FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS

FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY INVITATION IDEAS:

• Cut a large “1” out of colored card stock – write the birthday baby’s name on the front of the card and on the back, write the birthday details out

• Use clean and empty baby food jars as invitations by filling the jars with confetti or curling ribbon and making new labels for the outside of jar with picture of baby and party info.

• Cut out baby’s handprints on card stock – write your birthday message on one hand and the party details on the other – connect the hands with ribbon or yarn

• Tie one candle to your invitation

• Try a rubber-duckie/bathtime theme by taking a cute picture of your baby in the bathtub for the front of invitation along with the words “Rubber Duckie You’re the 1!” and on inside “To make Joey’s first birthday lots of fun!”

FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY DECORATION IDEAS:

• Find a special spot for the highchair and decorate with lots of balloons and streamers with a special small cake for the birthday baby to eat with their hands

• Use a travel crib or a playpen for the guests to place their gifts into – decorate with balloons

• Get a large picture mat to hold a 5x7 photo and have it out on a table at the party with a marker for the guests to write a well-wish to the birthday baby (take a picture of the baby eating their birthday cake to frame)

• Have building blocks and lots of balls for babies to play with along with having sing-along music playing at the party

FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY GAME IDEAS:

• Pass out pencils and papers with questions about the baby listed like weight at birth, length at birth, first word, when did he/she sleep through the night, etc. Whoever gets the most right wins! (great prize idea for this game is a framed picture of the baby)

• Ask all the guests to bring pictures of themselves as a baby for a game of “who’s who”

• Show about 15 minutes of a Baby’s First Year on video or play a photo montage on CD showing baby's first year to special songs on computer or DVD player

• Let the babies chase bubbles by a bubble machine or an adult to blow them

• Set out a time capsule (made out of a coffee can or formula can) and have each guest write a special note to the birthday baby and designate a special later date for the child to open the letters on – you can also add newspaper clippings and any other special memento

• Set out finger paints for the kids to play in (along with smocks to cover their clothes)

• Fill a jar or baby bottle with dry Cheerios cereal and have the guests guess how many there are. The guest with the closest guess wins.

• Have the children sit in a circle with their legs apart and let them roll the ball to each other.

• Give the babies yarn and fruit loops to make their own “cereal jewelry” to wear.

• Decorate a wagon and have an adult take turns pulling the babies around

• Designate an adult be the “leader” and have them wear a special hat and let the kids follow the leader around copying everything the leader does (hops, crawling, skipping, rolling, etc.)

• Fill a kiddie pool with sand and bury prizes in the sand for the babies to dig through with their shovels and find special prizes • Fill a pull-string piñata for the babies to play with

• set up a cardboard box area for the kids to climb through

FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY FAVOR IDEAS:

• bathtub toys

• teething baby biscuits for the babies

• balls

• finger puppets or regular puppets

• books or coloring books

• bubbles

• framed pictures of the birthday child

• photo video montage of pictures from the baby's first year set to music on CD or DVD - use a picture of the baby for the cover of the CD