First Birthday Party Planning Guide

Use the step-by-step Planning Guide below to make planning your child's birthday party fun & easy! Visit Helpful Hints for 10 great tips for a successful party.

When to Start?
I suggest planning 4-6 weeks prior to the party. This much time isn't absolutely necessary, but it enables you to pull the party together at a relaxed pace.

Plus, I hate to shop and planning this far ahead allows me to purchase party supplies as part of my regular shopping trips, instead of having to run all over town at the last minute.

However, there are some people who seem to thrive under pressure. Year-after-year, I receive a call from the same frenzied Mom inviting my son to a party "this weekend". This isn't my style, but the party usually turns out fine and the kids don't know or care that it was a last minute deal.

The biggest risk with waiting until the last minute is that some of your child's friends may not be able to attend due to other commitments. I know one family who sent the invitations out a few days before the party and didn't request RSVPs. Only one child showed up for the party, so they put the ice cream cake back in the freezer and rescheduled the party for a month later.

Choosing a Theme
A good party theme unifies the party and provides the framework from which the rest of the planning process flows. Decisions about what kind of invitations, activities, decorations, and food become much clearer once the theme is selected. Our Themes page can help you choose a fun theme.

When?
I usually have my son's birthday celebration on the weekend closest to his birthday, unless there is some big conflict. However, I know families who move their child's birthday celebration by several weeks to avoid busy holiday times, such as Christmas.

To me the biggest factor in selecting a party date and time is determining when the largest number of my closest friends and family can attend. When planning a party, check the proposed date and time with "key" friends and relatives before committing to the party time (before preparing the invitations or making any reservations). It's better to select another date than to not have a favorite grandparent attend.

I've had good luck with both mid-day Saturday and Sunday parties. I use to think Saturday was the best day to have a party, so I'd have Sunday to relax and recover! However, I now prefer Sunday afternoon parties because there seem to be fewer scheduling conflicts and I have all day Saturday to prepare. However, Sunday parties need to be held at noon or later to reduce conflicts with church activities.

When selecting a party time, consider what level of refreshments you want to provide. If you don't want to provide a full meal, then you really need to start the party at least an hour after standard meal times and end the party an hour before standard meal times. Basically, if you have a party anytime between 11 am-1 pm or 4-6 pm, you need to provide a meal. Outside these times you can provide snacks.

Choose a time of day when your child is usually at his/her best. Many younger children seem to be more pleasant in the morning and get fussier in the afternoon/evening, so a morning party may be good choice. Just make sure to end the party well before the pre-nap-time-fussies begin.

Where?
The best locations for 1st Birthday parties are places your child is familiar and comfortable with, such as your home, a friend's or relative's home, or a playground your child frequently visits.

Some advantages to having a party at home include having plenty of time to set-up (you can start the day before), having all your supplies close at hand, and having the party in an environment your child is comfortable in.

Some disadvantages to having a party at home include having to clean your house twice (before and after the party), possible damage to your house (purple grape juice on white carpet), space limitations (unless you have a big house and big yard), and lack of built-in entertainment (unless you have a big play structure).

Nearby parks are nice because they're usually free or low cost (if you decide to reserve an area) and there's usually a play structure or sandbox to entertain the kids. However, I've experienced two downsides to park locations. One is that it's a pain to haul all the party supplies to the park and the other is that the park can be crowded and you may have trouble finding a space for your party.

One year I had my son's party at a park that did not allow space to be reserved. I checked out the park on a weekday and picked out a couple locations where I wanted to have the party. When I arrived at the park to set-up on Saturday morning, almost every available area was already claimed by people for other parties. Fortunately, I found a fine space near the back of the park, but if I'd arrived much later it would have been gone, too. The lesson here is that if you have a party at a park, either reserve a space or send someone early to lay claim to the spot you want.

If you're having an outdoor party, always have a back-up plan in case of poor weather. Try to reserve or stakeout a picnic area with a shelter. When you accept RSVPs be sure to get the guests' phone numbers in case you need to call them with a last minute location change. I think it's too difficult and disappointing to reschedule a party at the last minute, so plan on having the party unless it just won't work.

When deciding where to have a party, consider potential safety issues. Put yourself in baby protection mode and think about ways to make the environment safer. Take special precautions if the party environment includes: stairs, a balcony, high windows, glass doors, chemicals, a pool, or busy streets. Other children can be unpredictable in a new environment, particularly with the excitement of a party.

How Long?
Some people advocate short parties (1 hour) to make things easier for the parents and reduce the likelihood that the children will get fussy. However, I find that two hours is better.

The time passes quickly by the time you allow time for the guests to straggle in (15 minutes), do some organized activities (30 minutes), have refreshments (20 minutes), open presents (20 minutes), and allow time for free play and socializing (30 minutes). You'll need 2 hours unless you're going to run the party like a drill sergeant.

