DD will be one on Dec 29. My birthday is Dec 24, so I know how it is to have your b-day "mixed in" with the holidays, and I definitely want to celebrate it, but I don't think I want to have a huge party since we just got back from Disney yesterday and we'll leave to go out of town again in 2 weeks. I know a lot of my friends have huge, over-the-top 1st b-day parties, so will I be selling her short not to have a big throw down?
Does anyone have any "low key" but fun ideas for how to celebrate baby's 1st birthday? More than likely it will just be a small family get together, but I'd like to do something DD would enjoy.
Thanks!!
I've always believed that a baby's 1st birthday party is more for the parents, family and friends. Really, the baby has no idea what is being celebrated or what is going on. It is indeed a milestone, and one that parents want to share with family members and to celebrate with cake and ice cream, gifts and lots of picture taking.
I certainly don't think you'll be "selling her short" by not having a huge birthday bash. I do understand what you are saying, though. When my three kids each turned one (a long time ago
) we did throw big parties for them. Nothing too elaborate, but we always had a lot of relatives and friends celebrate with us.
Our first grandchild turned one at the end of August, and I wanted to throw a big party for him, just like I did for my own kids. However, we are now on the west coast and most of our relatives and friends are back home on the east coast. I was feeling kind of sad because I wanted him to be surrounded by family. DSIL's family is spread out a bit and our grandson's other grandma is in Australia.
I did throw a party for him, and we had about ten family members here. It was a quiet affair compared to past get-togethers back on the east coast. But, it turned out fine, and our grandson had a great day.
The house was decorated and we grilled outside. After Carter opened his gifts, all of us took a walk around a nearby lake, then came back to the house for cake and ice cream. Later that night after a tired one-year old went to bed, we played board games.
It doesn't matter the size of the party you throw. A small celebration is probably a lot less overwhelming for a one-year old! One of things we enjoyed the most was taking Carter to a studio and having pictures taken to celebrate his turning one. The studio had us bring in a small cake, and we stripped Carter down to just his diaper and let him have at it.
The pictures came out so cute!
Whatever you decide to do, just have fun and try not to stress out about it. One year olds are happy just to be with mom and dad, playing, being read to, maybe going for a short outing. Enjoy your little one and have a fun day!
