Party planning for baby’s first birthday is a funny thing, because let’s be honest, really we do it for ourselves. I mean, that’s not entirely true, Allegra had a great time at her birthday party, running up and down and playing with her friends – who are actually my friend’s children. They are three and five, so somewhat older than her, but the joy I could see in her face and the fun I watched her have was amazing to watch. I say it a lot on my Instagram, Allegra truly is a massive ball of energy. She is high spirited and her energy is boundless so she’s always been massively happy and playful, but up until recently play dates would involve a lot of parallel play. Now, at just a whole one year old, Allegra plays with her friends like a little girl and not a baby, role playing, chasing, cuddling and laughing. It made me realise how much she has grown up and at the crazy speed at which she is growing.
Although there is some debate around throwing babies parties, mainly because they won’t remember it and because it’s wasted money and it’s more about the parents than it is for the children, I say, screw those people! Regardless of whether she’ll remember her first birthday party, she enjoyed the moment in the moment and for us, that’s what life is really about. Admittedly, I felt a lot of pressure planning Allegra’s party and the pressure is unnecessary, because it’s all about celebrating the life of your child with your closest friends and family. Nevertheless, I felt some pressure, not because I was trying to throw some elaborate party, but because I had never planned a children’s party before and I had totally overlooked the fact that I had little children attending that had attended a few parties in their time. They would be expecting party bags and sweets and all the things I had not even considered and have never needed to factor in to any parties or events I have hosted thus far. However, with just a week’s planning I was able to throw a party that I am proud to say I planned, mostly on my own, with some help from hubby, of course.
You can watch my Kid’s Birthday Party Amazon Haul Video on my YouTube channel, where you can see all the items I bought and find out how much I spent.
All You Need is Love
What I have learned planning my first ever first birthday party is, kids are easily pleased. Some sweets, some toys and some space to play and you’re pretty much good to go. I don’t have a massive home, but four children in my home playing in the living room, hallway and Allegra’s bedroom seemed sufficient.
Decoration
Balloons are an absolute essential. Is it even a kid’s birthday party without balloons? We had all the balloons you could think of for Allegra’s birthday, mostly because all of our friends bought at least one balloon with them. We also had some Happy Birthday garlands on the walls, which I purchased from Amazon Prime, along with paper flowers, which we hung from the curtain rails and in the door way, table confetti and pink table cloth.
Kids Party Essentials
I had to go way back in time to think about what it is I remember from going to kids parties myself as a child, because in all honesty, not many of my friends have children and I haven’t actually been to that many kids parties – not as far as I can remember, anyhow. Party bags, party hats, pass the parcel and musical chairs immediately came to mind! However, in this day and age I fear that pass the parcel and musical chairs at a kid’s party might be social suicide and it was too embarrassed to ask. So, party bags and a few sweet treats were about as far as I went. I put Allegra’s tent up in her bedroom and got a few of her toys out that I thought the older kids would enjoy playing with. I also made sure I had fruit on the table, watermelon, strawberries, cucumber and grapes. Hubby cooked a massive bowl of pasta, that was suitable for the kids to eat too. In terms of drinks for the children, we bought an assorted pack of fresh fruit juices.
Party Bags
I think party bags deserves it’s very own section, because these can be hard work if like me, you have no clue what you’re doing. The hardest thing about the party bags is that I had no clue what to put in them and not really much clue what children older than Allegra are into. Would they be into Peppa Pig? Paw Patrol? Superheroes? Disney Princesses? And I had to consider for boy and girls. So I decided generic was best and purchased pre-filled party bags from Amazon Prime that had a puzzle, a pack of bubbles, crayons, a few small toys and a balloon inside. I then added to the bags some sweets and a slice of Allegra’s birthday cake. That was it. It worked out much cheaper and was much easier than me having to buy each party bag item individually.
Music
I debated whether I needed kids party music on in the background, like Disney songs or the likes of. However, kids are pretty with it when it comes to music these days and Allegra is quite happy listening to Chris Brown, Mabel and basically what Mummy listens to and as were the rest of children. Throughout the day, I occasionally put on Masha and the Bear and Chu Chu TV, Allegra’s favourites, but the kids were more than happy listening and singing along with the music they hear in the car!
I doubt Allegra’s party will ever be as simple as this again. As I’ve heard these parties get bigger and bolder the older they get.
Check out the YouTube video here!
Happy party planning. x
