First Birthday Madness

I’ve had to plan a few events in my lifetime. Our wedding, bridal showers, baby showers and the girls baptism. Planning a first birthday party is definitely up there as one of the most daunting of the tasks.

Where do you even begin when planning a party for two one-year olds who, let’s be honest, won’t even remember it?

So the party’s for the babies right? Well technically yes. People gather to celebrate them and watch them play and coo but let’s be honest…who is this party really for?

Maybe it’s for the party stores, after all, they do make a killing when it comes to these events, that’s what they specialize in after all.

I’ve read so many times: pick a theme it’ll make it easier. Are you kidding me??  Sure it’s easier to go into the party store and head to the specified Nickelodeon section, but then you have everything from party hats to birthday bibs not to mention a bunch of items that you probably hadn’t even thought of or really need. And don’t even get me started on Pinterest. My head is still spinning after the millions of ideas thrown at me when I searched for ‘Girls 1st Birthday.’

So once you’ve decided on a theme (or not) and you’ve picked up the matching invitations, who do you send them to? Who do you invite? Everyone or just keep it small? Where will you host the party? Do you have enough room in your home or do you need to rent a space somewhere?

Once you’ve decided who to invite and where to have the party, AND after you’ve spent hundreds of dollars at the party store you STILL have the food to think about.

Unlike bridal showers and the above mentioned events, this time I not only have to feed adults, I also have to feed the kids. Trays, trays and more trays. Beverages for the adults, beverages for the little ones and let’s not forget the birthday cake.

But I can’t just get one cake, heavens no! I have to order two small special ones for each of the girls that are egg and sugar free and a regular cake for everyone else. Let me rephrase, I don’t HAVE to do this, I want to. After all, the girls only have one first birthday and now that I’ve got the momentum going after the party store and the grocery store I can’t stop now!

So the food’s covered, so is the decor, the invites have been sent and the cake has been ordered. Now what? Loot bags! The ‘favours’ from past events have now been replaced by loot bags for the kids. A tidbit of advice that I learned through this process. Take a DEEP BREATH and don’t buy all of the loot bags and stuff to fill them BEFORE you receive your RSVP’s.

That brings me to my next point…the dreaded RSVP’s. You set a date and a very simple way for people to respond. You’ve given plenty of time for the invites to make it to their destinations as well as time for those invited to think about whether they can make it and get back to you with their response. The only problem is… they don’t, and you’re left contacting more than 50 percent of the people on your list because the ‘please RSVP by this date’ has gone unnoticed.

I’m not worried though, I know that everyone who can be here, will be. They’ll eat, drink and celebrate our baby girls on their very special day. Since I couldn’t decide on a theme, the house will be a sea of green and pink and the girls will be decked out in their cutest little birthday outfits.

Needless to say, the first time planning a birthday party for our daughters hasn’t necessarily been stressful, but I will admit that I haven’t stopped thinking about all of the details for at least two months straight. I know the girls won’t remember much, or any of it, but I still want them to have a very special day.

The past year has been an incredibly awesome journey. In the end the decor and food won’t matter. What will is that our girls are surrounded by those who love them as we celebrate the first 365 days of their little lives.