Who and How Many?
The guest list start with the "must invites"... best friends, close family members, your child's favorite playmates, and others you want to share this special occassion with.

The rule of thumb to invite 1 child per each year of age (5 children for a 5 year-olds party), doesn't make any sense for a 1st birthday. Plus, since at least one adult will stay with each child guest, you don't have to worry about too much about the level of supervision and keeping things under control.

However, you may need to give some thought to the issue of siblings. Many parent's assume it's OK to bring all their children to the party and it usually works out fine. However, too many siblings can be a problem if you're tight on space or if the siblings are likely to require a lot attention or get bored with "baby" games. If you don't want siblings at the party, you'll need to find a tactful way to mention this when you send the invitation or accept the RSVPs.

Activities
The key components of most parties are games & activities and refreshments. Children can inhale food in a matter of minutes so don't plan much time for refreshments.

A typical two hour party agenda might look like this:

15-20 minutes - greet arrivals, free play and unstructured activities (blocks, balls, trucks, etc.)
30-45 minutes - organized activities
15-20 minutes - refreshments
20-30 minutes - additional organized activities or present opening
15-20 minutes - free play and unstructured activities.

Some people avoid having any unplanned time at the party for fear that the children will get unruly. I usually plan on about 15-20 minutes of free time at both the beginning and the end of the party. I've never had any problems with this approach and find that this is often when the children interact with each other the most.

There seems to be some debate on whether or not to open presents at the party. Some people are concerned that it seems too materialistic or that a guest's feelings might get hurt if the present isn't an instant hit or their are duplicate presents. I usually include time for present opening, because I believe most guests want to see their presents opened and it's a logical closing activity for the party.

Getting Help
Potential helpers include family, friends, neighbors, parents of guests, and paid professionals (entertainers, caterers, etc.). Fortunately, most of us know someone who will do just about anything you need and do it well. My mom falls into this category and helps with the food prep, decorating, and clean-up.

Then there are the people who are only willing or able to do a few specific tasks. For example, the uncle who is a photography buff and can be trusted to get great pictures and not drop the video camera, but would be a disaster with any other responsibility.

Compare your list of things that need to be done with your list of people who are willing and able to help looking for some obvious matches. An artistic relative may be a good candidate to make decorations. A friend with a mini-van can fetch the balloons. A neighbor who loves to bake can make the cake or cookies.

After I've made all the obvious matches on my list, I look for additional tasks that just about anyone can do. This includes things like making a list of who gives what gift at a birthday party, so we can write customized thank you notes.

You'll have to gauge whether your other children can be good helpers. I know some parents who expect siblings to help a lot, some who just include siblings as "guests" at the party, and others who try to get the siblings out of the way by sending them to a friends house to play.

Some people recommend paying teenagers to help. I'm sure this can work with the right teenager. But so far my experience has been that they are too shy or self-conscious, easily distracted, or just unmotivated.

Adult guests who don't have their hand full watching children can help run some of the activities and serve refreshments.

Buy or Make?
I don't have much storage area in my house, so I don't have a lot of party supplies on hand. Instead, I usually buy or make what I need for each party.

I sometimes find that it's not only much easier, but often less expensive, to buy what I need for a party instead of making it. Check our Party Shopping List page for shopping suggestions. I usually only make things when I can't find what I want in the stores.

I do have some staples that I use for almost every party, so it made sense for me to by and store these items. These include my Polaroid camera (for taking pictures to give to guests), carnival type games (bean bag toss), muffin pans (cupcakes) and serving trays. I borrow tables, chairs, ice chests and other things I know friends have.

If you end up with leftovers party supplies (favor bags, decorations, plates & napkins), pack them up into a box and give them to a local women's shelter. Their children have birthdays, too!

How Much?
A good rule of thumb is $20 per guest. However, costs can vary widely depending on what type of party you have. If you have to pay to use a location, hire an entertainer, serve a full meal, and give elaborate prizes and favor bags, the costs can really add up.

However, it's possible to have a party for as little as $10 per child. I've never achieved this, but I've added up the costs for the bare minimum items (cake, ice-cream, a few low cost favors and decorations) and it's not that expensive. Plus, some of the all-inclusive party destinations (play gyms, McDonald's, etc.) are pretty inexpensive.

Planning Checklist
Use the step-by-step Planing Checklist below to make planning your child's birthday party fun & easy!

Planning 4-6 weeks before your child's birthday enables you to pull the party together at a leisurely pace, allows time to reserve party facilities and entertainment, and ensures you'll get the invitations out well ahead of the party.

However, if you get in a pinch, you can pull together a nice party 2 weeks. Just make sure you get the invitations out right away or call your guest list.

Less than two weeks is pretty stressful and you risk guests not being able to attend, because they've already made plans.

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