You’re here, you’ve made it. Sleepless nights that never seemed to end, crying for no reason, pooping, peeing and vomiting has led to this milestone; the newborn you brought home (which still feels like yesterday) has turned one year old. This may seem like a small step in the grand scheme of things to many, but you probably want to shout from the rooftops; but you settle for a celebration and throw a birthday party (that your kid won’t remember), and that’s no easy task in and of itself. Take a look at our favorite and most versatile first birthday party ideas and themes, as we try to make your life a little easier.
THE MAGIC OF DISNEY
Honestly, no one tops your love for Disney and now is the time to pass this love on to your baby with a Mickey/Minnie Mouse themed birthday party. You don’t have to stick with one or the other, make your place a mini-Disneyland with Minnies and Mickeys everywhere. Start with the easiest, a Minnie/Mickey Mouse cake. You will find many bakeries that can do this; you can even add similar looking cupcakes to the mix.
Decorate your home with classic and easily recognizable Mickey silhouette banners, Mickey/Minnie balloon bouquets, streamers and balloons to match your color theme. You can even match your cutlery and tablecloth to your chosen color scheme.
For party favors, firstly, you can have Mickey/Minnie themed favor bags; For the favor itself, you can add candy, trail mix, crayons, and other stationery.
A SAFARI THROUGH THE JUNGLE
This first birthday party theme has so many possibilities, so you can go crazy with this one. From a pure jungle themed party to a safari themed or even a zoo themed party, the options are endless. Have safari/zoo themed invitations with your child’s favorite animal, or just the stuffed animal he really likes. The cake can be based on the same animal, with cupcakes based on other animals from the jungle.
Greens and browns dominate this theme and you can find decorative things in your house. Cutout leaf garlands, animal banners and balloon animals. You can increase the green cover of your home and put real plants around the house. You can even put stuffed animal toys around the house and put up “do not feed animals” signs.
Get creative with the favors; Place stuffed animals in a box labeled “adopt a pet” and let each child choose a pet. You can even add kids’ sunglasses with animal print frames or fruit/animal shaped jars filled with candy.
COME ON! COME ON!
Cars, trains, boats, planes, even fire trucks, there is no shortage of modes of transport and therefore no shortage of birthday party ideas. Whether your child likes Thomas the tank or Lightning Mcqueen, there is something for everyone. Cakes shaped like ships, trains, and cars are readily available. Instead of cupcakes, you can have sugar-coated cookies with the variance time mode on them.
Since you have set the mode of transport, the decorations will be easy. Naval/maritime decorations such as ropes and lifebuoys, mini candles or for a car themed party a wall that looks like a highway or race tracks. For a train themed railroad track decor and you can even dress up as a train conductor. The possibilities are limitless.
As favors you can give crayons in the shape of cars, or small toys that are cars, trains, boats, etc. You can even gift a book that mentions different modes of transportation (fun and educational!) or just a car-shaped lunch box or pencil case filled with goodies.
Given how tired you already are, first birthday parties don’t have to be complicated; Don’t forget to take lots of photos!
