The day has finally come—it’s your baby’s first-ever birthday! The first laugh, first crawl, and other activities you have witnessed while guiding your baby growing up can now be celebrated with a full-blast birthday party.
All of these firsts are your little one’s milestones, but you can unlock your first milestone as a parent by bringing out a wONEderful first birthday for your baby!
Let’s get your baby’s first birthday party rolling with this quick and easy guide:
1st Birthday Ideas for Newborns
Can you already feel the heat from getting excited about this challenge? This adrenaline rush will bring out the creative and unique side of you. Look forward to the list of first birthday ideas made for your newborn.
What’s more exciting than throwing a birthday-themed party? There are various birthday themes to look out for, and we can assure you that one of these is aligned and will be enjoyed by your little one.
Themes are one way of planning your birthday event because this will highlight and hold things together – from designing your invitation to the favors you will prepare for your beloved guests! Here are some first birthday themes for your 1-year-old:
Be Creative with Words
Courtesy of Michelle Durpetti Events
We usually see this trend as the most used and enjoyed birthday theme. Using words about “one” or “first” will make you want to plan for a theme. This will help you be inspired and get even wittier – imagine using “Alice in WONEderland” for an exciting rabbit hole theme experience or “My First Rodeo” for a Western-themed party.
Use an Iconic Character from a Movie
Courtesy of Catch My Party
Superheroes, fictional animal characters like Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny, or even a legendary actor will make everyone enjoy your birthday party! These inspirational characters can make a birthday more memorable and fun to remember.
Have an Animal Birthday Theme
Courtesy of Pinterest
If there is one thing that can make your little one giggle is to plan an animal-themed birthday. There are lots of cute animals that might be your baby’s favorite. Different animal decorations can be used—it will be raining paws everywhere!
Make Your Guests Hungrier with a Sweets-themed Birthday
Courtesy of Party Doll Manila
Yes, you can give a sweet-themed birthday to your baby and offer treats. Let each guest enjoy their sweet tooth; even if they’re not, they can still have one cupcake or two! Imagine your baby having fun reaching out for the different sweets on the table.
Consider a Toy Birthday Theme
Courtesy of Mommy of a Princess by Kalya Peloquin
Growing up, your baby has a favorite toy they would never get tired of. Use this as your birthday theme to make your baby enjoy the day he was born! Think of a toy that your baby is always asking for now. May it be a ball, ship, train, or rocket— be creative enough and fill the room with these awesome toys!
First Baby Birthday Activities to Try
Photoshoot
Since the pandemic has made everyone’s occasion restricted to ensure safety, there’s a trend that can still make your newborn’s monthly celebration possibl—it’s none other than throwing your baby a photoshoot! This photo shoot is required to be done as your newborn reaches another month, and with this trend, you can add this compilation of photos to your 1-year-old’s birthday blast!
Don’t worry if you haven’t tried or completed this trend because it is not too late. You can make a photoshoot session with the birthday theme you chose for your precious baby. You can get as creative and unique as ever with these photoshoot ideas:
Get a Family Photo
It is fun to create and compile creative photos with your family. You can dress your family according to the chosen birthday theme; significant examples are The Incredibles, Disney Encanto, Spy x Family, and the list. Many shots can be created here and be fun candid or staged photos. Nothing can beat a creative family photoshoot!
A Number One Sign or Standee
Your cute baby will maintain the spotlight once a photo shoot with this number one sign is made. This photoshoot can have a number-one balloon, a number-one cake, and so on. This will also be great if this continues as your baby celebrates another year – making every birthday more beautiful and memorable.
Courtesy of Kara’s Party Ideas
Let’s Get Messy
Babies love to play, even if it takes them to be dirty as ever! Having a messy yet fun photoshoot for your baby’s special day is a unique activity. This photo shoot is great when done outside, so expect to make a lot of effort in dealing with mud, water, paint, and so on.
A cake smash is also a great idea for this one. Have a matching cake with your baby’s outfit and theme – and let your little one dig in the cake! Let your baby enjoy the best engaging birthday party that they can have!
A Storybook Activity
Growing up, babies love to hear a story before their nap or night sleep. They might also have their favorite account that they love to hear repeatedly. You can host a storybook activity and read fun and engaging stories. You can also prepare snacks and games inspired by the stories you have read. A great role-play can also be significant, making all the guests active and excited!
