It sneaks up on you. Your baby will soon celebrate his first birthday. It’s the very first birthday in this little person’s life and you want it to be special. Panic may ensue.
Many first-time moms fret over every detail in an effort to make the party “perfect.” The guest list, the decorations, the food, the cake, the entertainment—no decision is taken lightly.
Some simply run out and buy up the store’s entire party section. Thank goodness the party-supply wizards have created themed plates and cups and napkins and hats and streamers and tablecloths in a wide variety of Disney and beloved cartoon characters so that your child may have the ultimate party based around his favorite stuffed animal of the moment.
Others spare no expense, throwing around big bucks to rent inflatables, farm animals and life-size PBS characters to entertain their little ones and a small flock of friends.
But as veteran parents will attest, the parents’ expectation of what makes a perfect 1-year-old’s birthday party is often a far cry from what the child actually enjoys.
“I remember when Maria turned one; by Christine Durbin I made a huge deal of it,” said Mary Rennie, local mother of five. “We had Winnie the Pooh wrapping paper, paper plates and even a Winnie the Pooh cake. She couldn’t have cared less! She pretty much just ate the sprinkles off of the top—one by one!”
So what does make a great first birthday? And why bother when, in all likelihood, this is not a birthday the child will remember?
Despite a lack of awareness on your toddler’s part, the past year has been monumental for your family. As parents, you just endured 12 months of sleepless nights, an inordinate number of doctor visits, vaccinations and the frustration of deciphering your new baby’s screams. As for your 1-year-old, she has successfully learned how to eat, turnover, crawl and may now be wobbling around on her own two feet. She has also managed to survive in the face of those sleepless nights and the parents who completely misread her screams at times. So, overall, it has been an eventful year.A celebration is certainly in order.
Local Parties
Christine Erickson of Midland celebrated
both her boys’ first birthdays with
just family. “It seemed like the best idea
since they are still babies at one and still
have napping and feeding schedules to
deal with. Plus, the kids don’t even really
know what is going on. Kind of boring
and cheap, but honestly some of the best
memories since it may be one of the most ‘innocent’ birthdays they have,” Erickson
explained. “After that, most children are
anticipating the party, gifts and cake. It
becomes more about the party and less
about celebrating the time you have
shared with them.”
In speaking with parents of multiple children, an interesting phenomenon comes to light. Instead of renting a small circus or buying up the Disney section of the grocery store, children’s first birthday parties seem to progressively focus more and more around family.
Kim Anderson of Waverly Hall recently gave birth to her fifth child. She took a trip down memory lane, comparing her older children’s first birthdays:
“Brady—Pooh theme. Had 35 people in a 1200-square-foot house. Sheer madness, but lots of fun. Made 40 cupcakes decorated with bees and dragonflies.Had games for the grown-ups, like who can drink the Kool-Aid out of the bottle faster, guess how many marbles are in the jar and my favorite, guess how old Brady was. I had a picture from each month of his life posted on the wall, and guests had to guess how old he was in order from 1 to 12 months.
“Ben—May 20, beginning of summer bash.Had a little wading pool, a sprinkler and the sand box filled for the kids. It rained. But then it stopped and we all had a good time. Made ice cream cone cupcakes for the guests.
“Holly—February 14. What do you think? Hearts, hearts everywhere! She didn’t like the cake, and it was just a family affair at my parents’ house.
“Meg—She’s a February 2 baby, so she and big sister shared a party. The cake took me all day, and my nerves were SHOT at the end! We had family and close friends over.
“I love parties and birthdays and have tried to make each one of the kids’ birthdays special. My husband thinks I go overboard, but so what!”
Although parties may differ for each child, a first birthday is a special time to start creating family traditions. Linda Ligon of Columbus will host her daughter’s first birthday next week. She plans to ask each of the guests to sign a scrapbook she started at Sarah’s baptism, which was signed by all the guests on that occasion as well.
Karla Neuhaus is a Columbus resident and mother of three. For her oldest son, William, the first birthday party was a large affair with about 20 people, a large cake and full-out decorations. Her youngest, Jacob, just turned one this March, and his birthday was very different from big brother’s.
Neuhaus tried to focus the day’s activities around all three children. Soccer cones were set up around the house and everyone played soccer inside, an activity Jacob especially enjoys. She also let each child pick out a large specialty cupcake from the grocery store. The children chose Spiderman, Tinkerbelle, and for the birthday boy, Thomas the Train.
Although the two days varied greatly, the Neuhaus family does have a few traditions that have stayed the same with each child’s birthday. The whole family sings “Happy Birthday” to each child on video camera in order to create a memento they can go back and view as they grow older. Their other tradition, which seems to be pretty universal, involves letting the birthday child dig into his own cake and just make a general mess.
Cakes
For some 1-year-olds, the birthday
cake may be the first real dose of sugar.
Some of the best pictures and memories
from the party are ones with the birthday
child sporting a wide grin, covered in
icing with cake smeared all over the highchair.
So, for party planning, the cake may be a good place to start. Even if you are not the best baker, a little imagination and effort can result in a pretty high payoff. But if you run out of time or just can’t take yet another mess in the kitchen, head to your local baker.“Having a bakery make the cake may be expensive, but worth it,” suggested Ligon.“I bought cakes for our three other children’s first birthday parties, and it worked out well. It was one less thing to worry about, especially since I am not an expert at decorating cakes.”
Other Options
If you decide you want to take the party out of the house, the
Columbus area offers some great options. The Hollywood
Connection staff can help first-birthday parties go smoothly
and are equipped to accommodate all ages of children who
might be present. Everyone from the 1-year-old birthday girl to
Grandpa can ride the Ferris wheel, jump in the bouncing castle
and take a spin on the carousel. You can choose from one of
four themed rooms, and they offer a variety of packages, which
include food and a cake from the Columbus Corner Bakery.
For many parents, it is worth the extra money to go to a
place where the staff takes care of everything. They take food
orders, serve the cake and clean up after all the inevitable spills.
An added bonus? You won’t have to scrape birthday cake off of
your living room furniture at the end of the day!
Parties and traditions may vary from family to family and year to year, but for parents in the Chattahoochee Valley, a few universal truths persist. The presence of immediate family is important—especially Grandma and Grandpa. Spending big bucks is not. Balloons are always a big hit. Pictures of the birthday child covered in cake are priceless, and you can’t have too many. And last, but not least, your 1-year-old’s life is precious, so even if he cries through the entire party, taking time to celebrate his life is worth all the trouble.
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