Musings - Top Tips For Planning A Great Party For Your Babe

When it was our baby’s first birthday a month or so ago, we chose to plan three separate birthdays. This actually was less of a hassle than having one big party (been there, done that, never again). So we had the ‘baby friends’ party which took place on a Thursday afternoon, from 2pm until 5pm. Then we had the husband’s family (which took place at his parents - not much work on the planning front there) and another party for friends from further afield and my family who live just round the corner. With regards to invites, I bought a pack of pastel-coloured ready made cards (already folded - mine were from WH Smiths for half price!) and then cut a rough rectangle of pretty paper (IKEA) out and stuck it on the card, then a lovely smiling picture of Maya on top. Nice and cheap - and something fun and creative to do. Maya was in bed when I made these ones but for her second birthday, this is just the type of activity she could help out with so I would be more inclined to get her involved in.NB. Make sure you ask people to RSVP so you know how many people to expect and cater for.

We didn’t ask this of every guest - just family who we knew were good to bring a few baguettes and drinks. It can save you a lot of time and money however if you choose to go down this route and can enable everyone to feel involved in the celebrations, making it more of a community affair! Remember to ask different people for sweet and savoury otherwise you may end up with several cakes and no sandwiches. It’s also a good idea to prepare finger snacks for the babies for example, sliced grapes, strawberries, melon, little sandwiches with your choice of filling, some baby crisps with no added salt and sugar, dates and apricots.

Of course you need to decide whether or not you want to have a party bag. Don’t feel pressured to have one but on the other hand, it is a really lovely way to thank your guests (they will all have brought a little gift for the birthday babe and it’s always nice to go home with a bit of cake and a little toy that will last and not end up in the bin.) There are two fabulous companies that we used when planning our party bags for Maya’s first birthday. The one who supplied the bags were Eco Party Bags (www.ecopartybags.co.uk) and they sell all manner of items including 100 % recyclable, re-usable and biodegradable paper bags, affordable wooden toys, latex balloons and other recycled gifts. All bags are plain (we kept them like that) but that also makes them perfect for when your child gets older and they can personalize each one. The other company are Little Cherry (www.littlecherry.co.uk)who sell a wonderful range of bags and beautifully made toys. The item that we loved most from Little Cherry was the absolutely gorgeous bunting with Maya’s name spelt out. She adored this and we kept it hanging up for ages afterwards! Of course, you can use this year after year and place it in your little one’s bedroom instead of keeping it in a box. Little Cherry also sell latex balloons (which are biodegradable, being the sap of the rubber tree) and ethical birthday gifts.

You can of course buy one - and that is fine! But I took great delight in making my baby’s first ever cake, even though half my guests didn’t like it (the other half and Maya did!) I made a raw food cake using raw chocolate, dates, fresh cherries, lemon, agave nectar and raw chocolate powder. There was no cooking involved and it was SO tasty and rich and full of lovely fresh ingredients. You may wish to make an oven-baked cake, using an age-old recipe or something you found on the internet. However you make it, it’s a real joy to know that you had a hand in it somewhere along the line (ok, even if it was paying for it at Marks and Spencers!) And getting that first photo of your baby blowing out (or spitting out) the candle - priceless!

Or ask others to take them (digital is great as it means you can take hundreds and pick out the best ones) You’ll be glad that you took a picture record of the day and remember you can also video (getting your older guests to leave a message for the future!) and write in your diary if you keep one.

It’s a party but you need to be practical! When Maya was tired, she slept for half an hour and then enjoyed the rest of the party. All the little ones will have different nap times and you can’t arrange a party to suit everyone. So just encourage every one come and set up comfortable corners should parents want to get their babies off for a quick doze. Let the guests with babies know on arrival where it’s safe to changes nappies and perhaps even put out on offer to use wipes and cream!

You may have spent a lot of time and energy planning this party/parties (if you are anything like me) so enlist the help of anyone who says they don’t mind washing up, hoovering, mopping and cleaning. It will make things a lot easier when everyone goes home (with big smiles on their faces) and you can then focus on getting baby ready for bed and to have a nice night in with your feet up!

These are just a few ideas to make your child’s birthday special. Do you have any other tips that you feel parents would find useful for their parties? Email me and I will include them here!