Dance Along with Kid-friendly Music
Let’s get the party started with tons of baby tunes! Babies can dance great to their favorite music or music they can hear. Make space for a dance floor inside the room and make all the dance moves in a fun way.
Bake a Cake
If you want to make your 1-year-old’s birthday unique and memorable, you can bake the most important food at the party – the cake! Your baby’s first cake will always be unique, especially with lots of picture-taking with your baby along with the cake. This will be a showstopper that no one can forget.
Prepare a Long, Sweet Message
Messages made for a birthday event will also highlight your baby’s born day. Your little one will not understand this message, but soon enough, your baby will.
You can prepare a sweet statement for your baby and request some of your relatives or guests to make one. Words positively affect one’s emotions, showing how you pour your love into words. You can make a video of it and make your little one watch it when he’s not little anymore!
How to Plan a 1-year-old’s Birthday Party
There are a lot of milestones to celebrate – your baby’s 1-year growth and how you survived being a parent for this whole roller-coaster experience. This is worth celebrating, and so here is how to plan a wONEderful 1-year-old’s birthday party for your little one,
Consider Time and Place
The perfect time to have the birthday is on the weekend, before or after the baby’s party. A weekend is when most people do not have work, so it is the perfect time to do so.
For the place, if you have ample enough space at home and want to save some money, then you could do it at home. Nothing can beat the comfortable vibe of your own house. On the other hand, if you want to do it outside, you can book a restaurant or an outdoor area.
Know How Many People to Invite
Of course, you decide who you want to have an experience with on this special day of your baby. You can make the birthday party an intimate one or an all-out one. Also, this will depend on your proposed budget. So it will be better to look out first on your budget planning.
Courtesy of The Greetings Island
Choose the Theme
This will be your ultimate guide in preparing for your awesome birthday party. You can plan everything with the theme you choose – from the invitations to the favors you will give your guests. Always ensure that everything is aligned with the color palette of your chosen theme!
Plan Your Menu
It will be better if you will consider the guests first if they are primarily kids or adults. If there are babies, you will have to prepare finger food. Healthy snacks such as chicken fingers and grilled cheese sandwiches for older kids will be great. Pizza and other meat, cheese, and vegetable platters with dip are highly suggested for adults.
Incorporate Games and Activities
There are a lot of activities and games that are fun and engaging to do, but choosing the appropriate ones that are aligned with the theme will be great. For example, if the theme is Frozen, you can sing along with the music found in the movie. There can also be a lot of dancing, story-telling, role-playing, and arts and crafts at the birthday party.
Consider Birthday Party Favors
You can let the pictures snapped be printed on the photo booth and slide them into a photo frame – this will be a good remembrance of the party. You can also be creative by baking a shaped, customized cookie and letting the children have the treat when they get home.
1st Birthday Party Ideas for Baby Boys
It’s your baby boy’s turn to turn one! Let’s celebrate this special day by throwing him a wonderful birthday with these exciting party ideas:
- A King’s birthday. Let them know who the king here is, and it is none other than – your baby boy! He has become the king of your world, giving you joy and fulfillment. There will be a crown and robe made just for him, which will be excellent with colors of white and gold.
- A mustache, baby. Your baby will look even cuter with this tiny mustache! This will make the party funny and exciting. You can also make mustache cut-outs for your guests!
- A wild birthday blast. Your baby is unstoppable, and no one can stop him from being cute and awesome! You can be inspired with a jungle or a Safari theme for this – and no one can tame your brave little boy!
- A choo-choo train. Here comes the choo-choo train! This will be great if your little boy loves trains, and an extra for this – desserts that can be put inside the trains! The trains should be big enough to hold the types of desserts that your baby loves. This will also be great with cloud-shaped banners for a steamy look!
- A Winnie the Pooh-inspired party. Let’s craft a party and be creative with blue and yellow balloons and Pooh’s iconic honey jar. This will be exciting, with scattered summer flowers around the room!
- A Superhero turns one! Yes, who would not want a superhero birthday blast? You can pick a superhero that suits your baby boy or have them all! Print out logos and make it as a banner, and of course, do not forget a superhero-themed cake!
These themes will surely bring out the best in your birthday party. Another great idea is to have a photoshoot of your baby with his costume aligned with the theme. You can also prepare different games and activities that are inspired by the chosen theme you have.
And don’t forget the pictures and videos made right from the beginning of the party until the end—because memories last forever!
