Planning for your child's first birthday?
No matter if it's your first born or the 4th baby in the family... first birthday parties should be observed as it commemorates the birth, growth, and the milestones that our own child achieved throughout the year. It is a celebration, especially to the parents. Cheers to all those sleepless night, midnight feedings, constant diapoer changes... you made it!
I know planning can be stressful. Here's some first birthday planning tips to help you on your journey.
Plan months ahead
When I say months ahead, I mean at least 4-6 months ahead if you're planning on having your child's party at a fancy party venue. You would want to decide if you want to do it at a golf course hall, rent out an Air BnB, at the park, event center, restaurant, Chuck E Cheese or simply at the comfort of your own residence.
Don't forget to look for bakers that can customize your child's birthday cake around that time slot. Make sure to have a back up baker just in case the first one fails (hey, it happens! Just saying...)
Plan the date and time
If your kid's birthday falls on a weekday, decide if you want to celebrate on the weekend before or the weekend after. You might want to consider the arrangements such as:
Family member's availability - If they are free that weekend or if flight tickets are cheap around that time.
Venue availability - Some months, event places will be fully booked depending on the season. That's why I advise you to book 4-6 month ahead of time if you've decided to go all out.
Nap time - Consider your child's nap schedule. If he typically sleeps around 10AM, consider starting the party in the afternoon, like at 1PM so that he will be refreshed and lively.
Birthday theme & invitations - Along with planning on the location comes with the birthday theme. One of the most common themes are:
Mr. wONEderful (Colorful theme)
Wild One (Safari Theme)
First Trip Around the Sun (Space Theme)
Onedear Land (Alice in Wonderland)
Holy Cow! I'm One (Farm theme/Black & White)
After you have decided on the theme, the next step is to pick an invitation. It could be traditional such as ordering custom made ones from Etsy and mailing it one by one or just simply by doing it digitally and send it over e-mail or by text message. Whichever you prefer.
Giveaways
There are lots of options to choose from when selecting what you want for your guests to take with them as a remembrance from your child's party. You can choose from something personalize to as simple as anything on amazon.
Things to take consideration on:
Thank you notes. Don't forget to include the child's name, party title, and the date.
Packing. Don't forget that you'll take additional steps in prepping for the giveaways if you decide on just buying bulk and pack it yourself. This is easy and fun to do if you have family and friends who would help you.
Decorations
A party without decor? Heck no! Decide if you want to hire an events decor specialist or if you want to do all the balloon twisting yourself OR if you want to deploy your family and friends to help... Whatever works or whichever saves money, go for it!
Menu
Keep in mind that it's a kid's party. At least have a menu of variety for both the children and the parents. Consider adding something that you know your child might eat and the guests over age 1+ will eat. Having fruits is a healthy alternative for desserts.
You can also serve your child's birthday cake after traditionally singing Happy Birthday and blowing the cake. Personally, I prefer to giveaway the cake for the guests to eat or take home after the party has concluded.
If you're in need of a caterer, and you're in the state of Washington, and LOVE FILIPINO FOOD 💕 you're in luck! El's Kitchen Cuisine got you!
Entertainment
So your friends and family came along with their little ones... What's next? What are you planning on having them do during rge dureation of the celebration? I highly recommend if you have extra money to spare is to book a soft play company that will deliver, setup, and pack-up right on your doorstep.It will keep the guests, most especially their children under the age of 4 entertained and contained in a safe and clean area and at the same time giving parents a chance to also enjoy themselves during the party.
A great addition to soft play is to have an interactive type of entertainment such as a magician (typicaly does 1 hour worth of magic tricks, then some balloon twisting afterwards) This is good especially for older children who are curious minded and loves interaction.
No budget for a magician? You can host a party with fun games for the little ones. This is only good if majority of your guests are over 4 years of age. Games could be as simple as Bring Me..., Relay games, etc. Don't forget to include prizes for the winners.
Timeline
I highly recommend on making a timeline for the duration of the party to keep everything organized. You'll be surprised on how much time you have on activities or how empty and boring the party will be looking like.
Here is a simple timeline that you can use as a guide.
12PM Guests arrive
Little guests can go play at the soft play area
Appetizers are served
1PM Lunch/Main course is served
While guests are eating, show a short video of baby's one year journey
1:30PM Magician will start the magic show
2:30PM Sing happy birthday, blow the cake, open gifts (optional), smash cake (optional), birthday wishes from grand parents, god parents, and parents (optional)
3PM Party Time! (Kids can go play more at the bounce houses/soft play) Dance on the dance floor.
Guests can packup food if you wish for them to have to go plates (make sure to have to go plates with you on hand if you plan on doing this or for you to take it all home (because you know, you paid for it LOL)
Music
A party without music is boring. Research what music you want to be playing during the party. Make it kid friendly. Disney songs is a good theme to use since kids are familiar with it and they can sing-along. Nursery rhymes is also a good option.Don't forget about Coco melon songs too if your kid's a fan. If you have an Encanto Themed party, you can definitely play the whole entire encasnto playlist and instrumentals if you want to stick to the theme.
Photographer/Videographer
If you want to document your child's party, a good way is to hire a photographer that can capture those specvial moments. If you're on a tight budget, you can ask a friend or family member who is good at taking photos/videos to fill in the job.
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