Parenting Toddlers

Baby's First Birthday Party

Invite their Toddler Friends

Invitations:  Cut a piece of paper into a square. Fold in half, fold corners of triangle toward center. This should look somewhat like a diaper. Write invitation inside. Add drawing or real safety pin on front.

Decorations:  Balloons and streamers

Cake and food:  Finger foods for toddlers;  Big Cake with 1 candle

Goodie Bags:  Toddler geared toys and bubbles

Games and Activities: Baby Derby: Have two contests, one for crawlers and one for toddlers. Babies at one end, parents at the other.  Sing alongs: Parents sit with kids in a circle and sing their favorite kid songs.  Musical Balloon Freeze: Have kids bop their balloon in the air to music. When the music stops they must grab the balloons and freeze.  Bubble Catching: Blow bubbles for the kids and let them "catch" them. 

Peanut Butter Dough Creations:   Make your creations and eat them!  1 cup peanut butter ~1 cup honey ~2 cups powdered milk (use just the powder) Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. If needed, add more powdered milk to make the dough workable. (NOTE: if you have a child younger than 1 possibly up to the age of 2, you may not wish to use honey, substitue brown sugar and use some milk if too dry)

Spiral Kites:  Need paper plates, markers or crayons, yarn or string.  Have the children decorate the plate with colors. Next, have an adult cut out a spiral shape from the plate, leaving a 1 1/2" center circle. Tie the string onto the center. Let the kids "fly" their kites.

First Birthday Ideas
Tweety Bird 1st Birthday Party:  Invitations: Wood cut-outs of Tweety made into magnets, double as souvenirs. Paste party information on the back.

Fall 1st Birthday:  Purchase Anne Geddes plain note cards (the one with the pumpkin). Print on paper for inside  "Our Little Pun'kin is turning ONE!"
Cake: Pumpkin cake made in a bundt pan. Frosted orange and decorated with autumn foliage (artificial) in the center. Mini bundt cakes for children with tootsie roll for stem. Serve with pecan praline ice cream.
Activity: Go to the pumpkin patch and choose your pumpkins. Have a pumpkin carving contest.

Baby's Year in Review
Invitations: can be printed to look like newspaper headlines.   " ______ Just Turned One"
Decorations: Balloons, streamers, baby books, photo albums and photos of the birthday child. For a special reminder of the day, make an album celebrating baby's 1st year. The front could be set up like a news magazine. Include newspaper items from the day he was born.
Cake and Food: Typical finger foods with a cake with a huge one on it.
Gift for guests: Make paper roll thanks you's, tied with a ribbon, attach a pretty flower or favorite symbol.  Tie up Hershey's Hugs and Kisses in tulle with a ribbon. Attach a hand made tag (business card size on the computer) that says "hugs and kisses from name of child to you" "Thanks for coming to my 1st Birthday" and the date.
Game: Make up questions from the baby book or for fun. Pass out paper and pencils, let the guests answer them.  When did he sleep through the night?  What was his first words?  When did he first crawl? Walk? Sleep through the night?  Who does he look like? etc.  
Time Capsule: Have stationery, envelopes, pens and colored pencils. Everyone writes a letter to the child to be opened when they turn a predetermined age! Some of these beloved relatives may not even be around then so it will be especially precious. 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 deposit it in the capsule.  Use a large metal can that you can tape shut (large popcorn cans work great). Put a label on it that says, "Do not open until year XXXX" and included Child'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

The First Birthday Party
HAVE A BLAST WITH YOUR CHILD
by Susan Garrett

In less fortunate times, when infant mortality rates were higher, a baby's first birthday was largely a celebration of survival. These days, a first birthday is as much a celebration of the parents' survival as the baby's.

That first year, with its sleepless nights, unpredictable schedules, and nearly constant demands, is a hard one. On the other hand, parents witness an incredible unfolding as their awkward newborn literally unfolds and grows into an engaging little person who stands on two feet.

Take time to think about and plan your child's first-birthday celebration. A variety of traditions attempt to define a baby's emerging personality, predict the future, or create a tangible memory to hand down.

In the classic smashed-cake birthday party, parents symbolically give Baby the world on a plate, then watch his reaction. Does he contemplate for a while,or dig right in? Does he lick his fingers fastidiously, or smear frosting in his hair? This birthday tradition is entertaining, but it also offers hints as to how Baby approaches life.

In the Korean culture, the first-birthday party, Chut Dol, more definitively predicts a child's future. The child sits at a table that's set with five objects: a ball of yarn, signifying long life; a book, standing for knowledge; a calligraphy brush, representing scholarly ability; and a coin, meaning prosperity. As he chooses items from the table, parents and other guests get a glimpse into the future. A baby who chooses a coin will be prosperous, one who chooses the yarn will live a long life, and so on.

At one Chut Dol ceremony I attended, the baby's parents asked each guest to bring an object that could represent a future path for the birthday child. Friends contributed a basketball, backpack, and other inviting objects.

The guests were clearly hoping to attract the baby's attention, but the child showed herself to be calmly self-possessed as she sat in a circle of anticipation. After several minutes of quiet contemplation, she scooted over and picked up a tiny campaign button, to the delight of her politically active parents.

In another first-birthday celebration, the hosts asked their guests to contribute something simple (a photograph, pressed flower, or other small object) to a box they would give their son on his 21st birthday. At the time of the party they had yet to decide whether they would keep the box sealed for the duration, like a time capsule; add to the box each year; or open it annually to examine the objects again and again. Regardless of how their particular tradition played out, these parents were creating a visual record of their son's world.

A simple white tablecloth can also record birthdays. Some families ask each guest to sign his or her name or birthday wishes on the cloth with fabric crayons or markers to make a lasting (washable) keepsake.

Whether you choose to celebrate your baby's first birthday with a small family gathering or a big bash, take some time to marvel at the year gone by.

As parents, it is now your turn to create meaningful traditions. The first birthday can be a time to reflect on the birth experience, the changes it has brought to your lives, and your baby's emerging personality. It may be your last chance to truly share in the birthday. Soon your child, like all others before him, will command ownership of his birthday celebration, and you'll be left playing the supporting roles.