1st Birthday Party Ideas for Baby Girls
Finally, your baby girl is turning one! There are a lot of things you could plan and prepare for your precious one. These are some of the birthday party ideas that your baby girl will surely love:
- Be Moana. A baby girl celebrating a Moana-themed birthday party is incredible. You can make the room a beach setting or use different Moana-inspired decorations. You can also make it along the beach if you want it to be more exciting! This birthday party will also be great if all the required outfits are beach inspired.
- Care for Care Bears? Having a colorful and fun birthday party will make your little one giggle. Placing Care Bears around the room can also make this birthday more interesting! A rainbow cake must also be the center of this beautiful party.
- A Cake Party! Let your guests drool over different flavors of cakes on the table! You can also add desserts of different colors and sizes. Perfect decorations that could go along with these pastries are flowers and green plants. Let the party be sweeter than ever!
- Gather all the balls. Babies and toddlers love ball pits, so it will be great if you have an ideal space for ball pits for the party. The kids will enjoy this fun party where everyone can swim with lots of balls.
- An enchanted party. Your baby girl will love this fairytale birthday theme. This pastel-colored theme with a hint of green background will give a fantastic vibe to all the guests. This is ideal because you can have the party indoors or outdoors.
This fantastic and magical theme will help you create beautiful memories with your little princess. Make sure to have a photo booth inside the room and let everyone enjoy the theme even more – from the outfits to the props needed for the photos.
This will become more fun when party games are planned together with the theme, so prepare all the required equipment to ensure fun and engaging games for everyone!
Frequently Asked Questions on Baby Birthday Ideas
How can I make my child’s first birthday special?
You can make your child’s first birthday special with the efforts you give to the birthday party. Making efforts to pick the perfect theme for your baby is already a considerable effort. You can also share your little one a touching message to fully convey the words and feelings you felt for your precious one.
For the birthday cake, you can bake one to make this day extra special. And, of course, do not forget to take pictures and videos to make this day more meaningful.
How do you give a 1-year-old a birthday?
You can give your 1-year-old a birthday filled with fun and excitement. You can be playful with words and make a theme out of the “first” and “one” words to make it witty and exciting. You can also be creative by doing photoshoots with lots of poses and props.
Lastly, you can also plan delicious foods and fun activities aligned with your theme. These are all the ideas you can have to give your 1-year-old a wONEderful birthday party.
What are some 1st birthday themes?
Some 1st birthday themes include: being creative with “first” and “one” words. A great example of this is “Alice in Wonderland,” an iconic character-based theme, a cute animal-based theme, a sweet treat theme, and a toy-filled birthday theme. These are all fantastic themes that your baby will surely love.
How do you plan a first birthday party?
Planning a first birthday party consists of knowing the time and place for your birthday party. You could also learn about the guests and finalize them according to the budget.
You could also plan the birthday theme, and the food and activities can be aligned with the chosen theme for a more engaging and fun party. It is also great if you will plan a party favor and let it be something sweet for the kids to eat when they get home from the party.
What food should you cook on your child’s 1st birthday?
The food will depend on the guests that will be arriving. If most of them are babies, then it will be better if you will prepare appropriate food for them. Soft finger food is always an excellent choice.
Healthy snacks like grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken fingers are suitable for older kids. For adults, it will be better if you will serve them with all-time favorite pizzas and other meat platters.
What can I do for my baby’s 1st birthday?
You can plan a wonderful 1st birthday for your baby by giving him a birthday-themed party that you know he will enjoy. You can also do some photoshoot ideas to make everything memorable.
You can also arrange activities like singing, dancing, face painting, and storytelling that the guests will love. If you love baking, you can also bake your baby a cake! Show him how much he is loved, and you can dedicate a sweet message for your baby in the middle of the party.
What is the 1st birthday called?
The 1st birthday is called a first milestone. The baby completed the first year of being a toddler, so it deserves to be well celebrated.
This becomes a memory of a lifetime for the whole family. It is where the moments are preciously captured and treasured for a lifetime. It is where you could make a video and present it to your baby when they are already grown up.
Should I have a birthday party for my 1-year-old?
Yes, you should have a birthday party for your 1-year-old. This is because your baby’s first birthday shows how much your family and others love them. It is when they have already achieved a lot of achievements, such as the first crawl, first laugh, and so on. This is a special day for your baby, and this must be treasured forever.
