!

3 hours max i'd say, maybe 2.5 if you cant get a bouncy castle etc! Bring baby walkers, playmats, little tikes cars, hula hoops, skittles etc if you have them! Nothing worse than 25 bored children turning wreckless!!!!

2 hrs at the most.

You will really need to provide drinks and if no buffet then cake. And put the timings of party not at meal time or some people will come thinking there will be food.

What's Mickey Mouse doing? If wandering about then 15-20 mins will cover it.

Music, balloons to amuse kids. Games like musical statues etc. can you hire a small bouncy castle, ball pool?

Personally I wouldn't go to all of this hassle and cost for a first birthday. I would have 2 little tea parties at home one for close family and one for their little friends and parents. Which makes me sound like a misery.

up to the age of 4 neither of ours had a proper party - just family and their kids at the house. Since then we have had parties at soft play for up to about 15 children and have also booked a hall with bouncy castle/inflatable slide. These parties lasted about 1½ to 2 hours so I wouldnt make yours much longer for such young children.

My question is - who is this party for? If it's really for a one year old then I wouldn't bother, though I'm guessing you've already told people?

For both first and second birthdays we just had a small family gathering at a nice restaurant. Like a PP we won't be doing 'proper' parties until she's old enough to understand what they're about.

Believe me, I would have preferred to have 2 separate little teas at home but we live in a flat and there's no room to have more than about 4 adults and 2 kids round so that had to be ruled out! Party is more for the adult's benefit in all honesty! But as there are going to be lots of kids there obviously it needs to be aimed at them so they aren't bored!

Right, how about 1-3pm, pre plated buffet type thing for the kids, tea and biscuits for the adults. Kiddie music when people arriving, food about 1.30 once everyone arrived, Mickey 2.15 til 2.45, he is just there for photos and cuddles with the kids. 30 mins is minimum I can hire him for, but is the only thing I'm definitely set on having at the party as DS will love it! Then 15 mins for adults to finish drinks, chats etc and hometime! Does that sound ok?

I think you will need a bouncy castle if iam honest. If you can afford it could you suggest that your family/close friends contribute towards it as a gift for your baby? They are normally around £50.
I've never been to a party in a hall that didnt at least have soft play/bouncy castle/face painter?

Birthdays are so expensive!! Iam banning anymore parties until 5y lol

I wanted a face painter but they won't do the under 3's so seemed like a waste of money, I didn't know you could put a bouncy castle in a hall, it's only like a social club not anything massive! Wouldn't that get a bit dangerous with such a broad age difference in a fairly confined space???

You can get small ones that fit inside halls. Phone around and ask. Our church hall gets one every year for the toddlers Christmas party.

I think that you need more entertainment for DC; pass the parcel, muscial bumps, parachute shaking etc; we usually do same sort of thing in a hall, and hire an entertainer for the whole of the 2 hours.

I went to a first birthday party in a church hall for one of my DS' little friends. There was no food for the kids which was fine as most of the children were so young that Mums just brought their own anyway. Party was 2 hours. A birthday cake, tea and biscuits for the adults. And they had used a company that brings a few big toys, sets up and clears away... little trampolines, ball pools, push alongs, mini bouncy castle, big tube things to crawl through. Cost £50 I think. Was ace, the kids loved it and was just the right length. Probably depends on the age of the children though, this was mostly under 2's.

How about taking a big box of crayons/paper etc for the older ones to make something? Or if you are feeling brave you could do some singing or something? Lego/duplo stuff? Dressing up box with hats/scarves etc?

I have uploaded a photo on my profile (hope it works) of the type of thing the company brought.

Tbh I think you re putting a lot of stress on yourself for a one year old s party!
What ages are the friends? A bouncy castle for 1 yr olds sounds crazy!
The idea of bringing lots of nice playthings - ELC have the tubes you crawl through- a few push along toys- maybe some musical shakers ( get the kids image circle on parents laps and sing few nursery rhymes)
1 o clock is lunch time so I d say push it to 2-4 that way people won't expect lots of food
Put a few bowls of nibbles and dips out and some bowls of berries for the kids
A bubble machiene or give each child a set of bubbles are great
Tbh at 1 they re not going to sit for party games so just get some nice music for background
Skittles and lots of different sized balls and push along toys are great (can you ask friends to bring any spares?
Have a few play mats you can put for the less mobile kids
Also maybe think of where nappies can be changed etc ie is there an area?
Enjoy it likelihood is your LO will be just as happy with a few balloons are cuddles in your apartment so whatever you do will be fine

I'd do it 2-4. Then def not over a mealtime by anyone's reckoning and the under 3's will have had their naps (hopefully!) then will be ready to par-tay.

