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Our little boy Oliver is already one. As a parent you get to experience the passing of time right before your eyes as you watch your little baby grow up into a person. If you stop and acknowledge that feeling...it can take your breathe away.
The most valuable piece of advice someone shared with me is
"the days are long, but the years are short."
That really says it all. Enough of the in depth reflection. Now to that stuff you may actually be able to use.
Planning your baby's first birthday can be a big moment. It's the very first cycle of what we use to measure the length of time someone spends on the planet. Here are a few tips to help you plan your baby's first birthday.
If it's your babies 2nd birthday, check out how we pulled it off with 2 kids under 2!
Pick a Theme
Starting with a theme will very quickly help direct the creative juices. It gives you a nice starting point to build from and helps reduce the stress. Use Pinterest for inspiration and try to buy things used online as oppose to paying full price in the store. We got our helium tank used (it was half full) for 1/4 of the price.
Plan your Times
Build a basic schedule with arrival time, meal time, cake time, presents, etc and do your best to stick to it. Don't stress out about it, just acknowledge people also have schedules and are planning their meal times around yours. Get an idea of who wants there gift opened before they leave. That way you can plan a special moment for the person to watch your baby open their gift.
You also don't have to do a big gift announcement. There something to be said about the small intimate moments people get to experience that isn't the same in a large group. Not everyone can stay for a long time and sometimes the big present session can eat up time that can otherwise be spent with the baby and enjoying the company of others.
Ask For Help
Don't be fooled, all of these other Instagramers and bloggers have help. You don't know just how many people it takes behind the scenes to make this stuff happen! Well you probably do...I'm just making my point. When people ask if they can contribute, say yes. They can bring h'orderves, salad, fruit bowls, balloons, plastic forks whatever it is you need.
People genuinely enjoy contributing, just make sure to acknowledge them for their help.
This will free up time to spend on something you enjoy like decorating, or maybe gives you an extra hour of sleep the morning of.
Have A Smash Cake
It's your babies day to shine, give him a cake to get messy with! One of the highlights of the party is when we all gathered around Oliver to watch him smash his cake. People wanted to know how we was going to react? Would he dig in? Would he throw some?
I think it was more fun to watch for us than hit was for him! You can order a simple cake to feed your guests with, it doesn't have to look pretty it just needs to taste good. We ordered a chocolate cake and a vanilla cake to make sure we had our basis covered
I hope you found these tops helpful for planning your babies birthday. These really do apply to all birthday parties but we were just so excited about Oliver's 1st birthday party. Check out Oliver's 2nd birthday here
In the comments please share some tips you have for planning a birthday party and how to make it as least stressful as possible.
With love,
Anna
