1st birthday party

[Girlmum89]

My DD is turning 1 next month. I’m a FTM and the first of my friendship groups to have a baby. Due to this and covid I have never been to a 1st birthday party before so just wondering if there’s anything I’ve missed that I need to think about?

I’ve hired a hall with a bouncy castle and soft play (there will be some older children there). I’m going to do a buffet myself which will just be sandwiches, cake etc. I’ll also do party bags for the children. What goes in these?!

Do I need to set up seats for the adults? I’m guessing they don’t want to be standing the whole time / sat on the floor. Do I set these up as just chairs? Or table and chairs?

Anything else I need to think of?

Yes, tables and chairs so the parents have something to put their food and drink on when they’re not chasing after over-excited children!
Party bags for a mixed-age group of children:
Cake
Cuddly toy www.bakerross.co.uk/mini-animal-bean-pals?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2Lux6IbK8QIVgZ7tCh30LQLFEAQYASABEgKZuvD_BwE
Bubble wand
Mr Men board book www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Men-Library-Roger-Hargreaves/dp/1405292512/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Mr+men+books&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1625424208&sr=8-2

That seems like a lot of trouble to go to for a 1 yr olds birthday tbh. Sounds more like something you'd do for a 2/3 yr old.

I blew up a load of balloons for mine a few months ago. It was a great hit. He crawled/toddled around hitting them then lost interest, and went about his day as normal.

I've not been to one of these, DD isnt 1 yet. You've got a lot to do there, it sounds like too much to me (but I am dull), so I wouldn't aim to do much more!

Keep it simple - if there are chairs in the hall then let the parents grab their own! It's not a wedding, other than to rest a cup why do they need tables?

I hope it goes well, make sure you enjoy it too!

Thank you @Fivemoreminutes1, that’s really helpful!

And I know it seems like a lot for a 1st birthday, and I know she won’t remember a thing, but she’s never had all her friends and family together in the same room before because of covid. So it’s like a big celebration for her 1st birthday, but also the first big celebration for us too as it’ll be the first time our family have all been together in a year and a half.