1st b'day party ideas

Hi gals,
v r celebrating our kid's 1st b'day next month. since v r new to US, i dono how 2 hav a party here.:confused: i want it 2 b conducted in a diff and more interesting way.v use to go to indian or other asian restaurants for our collegues b'days or other parties. i dont want it in the same way. funasia also i heard very costlier. if i had no other way but 2 hav it at home, pls provide me with some recipes of easy, tasty and variety of dishes.
i dont want us to miss india too much. i want it 2 b a memorable occassion not only for us but also 2 our friends.
anyone with ideas, suggestions for conducting the party and a gud menu either for lunch or dinner is most welcome.
i know it is a kind of peiraasai. but still i need it.
i rely whooly on our ILites only. hoping 2 hav the reply soon.
Thank u very much in advance.
Priya

Hi Priya,

Nice to see you get a head start on planning for your kids birthday. Here are some suggestions from me:
Inivitations:
1.Plan on sending the invites atleast 3 weeks in advance. I like using E vite since they have a reminder service too. And its free to use. Do use the RSVP so you can gauge the head count for the party. ( this in order for you to preapare the food/cater etc)
Venue:
1. You could always have it in your neighborhood park. Usually the picnic tables are all first come first serve , but there should be some parks in your city that allow you to reserve tables for a nominal fee.
2. If you live in an apartment, do they have a club house room that you could use to host the party? find out.
3. Look in your local community centers, they usually have some rooms that they rent out for birthday parties etc...
Entertainment:
1. If you have the party in a park, and you expect a lot of kids between ages 4 to 10, then rent a character Air jumper.
2. You could scout around to see if you can find a caricature artist who does caricatures in birthdays .This make a great take home gift from the party. Also there are a lot of people who do balloon art, so you could find some one to do this too. Here in the Bay area we have a magazine called Bay Area Parent, where a lot of these party entertainers advertise their services. Go to your local libraray and see if you have a similar magazine there. Other things like face painting etc are also good. I would not recommend a clown since we never know how a one year old will react.
3. If your budget allows, you could have your party in a local kids zoo where the entertainment takes care of itself . Research into this.
Menu:
Plan the menu last. Depending on the number of people you are inviting and how many adults and kids, you can come up with something creative. Once you know the number of people or have a rough idea, let me know and i can give you some menu suggestions.

Good luck planning the party.

Rgds
Vandhana

hi vandana,
thank u very much for ur reply. i shall enquire abt the venu before this weekend and decide everything else later. i'll let u know the details soon. thanx for guiding me
Priya

hi vandana,
v hav plannd to hav my kid's b'day in a club house. cud u suggest any gme or events to b conducted for the kids and the moms and other gusts too. and also the gifts to b given vat can it be?
one more thing any idea for return gifts? ur ideas and suggestions r most welcome'
thanks in advance
Priya

Hi Priya,

This is what I did for my babys first birthday.. we had it in a community center and we ordered the food from indian restaurant. we organized a buffet.

For kids we had pin tail on donkey game.. it wasnt the paper donkey , but an inflatable one and kids had fun. we also had bubbles. You can also have a pinata..

And for return party favors, we gave rose candles, soft toys, and some assorted stuff (like pencil with my daughters name on it, stickers, activity pad, chocolates, crayon box, small birthday ducks, and small animal shaped notepads)

I had ordered them from

Party supplies, crafts, party decorations, toys: Oriental Trading

and now it is time for back to school supplies in stores( if you are lucky u can get the crayon boxes , pens, misc stuff for cheap rates...)

Good luck orgnising...

And a Happy birthday to ur little one...