Looking For 1st Birthday Party Ideas!

We've gathered some 1st birthday party ideas to help you celebrate this very important milestone with a smile!

When you're celebrating your baby's first birthday, it's a special event. After all, you'll be setting a precedent for many birthdays to come (hopefully, with less spitting up!).

A baby's first birthday is vastly different than the birthday parties for a 15-year-old, a 10-year-old, and for that matter, a 5-year-old.

You'll want to keep it short (1 to 1.5 hours) and gear most of the fun towards the older kids in order to keep them entertained.

Don't worry though, baby will have a blast watching all of the excitement and activities going on around him/her.

So go ahead, check out our 1st birthday party ideas below:

Invites

Use your computer to model your invitations to a copy of a standard birth certificate. Include a copy of your baby's first picture and detail some of your baby's birth statistics along with the birthday party information!

Here's a sample of the wording for you to try:

I can laugh, I can squeal, I can sit, I can stand,
I can even walk if you'll hold my hand.
All this learning's been so much fun,
Get out of my way, 'cause I'm turning one!

Come celebrate [your child's name]'s 1st birthday party with us!
Come for food, fun, and – of course – cake at [your address] on [date and time].
Let us know if you can make it at [your phone number].
[Your child's name] hopes you'll be there!

See more 1st birthday invitations here!

Decorations

This theme is all about "1st's."

So when it comes to decorating, our 1st birthday party ideas are quite simple. Visit your favorite online store or hand make some decorations from scratch.

Either way, make sure to incorporate lots of number 1's and pick a color to match the baby's gender (typically but not necessarily pink for girls or blue for boys).

Here are more 1st birthday party ideas and decorating tips for you to try:

Frame some pictures you've collected over the past year. Try using construction paper of various colors related to the gender of the baby and place them on your walls throughout the party room.

There are tons of items online depicting a 1st birthday. Load up on everything from plates, napkins and cups to balloons and banners. There's really no end to the possibilities.

Combine the 1st birthday theme with another favorite theme such as Princess or Barnyard or even Ducky.

You may even want to consider a large 1st birthday blow-up cupcake for the corner of your room or outside your front door.

See more 1st birthday decorations here!

Crafts / Activities

Although the birthday child, in this case won't be able to participate; having a craft session at the 1st birthday party can be a good idea to keep any of the older kids busy for some time.

This can be fun for the parents also as it will give them some quality time with their own children while working with them on the craft.

You can have the craft activity as something fun to do and take home, or you can gear it towards making something for the birthday child.

Try out these 1st birthday party ideas for crafts:

Have the kids make a birthday card and when completed, place it into a large tin, seal it up with lots of tape and mark the top stating "Do Not Open Until [Child's 18th birthday]. This will make a special time capsule and your child will be impressed when they turn 18 and you bring this out for them to open.

Gather some socks, colored yarn and some felt eyes and let the younger kids make sock puppets. If they're up to it afterwards, let them attempt to put on a puppet show for the group. Let them take their puppets home at the end of the party.

Have the kids make any items they want out of your craft supplies. Make sure it relates to birthday's and then put these away towards building your child their first year scrapbook.

Just remember, this is your opportunity to recruit some of the worlds most brilliant minds (the kids at your party) to help you to create some very special memories.

Don't pass this up!

See more 1st birthday craft ideas here!

Games

Seeing as you'll be needing time to care for baby during this party, we suggest you recruit somebody to help you out with some games for the older kids.

This section is more for your guests than for the baby (who will probably already be exhausted by now and napping).

Here are a couple 1st birthday party ideas of games for the young toddlers you've most likely invited:

Animal sounds - Have a book of animal pictures ready. Flipping through, point to a picture and let the kids identify the animal by making the appropriate animal sound. Since we're all young at heart, get the other parents involved too - they'll probably have more fun than the kids!

1st Birthday Album - Although more like an activity than an actual game, it still gets everyone involved. Place a supply of different colored items (construction paper, stickers, glue, markers and any other craft or scrapbooking supplies that you may have on hand) in the middle of a table.
Ask everyone to create a special page for your birthday boy or girl using the supplies you've given them. When done, 3-hole punch the sheets and place them into an empty album. Make sure everyone signs and dates their creation. When the party is over, you can add photos taken at the party to make it an extra special keepsake.

See more 1st birthday Games here!

Costumes / Props

Since it's becoming more and more common, you might be looking for some 1st birthday party ideas for dressing up in costumes.

Our suggestion...match the party up with another fun theme as mentioned above such as Princess for example. Then you could simply put your little baby girl into a little princess dress and add a little crown on her head.

You could even request you guests dress up their toddlers in a similar fashion.

A suggestion for boys could be something like a train theme for example where you could tie a red bandana on the baby and add a little blue conductors cap.

It's really up to your imagination on this one.

See more 1st birthday party costumes here!

Food and Drink

When it comes to 1st birthday party ideas for food, we suggest you split it up between generations.

For the parents, offer up some "big people food". Things like crackers and cheese, a vegetable platter, finger sandwiches, sodas, iced tea, and lemonade.

For the kids, stick with "little people food". Offer them items such as goldfish crackers, applesauce, tea biscuit cookies, soft sugarless candy and some cut up fresh fruit).

See more 1st birthday food ideas here!

Cake

In some homes, the cake is reserved for the baby to "dig" into and have some major fun with while offering some pretty amazing (and messy) photo opportunities.

If you choose to go this route, you may also want to have a second cake as an offering to your guests.

Design can range from anything from a large number "1" cake to a yellow ducky or even a standard round layer cake with a single candle on it.

Use your own personal judgement.

See more 1st birthday cakes here!

Party Favors / Loot Bags

Now, preparing something that says "Thank You For Coming" should be done in advance.

There's a whole miriad of 1st birthday party ideas to help you accomplish this task but we suggest getting personal when it comes to a first birthday.

Since most guests to a first birthday party will be close personal friends and family of the parents rather than a house full of school children, why not try something a little different.

Purchase some small gift boxes. Fill them up with items like these:

Select a really cute photo of your baby (I'm sure by now you've taken quite a few) and using your favorite photo editing software, simply type the words "Thank You, 20xx" in a small font but in a contrasting color. Print them out and Voila!