Planning a party for one year old.

Hi Ladies

I am new to the group. Was reading through the forums and found a lot of interesting topics.
I would like some ideas from you all. My dear daughter is turning one on June and since this is my first one ,I would like to make her Bday a memorable one. We are planning to have the function at a club house and are inviting around 20 families.Iam also planning on Indian cuisine , but am not sure about what to do on that end.Would appreciate if any of you have any ideas.Thanks!

Vidya

Hello vidya,

Are you planning to cook everything or planning to get from outside? I know it will be too tiring to cook everything...esp with a one year old and you might end up looking tired in the party. You can plan on making rice pulav, one side dish and simple desserts like carrot halwa, jamuns or bakalva. Get rotis/naans and other side dish and starters from outside. That will lessen your burden of cooking.
For the party itself...plan to go with some theme. Plan for some games for other kids...like getting a Pinata. In my daughter's first b'day, we had pooh's theme party we had a honey pot pinata and all the older kids really enjoyed it. Plan to stick a big poster of the baby and have whoever come to the party sign it and write something for the baby. You can also arrange a floating candles in a bowl with some fresh flowers in the entrance...that will look nice.

Enjoy the party and best wishes to your daughter!
Sihi

Thanks a lot for the response Sihi. I was planning to get something from outside and as you said , I might do a dessert also pulav. I'll be dead tired if I cook for all the crowd!!
And I could try the pinata and the floating candles too..That sounds interesting.
I was actually thinking of giving the guests each a card to write a message for her on her sixteenth bday and keep it in a time capsule..(found this idea in one of the sites)
My daughter loves watching teletubbies and I am actually trying to find something on that theme...but its hard to find that..(
Also does anyone have any ideas on invitations, party favors and return gifts.
I don't want to spent a fortune on this but i do want to make it a memorable one.

Thanks!!
Vidya

Dear Vidya,

For the party favors, you can try in local dollar stores, marshalls, ross and also stores like walmart, target, where they have a section which has some small toys.. Put these toys in a bag (age appropriate and depending on your budget for each kid) with some chocolates. Stick a personal thank you note on each bag signed in your daughter's name, so it will be easier to hand them out to kids during the party and also it will give a touch of personal thanks for them.
What I did was to buy some pink and blue bags from party city in bulk and handed out pink goody bags for girls and blue for the boys.

For invitations we used the evite..if you want it to be more personal ,then maybe you can try to buy some fun invite cards (according to the theme you choose) and post them to each family.

-Sihi

Hi vidya,

sorry for the delay,,

Nice to know that u r going to celebrate ur loving daughter's B'day..Yeah,cooking everything by urself is out of question..u will be tired..But here are some of the suggestion which u could follow..if possible..

Make a list:

1).Decide on number of families u want to invite..
2).Invite them
3).After invitation,u will come to know the estimation on number of people
attending the party.
4).Keep a budget and decide on menu.
5).Buy the following 1week ahead :-

Party supplies : like,decorating items,cuttlery,napkins,u can try shopping at dollartree or party city.

Return gifts for kids: depends on age group.For kids under 3,u can give sippycups..For kids older than 3,try giving lunch boxes/pencil boxes etc. which can be purchased at walmart.

note : Make sure u keep the Bill with u,so that u can return the leftovers.
-----

6).Order cake and the food items 1 week ahead which u want to order from outside.

7).1or 2 day before the party,buy the chocolates,get the necessary veggies and cut and keep ready in ziplogs..

.Pack all the guddy bags and keep them ready in a big box or bag.

9).on the day of the party,

-Try to see that ur kid has good and enough sleep in the day time so that,ur baby would stay fresh and enjoy the party in the evening!Take her favourite toy to the clubhouse along with u when u go there.


10).In the club house,take a welcome printout and stick it on the entrance of the clubhouse.Make simple decorations ,,see that more of baloons are there..Don't strain urself.

11).Get the cake in the afternoon and naans/rotis+curries before 2hours..

