help meeeeee. ive never done a birthday party before

[tearsndtantrums]

ds 1st birthday is october the 4th so i have plenty of time however i dont know where the heck to start.
i know he wont really know whats happening but i want him to look back when hes older and see he had a great time.

firstly the venue: dp wants it in our flat as we have a big communal garden and is within easy reach of his family a couple of friends here and of course the neighbours children.

my friend has said we can have it at hers as she has a big garden and a few friends (she lives about 10 mins by car) can attend.

my aunt wants it at hers so that my family ie cousins (bany ones lol) can attend however lack of space is a problem.

me? well i just want everyone to try to attend.

then theres food. i took ds to a party a few weeks ago and it was mainly salad celery sticks and squash. is it the norm now to feed healthy food at a childs party? would it be ok to have a mixture?

then theres invites when do i send them out? what happens if i get no response but they turn up?

ds presents. does he open them as he gets them or does he do it at a set time at the party? what about presents from us should he wait to open them?

ahem. sorry to sound completly useless but i really dont know where to start. please give me a few pointers. thanks x

Firstly - he won't remember it at all so don't worry about that. Can you remember your 1st birthday?

I would have it in your flat as it is your party.

Make it simple. What ages are you catering for?

We just gave wine to adults and had crisps etc.
Kids will be more interested in part food than celery sticks tbh!

We let ds open his presents at the party but their weren't that many kids there so no one broke anything.

DS would open the presents off you when he gets up in the morning wouldn't he? So that's nothing to worry about.

I persoanally, would put presents from guests in a black bag to be opened after the party. Otherwise you will not remember who bought what and won't be able to thank people.

At ds's 1st birthday we opened things as we got them. It meant I ended up not greeting the guests properly, there was a mass of toys and paper everywhere, all the other children were 'helping' (i.e. opening all of his things!) and I couldn't remember who bought what the next day!!

I also think that a mixture of healthy food and party cakes/jellies/sausage rolls etc is the norm for kids parties. If I took ds to a party and there was only salad and vegetables he would eat it, but soon get fed up! Kids like party food - it's part of the fun!

Personally I wouldn't open pressies at party as they might get trashed by others or smaller kids may cry as they haven't got presies to open!
Invites about 4 weeks in advance - ask for replies
Garden may be wet / cold in October, have a stand by plan
Food - have a mixture, kids never eat much though as soo busy running round !

Agreed, your flat would be best, everyone knows where it is and you aren't relying on nice weather. Just a bonus if you get it!

Wouldn't bother with making invites, better to call everyone and ask them if they're coming, that way you'll have an idea of numbers before you start worrying about party food.

As you said, he won't remember it, but I imagine he'll enjoy it if you put up loads of brightly coloured balloons and have a pretty cake with candles. I wouldn't worry too much about healthy food, go with your instinct and have a mix of nibbly snacks, child friendly sandwiches, and little cakes. They won't eat much at that age anyway, just make sure everything looks appealing and there are enough adult nibbles/wine/non alcoholic soft drinks like Schloer about too for the parents.

I doubt a 1 yr old would have a long enough attention span to open all presents at once without wanting to play/gnaw on something, so I would just let him open them as they arrive, it'll break up the party for him. I'm sure he'll have a lovely day whatever happens, just try not to spend too much, go to too much effort or stress too much over it, save the energy for when he's older and can appreciate it more.

thank you all. i now have rough ideas in my head. he wont remember and i dont want to go all out but just want a nice birthday for him.

whats a rough budget btw? starts counting the pennies

I would say have it at your place. It will be easier for you. You will not have to carry things to and fro somebody else's house (and if you are like me forgetting half the stuff in the process) if you see what I mean.

Food: we made a huge batch of chilli con carne, lettuce bowl and some fruit for my son's first and the people loved it. I have never heard of celery sticks being served at at children's party. I do try to keep it healthy for the children but I would never ever serve salads (unless they specifically ask for it).

I usually serve brown bread sandwiches (egg, tuna, ham, cheese),
selection of fruit (strawberries dipped in chocolate, melon, pineapple, bananas),
maybe even carrot and cucumber sticks, homemade sausage buns,
diluted juice,
and of course the cake. There has to be cake .

The key thing is to make it simple for you.

Wait opening the presents until after the party. Otherwise you will forget who gave what.

Hope this helps.