Consider the Guest List
Later on, your child’s birthday celebration will be more for their benefit than anybody else’s. But while they are still babies, the birthday party is more for the guests than the guest of honor.
Your guest list doesn’t have to include children who are the same age as your child — unless they are the children of close friends or relatives, of course. Instead, your child’s first birthday should be about your family and close friends celebrating your child’s first year of life.
Of course, if there are other children on your guest list, make sure you include party rentals such as bounce houses.
Schedule a Nap Time
Very often, parents somehow forget that their child is still a baby on their birthday. There’s a lot going on with the planning, the arrival of the guests, and the event itself.
The last thing you want is for your child to ruin his or her own birthday party by having a meltdown in the middle of the celebration. So it’s important that you remember to follow the child’s normal daily routine, including feedings and nap time.
That way, your child will be more rested and able to handle all the attention that is suddenly being focused on them.
Smash Cake or No Smash Cake?
Traditionally, on a child’s first birthday there are two birthday cakes: The first is the one shared by all the guests. But the second is the “smash cake” which is presented to the child for them to smash apart with their hands.
Some parents are concerned about the mess that this causes or that their child is going to fill up on too much sugar and fat. While it’s up to you, a child’s first birthday is a once in a lifetime experience. So why not follow this tradition? Make sure to make a video of the smash cake so the child can watch it later when they are older.
