Coolest Ideas for First Birthday Parties

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First birthday parties are lots of fun to arrange, especially because it's a party for yourself even more than it is for your baby. After all, your little tyke doesn't really understand what the whole ruckus is all about… While you're celebrating a year since giving birth, which in itself is an exhilarating occasion. Below are general ideas that don't belong to a specific theme. They can be used to create a self-standing general theme or in conjunction with any of the themes listed in the First Birthday Parties Section.

To start off, check out and compare between this excellent selection of supplies for First birthday parties:

You can either scroll down this page and read all the ideas or choose the idea category from the drop down list below:

Lots of visitors from all over the world have contributed their First Birthday theme party ideas to this section. As you enjoy and find inspiration from the ideas here, take a moment and submit your own 1st Birthday party ideas. You'll be taking part in creating the Web's "coolest" kid birthday party ideas resource that's ALWAYS FREE for everyone to enjoy!

First Birthday Invitations

A diaper invitation is a great invitation idea for First birthday parties. Cut a piece of paper into a square, fold it in half to make a triangle, fold corners of the triangle toward the center and this should look somewhat like a diaper. Then add a real safety pin to hold the triangles. Write the invitation inside, possibly writing it like newspaper headlines:

" ______ Just Turned One!!" You can also print on them a little story, for example: "One year ago, on (date of birth) a little angel blessed our lives. We named her (baby's name). In the past year she has learned so much, how to drink from a cup, feed herself, crawl, almost walk, talk, laugh, and love. Now she is calling on all her favorite friends and family to help celebrate a wonderful past year and a big kick off for the next. Your presence is requested at the very First birthday party for (baby's name)".

Add the location and the time. You can also photocopy, or scan and print your baby's picture and glue it to the back of the invitation.

First Birthday Printables

First Birthday Printables

Here's a complete page with our very own First Birthday Party printable designs you can download and print for free. You'll find:

Printable Invitations & Envelopes
Greeting Cards
Thank You Cards
Awards & Certificates
Lots More!

To get instant access to our original printable designs you'll need to subscribe first (FREE) to our Partyology ezine:

Make sure you also check out these awesome customizable birthday party invitations!

First Birthday Decorations

Select a number of pictures and mementos from your baby's past year (also pictures signifying your baby's milestones), which are excellent to use, especially at First birthday parties. Tape them onto sheets of colored construction paper to frame them; then tape the pictures on the walls in chronological sequence (but without dates, this will be used for an activity later).

Also, you can set your baby's favorite toys in the middle of the party table as a centerpiece. To incorporate the 1st birthday into any theme, cut out some large number 1's from bright colored paper and tape them to walls & curtains. You can also have a "Happy 1st birthday" banner or poster for guests to sign and add their best wishes.

The party area can be decorated with balloons and streamers to match the party theme.

(Be extremely careful with balloons around little children and be sure to remove all pieces of popped or deflated balloons immediately).

Top Tip!

Before you buy anything online, make sure to check out the First Birthday supplies being offered on eBay. Often, you'll find new supplies at a fraction of what they cost at the stores:

Costumes

Baby costumes are just so irresistible, especially at First birthday parties, and add so much to the special party atmosphere. Here's an awesome selection of Baby Costumes (worth the visit just to see how adorable they are...)

Also, take a look at this fun selection of homemade baby costumes submitted to us by visitors with detailed writeups and photos!

First Birthday Icebreaker Activities

There are usually kids of many ages - especially at First birthday parties - where mostly family and close friends are invited. So here are some activities to get everyone - old and young - into the party mood.

Magic Playdough

Playdough is an excellent activity for First birthday parties, especially for the young ones who are still developing their coordination skills. Simply prepare your own Playdough (take a look at these cool Playdough recipes - the edible playdough recipes are best for little ones...), or buy a few containers of Playdough and all kinds of cookie cutters (enough for each guest to have one).

Before you begin, be sure to put a protective covering on your play surface so it doesn't get damaged. Then, place a small amount of Playdough and one cookie cutter in front of each guest. This activity is sure to keep their hands and imaginations busy for a while. Later your guests can take their cookie cutter home as a reminder of your wonderful party!

Baby-and-You Memento

Take cardboard and make small frames from it. Give each guest one and let them decorate the frames with stickers, glitter, wrapping paper, colored foil, etc. Then take a digital photo of each guest holding your baby, print it out, and let each guest place the photo inside the frame to keep as a memento. This can be given as a party favor.

Build What You Want

If there are younger kids coming, this is a great activity to do during First birthday parties in order to keep them busy. Give the group all kinds of items to construct with, as in, boxes, egg cartons, cotton balls, utensils, cushions, etc. These can be items that can be glued to one another or just objects that can be put together in a room if you have enough space.

Homemade First Birthday Cakes

Check out the cool First birthday party and baby cake ideas on coolest-birthday-cakes.com, the Web's largest gallery of homemade birthday cakes. You'll find thousands of cakes submitted by visitors like yourself with photos and how-to tips.

Babies	Baby Bears	Baby Clothes
Baby Cupcakes	Baby Rattles	Baby Shoes
Bassinets and Strollers	Building Blocks	Other Baby Cakes
Pregnant Bellies	"Showers"	Storks
1st Birthday Cakes		Sweet Pea

First Birthday Party Food and Drink

When it comes to food for First birthday parties, you can make anything that you like most, or that fits your theme. If older children will not be present, and some snacks are too difficult for the birthday baby and young guests to eat, consider making some of the items and using them as a creative centerpiece at mealtime, or serve them to the adults who will be attending the party. For the little ones, try serving soft, simple treats such as cupcakes, pudding or ice cream.

First Birthday Games and Activities

Here's a complete page with the coolest ideas for 1st birthday party games, such as:

How Well Do You Know My Baby?
Musical Balloon Freeze
Sing Alongs
Who's Who?
and many more (including visitor-submitted game ideas)...

You should also read these VERY important tips to help you survive (and enjoy) game time!

Your First Birthday Parties and Ideas

Lots of visitors from around the world have contributed their party ideas to this site! Click here to see another page full with lots more visitor-submitted 1st Birthday birthday ideas. We'd love for you to take a moment and submit your own 1st Birthday party ideas.

Some of our visitors have gone the extra mile and written up their complete First Birthday party story with photos and everything they did. We call these stories "Party Tales" and they serve as a great inspiration! Take a peek at other people's First Birthday theme Party Tales and you're sure to find lots more outstanding First Birthday party ideas:

Elad's First Birthday Party

If you'd like share your complete party with us, then once your party is over, send us your own PARTY TALE and we'll create your very own theme party page and photo gallery that's hosted on our site! (Family, friends and just about anybody will be able to find inspiration from your child's birthday party and comment on YOUR ideas!)