Baby's First Birthday: Planning Tips

There is nothing more exciting than celebrating your baby's first birthday! The excitement of planning this special gala for the guest of honor can be just fun as when your baby was born. The first birthday is more than just a social event, its a time of reflection on tweleve months of triumph,growth, development and the impact that your little one has had on the entire family.

Certainly this gathering is more for the adults than the baby whose enthusiasm can be short lived. Depending on how extravagant that you want your party to be you can invite a few family and friends or rent a hall and have lots of people to attend. Its important to remember the phase of development that your baby is in: perhaps still experiencing stranger anxiety and may even be more clingy than usual. You may also want to reduce the amount of people that you actually invite to help reduce your baby's anxiety. If you have friends with babies around the same age, certainly invite them as well, they may enjoy playing together while the adults socialize.

Dumb down the decor: while you may be tempted to be extravagant with lots of balloons, streamers,horns, hats and more these may frighten your baby. The over stimulation of colors and sounds may just be too much for him to handle. Keep simplicity in mind when searching for a theme and decorations for your baby's first birthday.

Time planning: consider your baby's schedule and at what time are they at their best: fed and well rested, usually that is the best time to have the birthday party. You want to catch your baby at the best time of the day where he would be most receptive and feeling good. Give ample time to get him ready for the party so that you are not rushing and feeling stressed down to the last moment before a guest arrives. Most first birthday parties are early and even for a short period of time, so don't worry about having to entertain for hours. Most people understand that and expect that when attending a first birthday party.

Outside entertainment: the attention span of a one year old baby is very limited, so bringing in a clown or magician on his behalf is probably not ideal at this age. They probably would not show much interest and may even be frightened of a strange face. Save your hard earned dollars and consider this as an option when there is a full appreciation for such entertainment.

Eating cake: many parents struggle with the decision of whether or not to allow their baby eat birthday cake. While that is certainly an individual choice that has to be made there are lots of alternatives that you can consider if you would rather not introduce sugar or if you have special dietary restrictions to consider. You can certainly have a birthday cake and keep along with basic party protocol, that guests can enjoy, and have something separate for your baby. However, if you do want to go full fledged and your baby will be eating birthday keep be sure that you try to avoid any cake with certain ingredients such as honey, nuts, chocolate, as these can cause an allergic reaction for some people. If your baby will indulge, monitor consumption as everything in moderation for adequate portion control.

Expectations: ideally you want your baby to have the very best first birthday ever and want him to be on his best behavior. Of course that is ideal and what most parents would want however, with babies you just never know. Even though he may be an angel and a complete ham for the camera on any other day, he may not cooperate for the camera this time. While you want lots of pictures capturing those precious moments don't be surprised that you may have some pictures with frowns and tears. Try not to push your baby too much to perform or behave any particular way simply let him be himself. All of the attention and affection can send a one year old into overload!

The first birthday is just the beginning of many more celebration parties that are yet to come, and while each one is special make the most of it. Capture those special moments that stand out most and record them in the baby book for a forever memory that you can reflect upon in the future When the party is over and all of the guests have gone you can look at your baby and remember just how wonderful and special he is and how your life has changed since the day he was born.