1st birthday events that are not a party

[Srx1]

Hello! I'm thinking about my baby's first birthday that is coming up in a few months time. We are not gonna have a 'party' because he won't remember, we don't have lots of baby friends nearby as we recently moved and our families are also quite far (otherwise we'd have just family over). However I'd still like to do something special for him to enjoy so I thought maybe something like taking him to an interesting place such as the Sealife in London (seems like a nice sensory experience?).
Or something similar that a 1 year old would be interested in. Has anyone done that? Please share your experiences, I'm curious ☺️ Thanks

Hi OP! I did a Boss baby themed party at home. There were about 20-25 guests. Mostly adults (family) and some neighbours kids and also some friends from his nursery. I had invited everyone from his nursery but only 3 turned up. I had kept some pizzas , crisps, fizz etc for the adults and some homemade pasta and water for all babies. None of the kids really ate. But they gobbled up the boss baby cake.

My child loved Sealife at that age. Perfect treat in my opinion - they really get loads out of the pretty colours and patterns etc. I think that will be a great birthday outing.

(What’s a boss baby?)

Sealife is great, our young ones then grandchild loved it.

I don t live near you but definitely a day out - sealife centres are lovely for lo, or a farm/zoo

We did 2 events for DS's first birthday: Whipsnade zoo, which was totally wasted on him - he had no idea what he was looking at or why and wasn't interested at all - and a winter picnic at a toddler playground, where he spent about 40 minutes laughing and playing with a balloon, which he loved!
When DD came along we got some glow sticks and those balloons with lights in and played with them in the lounge with the lights off. Also a huge hit. The lesson for us was go cheap and simple! 😅

We are going to sea life this week for my little ones first bday :) I think they can get a lot of aquariums at this age with the lights / bubbles / seeing colourful fish up close. Much more than a zoo etc

This. From the movie.



@icanlovemebetter wow that is a lot of guests 😬 we currently don't have that many people we know near us as we are new to the area

@OnceUponAThread @MrsSkylerWhite @autiebooklover exactly!! I remember how mesmerising Sealife was when I visited and i thought babies would love it!
@Crimblecrumble1990 ohh yay !! Let me know how it went! Hope your baby enjoys it and has a lovely birthday ☺️

@FunCatSunPat ahh haha awww it's good you ended up doing something he enjoyed in the end 🥳

@Srx1 honestly, taking her is one of my fondest memories. She was absolutely wide-eyed with wonder. Definitely do it. If you have a forward facing sling, that's the best way to make sure they see everything without killing your arms.

@OnceUponAThread amazing 😍 yes I have a forward facing carrier! So definitely better than a pram? Can't remember if there were steps...

@Srx1 he'll deffo see better from a forward facing carrier.

We actually took both, (and that was vaguely useful for a nap and saving my back) but if I was only taking one it would be the carrier.

I do remember there being some steps. Can't remember if at the aquarium itself, or getting there from the tube, but it wasn't unmanageable.

But just in terms of being able to see the fish well etc I'd say the carrier.