Timings for a 1st birthday party

[ManCubsMama]

What would be ideal?

We’re hiring a village hall and paying by the hour, so just trying to plan what time the party will be (plus hour(s) before and after for setup/clean up). I kind of want to make a day of it.

We’ve been invited to another party 10-2 which doesn’t really work with our nap times - unless we go 10-1ish then leave to be home for a nap. Is this what most people would do? Ie come for a while that works with their routine?

FTM and my baby group are all just turning 1 so we’ve not really done any parties before.

Thanks!

@OnlyFoolsnMothers ok point taken, makes sense

@StripeyBananas Thanks, I’m a FTM so not exactly au fait with this stuff

If you want to make a day of it it would be better to do a bit more of an open house at home where people drop in as and when from early afternoon onwards. It depends how many and who is likely to attend. Friends with little one's can fit it around their own nap schedule and family/friends without children can stay on later with your own DC put to bed at normal time.

If you want to invite friends over for a relaxed afternoon, great, do it at your house. Honestly, a village hall party (I've done lots of them) sounds like a nightmare with 1 year olds. They are mostly crawling still and the floor is dirty and there is all sorts of random junk left places from skittles and the WI that isn't safe for babies to get into. A relaxed party at home that people can pop in and out of is much better. When they get big enough to need a bouncy castle, the village hall is great. But definitely no more than 2 hours. It's absolutely exhausting.

We did our son's first birthday the week before lockdown at our house and it was 2-4pm. Most people only came for an hour or so meaning they didn't all come at the same time. We decided there was no point making a big event of it when he wouldn't remember - much better to save money for when he can! All of the parties we've been invited to have been either 10-12 or 2-4, although many of those were obviously cancelled.

If you want to make a big thing out of your child for your immediate family/close friends, do it on another day. Your new mum friends are presumably also doing the birthday rounds like you if you're from NCT or similar - we had a birthday party every weekend for 8 weeks, fortunately covid only let us have the first 3...

Surely if you are in the UK none of these scenarios are allowed?

6 person limit.

@mindutopia way to piss on someone’s parade