Tuesday, June 25, 2013

5 tips for throwing (and enjoying) your child's first birthday party




 I posted a few days ago about Tobyn's First Birthday and how wonderful it turned out. I had a absolute BLAST putting it together, it even made me think about starting a party planning business until I realized 1. I live it the WORST place for that right now and 2. That I am not superwoman and can't add anything else to my plate right now. 

But I would not be being honest if I didn't tell you also how stressful putting the party together was. If I hadn't had my humongous family there to help, I would have probably been curled up in the corner crying at 4 am the night before the party. 

So I decided to give some of my tips for throwing a great first birthday party. I mean, I've only done it once, but I learned quite a bit. 

So here goes:

1. If you don't want to spend a ton of money, plan to DIY a lot of everything. 
I went to Lowe's and bought paint like for the walls in the little sample jars ($3 baby!) that way I could choose the exact shade I wanted, then I basically bought everything I needed on discount. If it was the wrong color then painted it with the matching party colors. 
I researched ALOT in the months before his party, I searched for DIYs, cheapest supplies, party ideas, everything. Then I set in place about two months before what was needed before I even started purchasing. 
2. Ask for help
I would have been screwed if my family hadn't been there to help e. Originally I thought I was going to make 7 different desserts to feed 45 people the night before all by myself. My family offered to come a day early to help though, and I'm so glad they did. Ask a mom, sister, aunt, friend, anyone that you know is creative but would respect your wishes. 
3. Draw up plans for decorating before party day
This may sound a little crazy, but I had all these decorations and I didn't want to have to run around the house the day of the party trying to figure out where to put them. So I drew up a simple sketch of where I wanted everything to go. I actually ended up handing it off to family member so it was nice that I didn't have to explain it to everyone. 
4. Make several lists, so you don't forget anything
I made a list for all the food, all the party necessities, a list of all the DIY items needed and then a list of all the actual DIY projects to be done. It kept me super organized and helped me know what still needed to be done for the party in the weeks before. 
5. Remember, this party is for you child and they are going to have fun no matter what. Make sure you enjoy this moment with them.
I did my best at this, but I was running around also making sure everyone was having fun. I did do my best to stay with Tobyn though, and enjoy every moment with him: The presents, the cake.
One thing I'm still kicking myself about is when we put him in his highchair to eat his cake, he was pretty overwhelmed at the 45 people staring at him so we hurried and gave him the cake, totally forgetting to sing him Happy Birthday. Oh well. Kid loved his cake anyways. :)


So, mistakes are going to happen. 
It's life, it's a party, a celebration. It won't matter when they are 20. Just enjoy the day with your family, and do everything you can to make it a great one for you child. That's all that matters.
I hoped these tips helped someone, if they did or if anyone has any other tips please share!

Lyz

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