They aren’t kidding when they say the first year goes fast! It may seem like yesterday you were bringing your little bundle of joy home from the hospital and now it’s already time to start planning their 1st birthday party. Surviving the first year is no joke, especially during a pandemic! Celebrate a year of the biggest love and check out our tips on throwing the ultimate birthday party.
Party prep
All pro party planners know that most of the work is in preparation. A few months out you should start thinking of the party guest list, budget, location, date, and some of the larger details. You ideally want to get invites out 4-6 weeks before the big day.
Select a theme
To keep the party cohesive and unique to your little one, pick out a theme. This is your chance to get creative and come up with something fun. Check out some ideas below:
- Have a Ball (Ball pit party)
- One-in-a-Melon (watermelon theme)
- First Fiesta
- Donut Grow Up
- Wild One (safari theme)
- It’s fun to be one (carnival theme)
Once you come up with a theme you can plan the other party and decor ideas based on your specific color scheme. Things that should all align on theme would be the invites, the cake, and the decor. If you want to get extra with it, create on theme signage, snacks, and party favors.
Make it meaningful
Does anyone remember turning one? While the parties are so much fun, make the moment meaningful too! Create the ultimate gift by having guests send in a short video clip full of life wishes and love to the birthday baby. To make this easy on mom and dad, create an email for your little one and have family and friends send their video there then create a mini movie for them to have at their high school graduation or 18th birthday!
Party decor
Deck your space out with on-theme decor. Create unique spaces that make an impact like a custom welcome sign with photos of your baby, a fun dessert table filled with cookies, cake, and candy, or a photo backdrop for guests to take pictures infront of. To really make a satement, build a DIY balloon display, create a table centerpiece to match the theme, and prepare the ultimate smash cake set up with a cute banner hanging from baby’s high chair. To make the day extra special print out those cute monthly milestone photos and create a banner so guests can see how your baby grew throughout the months.
Create a tradition
We love the idea of starting a birthday tradition! Whether it's super simple like donuts for breakfast on birthday party day or something more meaningful like creating a Photo Book with some of the year's best and silliest moments and gifting it to the birthday boy or girl every year, make something unique to your family and stick to it year after year!
Take the pressure off
Don’t get hung up on becoming the perfect Pinterest party host. Your little one will be happy with whatever you plan especially if there's cake involved! Whether you keep it simple with an at home with a backyard pizza party or you decide to plan the bash of the century, the day is about celebrating a year of love and all that is to come!
What are your go to party planning tricks?