You could do teddy bear's picnic as a sort of theme. Kids bring a teddy, some cheap activities on the teddy theme (eg cut out some teddy shapes and do colouring them in, or making a simple "hat" for teddy.) Borrow ball pit "The Bear pit" Google for some free music e.g. Jungle book, teddy bears picnic song, kids food a very simple picnic on old rug, jam sandwiches, pom bears, biccies, juice in cartons (top tip!) borrow some plastic tea set stuff for teddies to eat off.

IMO this is far too much for a one year old's birthday party. You are going to have years of having to throw them massive parties so why start now when they will barely acknowledge what is going on. And should definitely be no longer than 2 hours.

For DD's first birthday we had only immediate family and 5 friends and their babies from antenatal classes. BBQ at home. No party games needed as only babies there.

I hate all this "who can throw the biggest party" for their DC. It is getting out of hand.

Timothy it's nothing to do with trying to throw the biggest party, myself and dh are both from large families, who all have their own children, we are inviting a couple of our closest friends and a couple of my son's friends but obviously also need to invite their siblings which I wouldn't feel the need to do if it was a house party but at a hall I feel I wouldn't want to say no, particularly as my nieces and nephews are older than DS so it's not like siblings would be the only older kids!

waedigirl teddy bears picnic sounds like a fab idea, strangely enough someone else I spoke to suggested bubbles and balloons as a way to entertain kids of all ages!

RockChick, sorry didn't mean to imply you are part of the "throwing the biggest party" crowd. Comment was more about my experience of people I know in RL but get that it looks like it might be aimed at you.

I still think 75 guests at a first birthday party is too much, but each to their own. DH and I too come from a large families so I know where you are coming from BUT we purposely didn't invite all the cousins and kids of cousins and aunts and uncles etc etc. We kept it strictly to our siblings and kids and antenatal friends. Afterall, party is meant to be for the one year old.

I just worry that if you have a party with 75 guests for a first birthday you are setting a bit of a precedent for both your family and DS for the future.

Lol, no worries sorry if I took it out of context! Dh is one of 4 siblings and I'm 1 of 3, plus our parents and my GP's who I'm very close too. All our siblings have at least 2 kids, plus dh's brother has step kids who I would have to invite. Also feel a bit like it'd be daft having a hall with only a couple of people, but flat is far too tiny to fit people in. Ds's birthday is actually the following week so we are just having mine and dh's parents for tea on the day, but want to celebrate with full family.

I like the bubbles idea. Ask your mates if they have bubble machines. I can remember party my mate did and she borrowed our ride-one and little slide etc. It was fun. They just need entertainment of some format.

I think you really have to think who this party is for - if it is more for adults I think you should think about them a bit more and food would probably be expected. If it is a kids party then tea and biscuits for adults is fine.

Are all the adults going coming with kids because if not then I think you def have to think about the adults more - I have previous dreaded and not enjoyed 1st bday parties when I didn't have babies. Also not sure I'm keen on the thought of going to them now!

We've only got 3 friends coming who don't have babies / children, and obviously grandparents who have adult children but they know it's going to be full of kids! I've managed to rope my sister (mum of 3 so far more experienced at things like this than me!) into doing some party games with the children, hokey cokey etc, so at least there's something planned to occupy them! If weather looks good I'll take a couple of footballs or something as there's secure space outside as well but it's grass so weather would need to be dry for a few days to make that worthwhile. Thanks everyone for all your suggestions!

Sorry but this is totally crazy for a one year old. If I were you I would rethink the whole thing. Your one-year old will be totally overwhelmed and probably get upset, so you may need to be prepared for him to be incredibly stressed out by it.

What would you suggest instead octavia as I explained we are from large families, no room at home to do anything, I came on here for advice on what would work best. If you have any suggestions I would welcome them? I doubt if he will be overwhelmed, stressed or upset, he comes to all family parties and as the youngest in the family is always fussed over at any function.

Why do you have to have a party at all? You seem to think that because you live in a small flat, your only option is to hire a hall and go to expense which you can't afford to throw a party. It isn't the only option! The other, much easier option, is not to have a party at all! Who is expecting this party? You, your family, friends - it certainly isn't your ds! Can't you just have a nice day out with your son at the zoo or something?