Talk to me about 1st birthday parties

[Tee20x]

Never been much of a party person, let alone planner, but it's DDs birthday in Jan & we want to have a party for her.

I've probably left it late (whoops) but where do I begin & what are some do's & dont's?

Anything I should be aware of that I may overlook?

Can't have it at home as there's literally no space. Can't have it outside because it's winter so will be looking to hire a hall.

Have contacted a few and am waiting for them to get back to me.

It will mainly be adults as DD hasn't got too many baby friends, pandemic baby and all that.

Thinking of hiring a small bouncy castle/ball pit and soft play area for DD and the kids that do attend - they will all be under 4.

Help!!

Honestly? For a one year old I'd just do tea and cake with family at home.

You have YEARS to stress (and spend £££) on birthday parties.

Keep it simple with those you love this year as it's for you, not DD.

At 1 we just did a meal in a nice local pub for our two. In fact we've done that every year until now. My eldest (also a Jan birthday) has asked for a party this year for his 5th birthday.

We do try to do an extra special day out for them as well.

Baby won't have any idea it's their birthday and such parties for adults are a bit boring.

Save the money and the stress

For dd's first birthday I drank too much champagne and toasted the fact I survived a whole year. Her first party was when she was 4.

I did a big party for DS when he was 1 instead of a christening. Hired a hall with big outdoor space, friends did a BBQ, music but nothing really organised. We had friends who bought older children so got a load of colouring / craft stuff set up for them.

My best idea was to make small party bags for the older kids - as soon as they heard the word party that's what they expected even though it was very much an adults thing. They went down a storm. Also had ice cream in cones for them for dessert.

We hired a hall so we could get all our friends and family together to celebrate and to have a catch up. We had it for 2 hours in the morning inbetween his nap times although he fell asleep before the end!

We didnt do anything fancy. Just some buffet food out on tables for people to help themselves as and when. We put out a few tables and chairs that end of the hall too.

The other end we put a ball pit, tunnell, foam mats, toys etc but we already had all that. Hiring makes sense and theres some great soft play packages around.

We put up some bunting and had 12 photos of him up, one for each month so we could see how much he'd grown!

Just have some friends willing to help set up/tidy up. Take bin liners, bags to collect presents cards, flash wipes and remember candles, a lighter and a knife for the cake.

Haha see I would love to do something like tea and cake at home but like I said, house is absolutely minute. Literally not enough room to swing a cat. Plus family is quite big and involved so it would be a thing of having to pick and choose who would be invited and would just cause drama.

Immediate family members alone, we're already up to 12 people.

Price isn't really an issue as I wouldn't be going crazy, the prices of the halls I've been looking at are cheap for a couple of hours.

Have a family member who would sort the food as a gift to us so the main cost from what I can see would be decorations & the soft play thing (unless there's something glaringly obvious I'm missing)

I know she'd have no idea what's going on though lol more a party for me to mark the fact that I survived and get some cute pictures!! Some family still haven't met her too, so think it would just be nice to have whoever wants to come in one place.

@Youcancallmeval you sound right up my street 🥂🥂

@FusionChefGeoff would love to do a bbq! Pity she's not a summer baby like me as all of my birthday celebrations have been outside and have always had good weather. Yes, I was thinking about party bags - good to know I should arrange some.

@mondler yeah that's the exact type of thing I was thinking of. Nothing too structured - tables and chairs for the adults to sit down, chat and eat & a ball pit/softplay/bouncy castle at the other end for kids to run up and down and tire themselves out with.

I have seen the bunting with the 12 different photos on Amazon actually and thought about getting something like that along with some balloons and an LED light up number 1 - mainly for photographic purposes.

Did you have 2 hours once you'd set up everything? Or was it 2 hours including set up time?

I'm struggling with how long to hire the place for as I'm not sure how long decorating and clean up will take.

The soft play say that they can set up between 20-30mins which is a start I guess.

I did a big party for DD1 first birthday. Hired a huge hall, invited 30 children plus their parents (so close to 60 adults), hired bouncy castle and soft play, two entertainers, had alcohol for adults, and canapés for all ages, we had a professional photographer there too.

Absolutely no regrets! Especially considering a year later we were in lockdown and could t have any parties at all.

I think we booked for 3 hours so had half an hour either side for prep/clean up.

We had a vague jungle theme so bought cheap bunting, table cloths and paper plates.

Nothing was very expensive and as it was morning we didnt have to provide any alcohol which made it a lot cheaper than our wedding reception

We hired a hall for my sons, hired soft play for the kids for 3 hours. It was the full 3 hours and didn't include set up, there wasn't a rush for them to pack up and leave either.

There was a bar for the adults, and did lots of buffet food myself (I love doing parties purely to make food for everyone haha)

We had an animal theme so had lots of balloons and banners. Got some amazing photos, I know people say they don't remember it but I do and loved every minute. Can't wait to plan my daughters first in May.

Glad to hear all of your positive stories regarding hall hire for 1st birthdays. I'm definitely going for it with some gusto now and actually feel quite excited about planning it yay!!

Though feel sorry for my poor partner being bombarded by all of my ideas haha. I'd love to go for an under the sea theme with loads of deep blues and purples with silver shimmer - but I'm no professional so think I'll just stick to something basic for now.

I'll have to have a look at the soft play packages that are on offer & sort that out first and then tie in the rest of the decorations with whatever colour they are to make it fit that way.

In terms of food, we have that sorted for the adults but kids? What do kids eat ?!! I know I have one but I've never done a party before haha. Sandwiches, picky bits of veg & crisps??

At the moment I'm asking for a 4 hour slot so time to prep and clean up without having to rush..which seems ok judging by the PPs who have said that they had 3 hours.

Oh another question...music! In terms of playlists etc, is that meant to be geared towards the kids or adults or both ?! As in DD is 1, I can't stand the thought of listening to nursery rhymes for hours so surely that can't be the done thing?

Bit awkward that the party will be a bit light on the kids front but at the same time maybe it will be nice that it won't be so hectic. Who knows.

I just did sandwiches for kids, sausage rolls, cocktail sausages, carrot and cucumber, little fruit salads in pots. Tbh most didn't eat as we're to busy playing

Our play list was for the adults, it wasn't a disco so just background music so geared it for adults rather than kids.

Enjoy planning!

I love to do party planning. I like to have a themed party if possible. You could hire a church hall and a entertainer of some kind too.

Or you could have a simple classic party at home with games, movies and music. In terms of the party food you could provide sandwiches, cake, fruit salad and the like as well. A good camera that works is a must.

For party drinks, buy things like lemonade or coke for the adults only however. Cupcakes look so nice on a floral tea tray. You can certainly find plastic plates and all sorts of party decorations at really low prices. Make some party bags. Hand out invitations to the party in advance.

Pin up streamers on walls.