baby gifts

Your baby's first birthday is cause for celebration! It's “the biggest birthday and milestone [she] will have,” declares Circle of Moms member Sherri C. But whether you choose to commemorate the day with an intimate family gathering, a mega-party, or something in between, planning and hosting an event on top of everything else you're doing as the parent of a baby can be stressful. To help, Circle of Moms members offer four tips on hosting a first birthday party that's fun and stress-free.

1. Keep Your Baby's Needs in Mind

Whether you hold a large or intimate gathering, “For a first birthday I would keep it short and simple,” says Kara B. She specifically suggests scheduling the event to accommodate baby’s nap time, and many Circle of Moms members agree, as babies often get overwhelmed by loud crowds and can get cranky as a party goes on. 

“K.I.S. (keep it simple) is my motto,” says member Laurel M., noting it’s okay to throw a party without a theme. She typically makes a cake and spaghetti to keep costs down, and party attendees have a good time just hanging out together. “Cake, gifts, hot dogs, friends and family. That's all kids really need,” she explains.

2. Make it Personal

Incorporating your family and cultrual tradtions into the celebration will make it more meaningful and memorable for everyone who attends — including your child, who may one day look back at photos of the event. For a Hawaiin member named Khara, this means throwing a party that's so large that it may have to be held in a hotel ballroom. As she explains, first birthday celebrations in her home state have been shaped by history: “When the ‘white man’ first came to and gave [native Hawaiians] the common cold, it killed many babies. It was rare when a baby made it to their first birthday back then, so it was a big deal," worthy of a big celebration.

For other moms, baby's first birthday conincides with another tradition: the christening. The party Gail B. intends to throw will be a “joint celebration” of the two milestones.

Meanwhile, moms like And Kristen K. and Kara B. suggest starting your own traditions. Kristen is holding a joint birthday party for her baby and his cousin, to bring her extended family together. And Kara is asking guests to make a donation to an animal shelter that is “near and dear to their hearts” in lieu of bringing gifts for her son, and to sign a photo keepsake that will become his when he's older.

3. Take Lots of Pictures

Pictures are one of the most important elements to a first birthday party because they make the celebration live on, even for the guest of honor, who otherwise won’t remember the event! “My boys love to look through all their [birthday] pictures and want to see how much they changed, what the themes were, who was there, what there cake was, etc.,” says Sherri C. 

"The pictures and getting together with everyone [are] what it’s all about, big or small,” concurs Nickole P.  And Kara adds that “Smash the cake" photos are always fun and cute to look back on.

4. Provide Activities for Small Guests

A baby’s first birthday party is often geared toward adults rather than children, observes Laura B. Nevetheless, if there will be children other than the birthday baby at the event, it's helpful to have age-appropriate activities to entertain them. Laura’s son’s party will feature a bouncy house, slip-n-slide, and a big sprinkler for the older kids. Another member, Ann S., is blowing up a small, inflatable pool in which younger party attendees can splash and blow bubbles.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what kind of party activities you provide, what food you serve, or how many guests you invite to your baby’s first birthday, as long as you're comfortable with your party plans. As Kristen K. says, “It’s your baby, your money, your time, your effort. Do it how you want to.”

(For another perspective on first birthday parties, read Why It's Okay Not to Celebrate Your Baby's First Birthday.)

What are you planning for your baby's first birthday?

Image Source: Indy Charlie via Flickr/Creative Commons

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.

In the first few years of life, kids seem to change almost every minute. You're so busy tending to their needs that you can easliy forget to capture and tuck away all the precious moments as they whizz by. To help you cherish memories of your growing child, we asked moms for their favorite ways to record their childrens' childhoods. Here we've culled ideas on what to do with photos, smart ways to journal, and fun crafts ideas for preserving memories.

What to Do With Photos 

"For every year of my son's life I have made a photo baby book using local company Blurb. I intend to do the same for my daughter's first year and then combine the two as they will be doing most things together. I also include their birth stories, when milestones happened, etc. So many photos end up sitting in our computers so it's nice to put them together in a book or collage or [have them] printed and made into handmade cards for family members to keep." -Sophie Davies of The Marin Scoop

"Make a hard cover photo book (i.e. via Shutterfly) for each month of the first year. Make a book for every year thereafter. You can add your journaling, too!" -Nancy J. Davin of My Yellow Ribbon

"For my baby, I started at her one-week birthday taking pictures of her weekly on the same blanket. Each week I try to show off a "trick" or favorite toy/outfit to remember the progression and milestones." -Amy of Using Our Words"

Where to Write Down Memories 

"Journaling is nothing new - but beside pictures this is my favorite way to preserve baby memories. Every year I would get a new journal, and I would write in it every day. Some of the entries just say something mundane like which park we went to that day or where we had lunch...but if you keep at it (and I did for seven years) you will have quite a collection of sweet and hilarious stories for your kids as they grow older. I can't tell you how much my girls love reading the journals! -Ashlyn of Pinecone

"Well . . . starting a mommy blog worked for me. (And I keep a journal with the more personal memories that are just for our family.) -Mary Jacobseon Teague of A Momma Grows in Brooklyn

How to Preserve Memories with Crafts

"Something that we started with our first [was] to have her do her first finger painting on her first birthday. Not only are the pictures of this hilarious and adorable to look back on, but the end result is equally as adorable. We then frame it and display it. We did this for [her] second and will do the same for [her] third. . . . it has become a tradition. Along with that, on [our kids'] first birthdays we do hand prints; theirs as well as mommy's and daddy's. It looks so sweet, all of our hands in various sizes grouped together. This is also something that we frame and display. The last thing we have done is a foot print of each child on their 6-month birthday".  -Angela Gray of Have a little faith