Planning Your Child’s First Birthday Party

One year went by in a flash, didn’t it? One minute, you were bringing forth life and the next minute, you have an active child who wouldn’t stop moving. You pulled through the fourth trimester, the cluster feeds, the sleepless nights and the teething. It’s been a ride and you deserve more than a pat on the back. Congratulations mama!

Your child’s first birthday is a major milestone and it deserves to be celebrated. You could do something elaborate or something minimal- it’s your choice. We are here to ensure that you have a stress-free planning process and a fun-filled birthday party. Here’s a list of things you need to do…

CREATE A BUDGET

This is the first and most important thing to do. This would help you avoid overspending. You might want to go all out for your child and going all out costs money, Having a budget would keep you in check and ensure you stick to doing only what is neccessary. The amount of money you spend is dependent on the kind of party you want to throw. Do you want something elaborate or something intimate? It’s your decision to make.

BOOK A VENUE

This is the second most important thing to do. You need a place to have the party. Taking into consideration the covid situation, you’d need a space that allows all your guests to interact safely. You’d need to book a venue a few months or few weeks in advance so get on it.

The venue could also be your house. If you have a big house with a nice garden, you could have your party there. It would save you the cost of booking a venue.

CREATE A GUEST LIST

You should start creating a guest list a few weeks in advance has three major benefits;

• You don’t leave out anyone 
• You can send invites on time so your guests can make time to celebrate with you 
• You know the exact number of people you would be catering for 

CHOOSE A THEME

Choosing themes help give your party an organised feel/look as a huge part of it would be evident in the decor. You could choose a colour theme based on your child’s gender or a theme that coincides with your child’s favorite cartoon or story book.

For instance, you could go for pink decor, outfits and cakes/cupcakes/cookies for a girl or paw patrol decor and cake/cookies for a boy. You could also ask your guests to dress their kids or themselves in line with the theme. This would make the event more colourful.

You could also decided to freestyle and celebrate without a theme.

HIRE A CATERER, DECORATOR AND A PHOTOGRAPHER

Cake and Food are the best highlights of any party. Depending on the number of guests and the kind of meals you want to serve at the party, you might need to hire a caterer. If you are choosing a theme, a decorator would also communicate your ideas better in the decor. You could also decide to do the decor and catering yourself.

Good photographs are necessary for preserving important memories. Scout for a photographer a good few months in advance. Alternatively, if you have a good camera, you could get a tripod with a remote control for the camera. You, your patner and your guests can take turns manning the camera on that day.

PLAN ENTERTAINING ACTIVITIES

To ensure that you, your child and your guests have fun, you have to plan fun activities. Organising games for children and adults is a good place to start. You can try guess games, food games or couple games. It spices things up.

Spice things up by playing some music and encourage everyone to dance- best dancer gets a prize!

ENJOY YOURSELF

You’ve done your part by planning the party. On your child’s birthday, get yourself and your child dressed and enjoy the party. The mistake most moms make is worrying about what’s going wrong and entertaining guests that they forget to actually enjoy themselves. Dance, eat and be merry because its your birth-day too!

Have fun and happy birthday to your not-so-little one!