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Coolest First Birthday Games

Here’s an awesome collection of First Birthday games, perfect for throwing the coolest ever 1st birthday theme party. 

Time Capsule

This is one of the coolest and most memorable first birthday games. Have all kinds of stationery, envelopes, pens and colored pencils and let everyone write a letter to your baby to be opened when they turn a predetermined age! (Some of these beloved relatives may not even be around when it is to be opened so it can be very special). You can let the guests know about it in advance so that if they want to, they can write their letter ahead of time and then just bring it and deposit it in the “capsule”. For the capsule, you can use a large metal can that can be taped shut (large popcorn cans work especially well).

Then put a label on it that says, “Do not open until year XXXX” and included your baby’s name. Other items that will work in the capsule – Time magazine, newspaper clippings, photos and information on where you live, where parents work, what you do for fun, etc.

Guests can write anything they wish, for example their hopes and dreams for the child’s future, a piece of advice, or bring items that represent the year in lieu of gifts, and then many years down the road it can be opened and shared when he/she is old enough to understand. Use this theme to preserve special keepsakes and mementos from the first year of your child’s life. Some suggestions include a collage of photos featuring your baby, newspaper and magazine covers from the year, state coins from the year, and other mementos that will evoke the year of your baby’s birth.

Place all of these special things into the Time Capsule, along with souvenirs from the party – a candle from the birthday cake, the bib your baby wears, and any photos taken at the party. Close up the Time Capsule at the end of the party and keep it in a safe place.

Sing Alongs

Parents sit with kids in a circle and sing their favorite kid songs.

What Will Baby Choose

This is a fun game to play at a baby’s birthday party. We simply gathered a few of our baby’s favorite items, i.e. her favorite rattle or toy, the remote control, daddy’s keys, etc. Then we asked everyone to write down what they believed would be the first item the baby would pick up. We placed the baby on the floor with all of the items around her and waited! We had enough prizes to award everyone with the winning guess.

Who’s Who?

Have all the guests bring their own baby pictures and try to guess, ‘who is who’.

How Well Do You Know My Baby?

During this activity, have the guests try to match each picture and memento to specific dates. See if they know when your baby took their first step, said their first word, etc. Ask trivia questions about your baby, as in, “How much did my baby weigh at birth?” “What’s my baby’s middle name?” “Who was my baby named after?” “What time was my baby born?” and “What hospital was my baby born in?”, “Who’s my baby’s doctor?”, etc.

Musical Balloon Freeze First Birthday Games

This game is more for toddlers who come as guests to your first birthday party. Have them bop their balloon in the air to music. When the music stops they must grab the balloons and freeze.

Baby Can, Baby Can’t

Many people don’t realize how much a baby can-and can’t-do. Write a list of tasks your baby can do, such as “Touch her nose,” “Eat with a spoon,” “Put on her shoes,” and “Turn on the VCR,” and add some she can’t do yet, such as “Brush her teeth,” “Say the alphabet,” “Dial the phone,” and “Eat a carrot.” Have guests try to guess the tasks your baby can do.

Guessing Your Baby’s Weight

This is a fun game to play at first birthday parties. Very gently, pass your baby from guest to guest and have each guess how much your baby weighs that day. Then put your baby on a scale and award a prize to the winner. One of the coolest first birthday games

Baby Race

Set all the crawling and walking babies inside a taped off area and place toys outside the circle. Last baby to remain in the circle wins.

Guess the Cheerios

This is a fun (and inexpensive) game to play while waiting for all the guests to arrive. The hostess fills a baby bottle (or a pretty flower vase) with pre-counted Cheerios. Put a slip of paper with the count on it on the inside of the lid so folks can’t see it (fold the slip). Allow the guests to submit a guess on slips of paper to see who can get closest to the number of Cheerios. Make sure they write their name on the slip. When everyone has had a guess, reveal the count of Cheerios, and the closest guess wins a door prize. A rule variation: Price is Right Showcase-Showdown style… if the guess is over, it is disqualified. Materials: Paper slips, pen, baby bottle (or vase), a glass for the guesses to be deposited, and, of course, the Cheerios.

Take a look at our complete First Birthday Parties section for more of the coolest party-planning ideas.


Kid Birthday Parties › Kid Activities › First Birthday Games

5 thoughts on “Coolest First Birthday Games”

  1. Birthday Baby Sketch

    We did this for all of our daughters’ first birthdays. I purchased several packages of colored pencils and gave everyone in attendance a piece of blank white paper. I asked everyone to sketch or draw a picture of the birthday girl. It was so funny. We certainly aren’t a family of artists, but it was surprising how talented a couple members of our family actually are. I had everyone sign their name (my husband and I also participated) and I placed them in a time capsule, or a box of other mementos of the big day!

  2. Pin The Hat On The Baby

    Take a picture of your baby (enlarge if possible) and glue it onto poster board. Then make party hats with the age of the baby on them out of construction paper, heavy wrapping paper, etc. Attach a loop of tape to the back.

    Have each guest initial their “hat”.

    Blindfold the guests (adults and kids can play) with a scarf, spin them around and see who can pin the hat closest to the top of the babies’ head!

  3. The Walker First Birthday Party Race

    If you have more than one walker, great. I used two walkers.
    Have babies race to a finish line, using a walker, two at a time. Have several “heats”.
    Winner of each heat compete against one another and prizes are awarded to the top 3 finishers… and of course all other participants get parting gifts.

  4. When Did He/She Start

    This is a cute game in which guests remember or have to guess when the birthday boy or girl started saying “DaDa,” “MaMa,” started crawling, rolling over, and walking. This could be a simple cute game to play with adults while someone else is leading the children’s games.

  5. Fun First Birthday Game

    Get out all kinds of baby gadgets that most people who aren’t parents are not likely to know, such as a heat-sensitive thermometer strip, a teether, a bulb syringe, medication for swollen gums, etc. Pass them around one by one, and have your guests write down what they think it is or what it does. After all of the objects have been identified, have the guests read their answers. Some of them can come out really funny! After all the guests read their guesses, you can share the real answers.

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