12).Go to the clubhouse with cake,candle,matchbox,knife(tie satin ribbon to it) to cut,food items,return gifts,cutlery,ur kids diaper bag with extra dresses,her toys,atleast 1hour ahead and make the arrangements for serving..There u can warm everything in microwave or Oven.warm them before u serve..
13).Make sure u have all the cutlery like spoons,forks,serving spoons,trays,appetizer plates,dinnerplates,cups,bowls for desert,glasses for water and drinks,paper towels.Check with appartment clubhouse..They supply serving trays etc..

Here are some suggestions for the food :

Starters : U could serve the birthday cake +one veggie appetizer. +drinks(ofcourse drinks will be throughout the party)..Since it is 20 families,it is better u order it outside, But still if u want to try making at home, U can prepare Veggetable puffs/samosas 2-3days ahead (stuff the puff pastry or samosas with potato-peas-veggies and seal them),and freeze in ziplogs and bake it on that day of the party or prepare Onion Pakodas before the party....U can also buy some tortilla chips & salsa ,veggie salad pack and keep on the table..Kids might like to have..

puris/rotis/naan + curries :get from outside since it is a time consuming and tiring process..

Rice ,tomato rasam,raitha : U can prepare at home..

Dessert: u can prepare Fruit salad(custard with fruits) at home..or serve icecream with fruits or prepare gulabjamun and serve with icecream..

And about pinnatta.iam not sure..Bcoz i didn't arrange for my kid's bday party,bcoz we didn't have any kids in our party..we were first ones to have kid in our friend's circle..

-have a nice party,
cheers,
vaishu

hiii vaishu
i read ur thread and found some useful tips. I am aslo planning ,birthday party for my daughter.she is turning one by this may.thanks for ur suggestions.and if anybody can give more suggetion on conducting some game shows for younger children and also for their parents to make the party moe interesting and lively

Thanks Vaishu for all the suggestions. Its very helpful and now I can jot down all this so that I don't forget anything during the time.
Also as anush suggested if anyone has ideas for games that would be great.
I
Thanks everyone!!

Hi Mom2ria,

Vaishu's tips r excellent! Follow those and your party will be well organised.

As 4 games, there are a few you can play, depending on the age groups of the kids:
1. Pin the tail on the donkey

2. Hot Potato
Kids form a circle. A bean bag is passed from player to player while one player sings, whistles or claps. When the music or clapping stops, the player who has the bean bag is out and sits in the center. The last one out wins. Stops should be made frequently so the game moves quickly and kids will not be out for a long period.


3. Scavenger Hunt Scavenger hunts are a fun way to entertain kids at birthday parties. Rather than encouraging competitiveness between teams, have children work together to find all the items. Hide items in yard or designated rooms.


4. Freeze Begin by playing music, everyone moves and dances until the music stops then they must "freeze" in whatever position they happen to be in.


5. Musical Chairs For character themes based on movies or T.V. shows play music from the program and tape characters on each chair. You should know how this goes.

There are others but I am not sure very young kids can play them, hope this helps! Do let us know how it goes.

C u later!

Vish

Hi vidya,

Vishaana gave good list of games..U could follow them.For adults i can suggest u one game which is "Housie or tambola game" which we organized for my son's Bday bcoz there were no kids and only couples.But if so many kids are around all parents may not be able to participate in it.Some one should should look after kids when u r playing..Try if possible.And i also forgot to add ketcup,sauces/chutneys suitable for the appetizer list which u r supposed to serve..See that u serve them too!

And vishaana ,

Thanq for the game list..I can try this in my kid's next B'day party.saturday i have a small get together at my house.May be one of them i can try organizing..

-Cheers,
Vaishu

Thanks a lot vishana and vaishu.
Thats a good game list. Now finally I 've a list to plan and organize. Thanks a lot all of you for your help. I appreciate it.
Love you all..Love IL.....Love to be a part of IL

Vidya